WO2023279245A1

WO2023279245A1 - Surface-mountable antenna device

Info

Publication number: WO2023279245A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/104583
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dominic Maurath; Alexander Dyck; Ezio Perrone; Bin Liang; Jie Peng
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co.,Ltd.
Priority date: 2021-07-05
Filing date: 2021-07-05
Publication date: 2023-01-12
Also published as: CN117597832A

Abstract

A surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) is mountable on a circuit board (101) of an antenna-in-package device (100, 200). The antenna-in-package device (100, 200) comprises a radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) and an antenna feeding terminal. The surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) comprises an insulating substrate (121) comprising a top surface (121a) and a bottom surface (121b), and at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) formed on the top surface (121a) of the substrate (121), the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) forming an antenna structure. The surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) is mountable on a surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) and configured to cover a radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) of the antenna-in-package device (100, 200), and to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102).

Description

Surface-mountable antenna device

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of integration of RF-IC (radio frequency integrated circuit) and phased-array antennas in the millimeter wave domain. For example, the present disclosure relates to a surface-mountable antenna device, and to antenna array with selective-metallized surface mounted components.

BACKGROUND

Microwave antenna arrays need to be implemented with multiple signal channels providing excellent signal integrity (loss and isolation) , on narrow and flat geometries requesting low warpage and precise assembly. Often there can be physical and technical limitations, e.g. from manufacturing limits and tolerances. In addition, the antenna board where the radio frequency (RF) chip is mounted needs a good thermal interconnection to the backside of the module where the heatsink is mounted. However, vertical tolerances may cause problems of bad connection resulting in different high temperatures of the RF chips. This can degrade the lifetime and the performance. The signal integrity might also be difficult in such multi-channel antenna feeds. Minimizing losses and achieving high channel isolation can be difficult.

Microwave antenna arrays are usually integrated with multiple components on stacked printed circuit boards, PCBs (substrates) . This can cause problems of vertical tolerances, heat dissipation, and signal integrity. Usually the antenna board with the RF chip needs good thermal interconnection to the backside of the module with the heatsink. However, vertical tolerances may cause problems of bad connection resulting in different high temperatures of the RF chips. This can degrade the lifetime and the performance. Besides, the signal integrity can be difficult in such multi-channel antenna feeds, e.g., to minimize losses and achieve high channel isolation can be difficult.

So far, it seems difficult and hardly possible to integrate PCB, chipset and antenna on a single substrate (carrier) , and instead several substrates (carriers) are combined. However, the joining of different (multiple) substrates may cause the problems with mechanical tolerances (horizontal alignment, vertical electrical and thermal interconnects) at joining the different components, which can lead to reduced thermal conductivity due to the many interfaces, and signal integrity problems as vertical interconnects allow only minor shielding between the many channels of an antenna array, for example.

SUMMARY

Devices and methods according to this disclosure allow to provide a solution for a microwave antenna array without the above described disadvantages. Thus, a solution for an efficient integration of a phased-antenna array in the millimetre wave domain is provided.

The foregoing and other objects are achieved by the features of the independent claims. Further implementation forms are apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the figures.

The solution presented in this disclosure introduces a novel integration concept and component structures.

A basic idea of this disclosure is to realize the microwave antennas as surface-mounted components which can be modularly scaled to different array sizes. Appling selective 3D metallization signal routing as well as shielding can be implemented for improved signal integrity. The disclosed solution is independent from typical vertical tolerances. The antenna component can have a cavity to allow that the chipset can be mounted on top of the carrier board or on its backside, e.g. the RFIC can be directly connected to the heatsink and is not anymore mounted on the antenna module but can be kept on the main board. The antenna component can be realized in a first variant as a selective metallized 3D mold material (3D MID) , or in a second variant as a printed circuit board technology with laminates (PCBs) .

The antenna array can be integrated with 3D-MID (selective metallized) surface-mount components. The vertical feeding can also be integrated. This solution avoids vertical tolerance issues, allows good channel isolation, and enables a good thermal path to the backside. The solution is also flexible for RFIC integration for either in top or on the back of the carrier board. A typical build-up is shown below in Figure 1 with a 3D-MID component having structured surface metallization for (a) antenna, (b) shielding, (c) and antenna feed structures. The component also forms a lid to cover the chipset below, and forms an air cavity which (i) serves as a chip compartment, and (ii) an air-cavity for efficient wideband antenna feeding.

The disclosed solution combines MID technology and PCB technology with RF interconnects, thermal structures, and antennas in a novel and beneficial configuration. The functional 3D MID component combines antenna patches, antenna feed structures, as well as antenna shielding in one component using direct metal structuring which allows flexible vertical interconnects (Z) . In addition, the compartment (air-cavity) on the backside of the lid serves as (i) a chip compartment allowing top-side assembly and shorter signal routing, and (b) the air-cavity can enhance antenna tuning.

The surface mounted modular antenna component combines mold and laminate technology (3D MID and PCB technologies) . The main improvements are (a) that now the chipset can remain on the main board, (b) this enables a direct thermal cooling path, (c) the antenna feeds can be directly integrated in the surface-mounted antenna component. This eliminates the vertical tolerance problem, (d) the proposed antenna component can be realized with air cavities, double patches -which improve wideband tuning and efficiency, and also having isolation structures to improve the channel isolation.

Microwave antenna components including feed structures can be mounted directly on a substrate (PCB) . The antenna components can be realized as molded or laminated materials and provide a modular solution to form an antenna array for beamforming.

The disclosed solution combines cavity PCB technology with vertical RF interconnects, thermal structures, and antennas in a novel and beneficial configuration.

Unique key features are structure and integration: Antenna (radiator) , antenna feed, and EM shielding are directly structured on a single encapsulation component (MID lid) , for example. The solution is directly applicable on a beam-former board as an SMD with modularity and scalability to form a phased array implementation of variable size.

In order to describe the invention in detail, the following terms, abbreviations and notations will be used:

RF radio frequency

IC integrated circuit

PCB printed circuit board

MID molded interconnect device

SMD surface mounted device

AiP antenna-in-package

DRA dielectric resonator antenna

AMC artificial magnetic conductor

PMC perfect magnetic conductor

EBG electromagnetic band gap

According to a first aspect, the disclosure relates to a surface-mountable antenna device which is mountable on a circuit board of an antenna-in-package device. The antenna-in-package device comprises a radio frequency integrated circuit chip and an antenna feeding terminal. The surface-mountable antenna device comprises an insulating substrate comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, and at least one first conductive layer formed on the top surface of the substrate. The at least one first conductive layer is forming an antenna structure. The surface-mountable antenna device is mountable on a surface of the circuit board and configured to cover a radio frequency integrated circuit chip of the antenna-in-package device, and to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip. The top surface is arranged opposite to the bottom surface, for example.

Such surface-mountable antenna device provides an efficient integration of a phased-antenna array in the millimetre wave domain. The surface-mountable antenna device can be realized as SMD component which can be modularly scaled to different array sizes. Appling selective 3D metallization signal routing as well as shielding can be implemented for improved signal integrity. The solution is independent from typical vertical tolerances. The surface-mountable antenna device can have a cavity to allow that the chipset can be mounted on top of the carrier board or on its backside, e.g. the RFIC can be directly connected to the heatsink and is not anymore mounted on the antenna module but can be kept on the main board. The surface-mountable antenna device can be realized in a first variant as a selective metallized 3D mold material (3D MID) , or in a second variant as a printed circuit board technology with laminates (PCBs) .

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the insulating substrate forms with the at least one first conductive layer a single part molded interconnect device (MID) . Such an MID implementation is described in the following as a first variant of the surface-mountable antenna device.

The surface-mountable antenna device can be realized as a selective metallized 3D mold material (3D MID) . This solution avoids vertical tolerance issues, allows good channel isolation, and enables a cavity which creates space for additional components. The solution is also flexible for RFIC integration for either in top or on the back of the carrier board.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device comprises at least one second conductive layer formed on the bottom surface of the substrate, the at least one second conductive layer forming an antenna feed structure. The second conductive layer may be formed on the bottom surface of the substrate, e.g. opposite to the top surface of the substrate.

Such a second conductive layer may interact with the first conductive layer to form different antenna designs or improve antenna feeding.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device comprises at least one third conductive layer formed on at least one lateral surface of the substrate, the at least one third conductive layer forming an antenna shielding structure.

The third conductive layer provides that a vertical shielding structure may be easily implemented. These vertical shielding structures may be directly implemented on the component to prevent RF coupling between (a) the antenna elements and (b) between the vertical and planar feed-lines.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device is configured to form a lid for covering the radio frequency integrated circuit chip.

This provides that antenna with radiator, antenna feed and EM shielding may be directly structured on a single encapsulation component, referred herein as the lid or MID lid. The surface-mountable antenna device thus provides all necessary components to connect the RFIC chip.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the lid comprises: a plate configured to be arranged above the radio frequency integrated circuit chip; and side walls configured to mount the surface-mountable antenna device on the surface of the circuit board.

Such design of the lid provides that the lid can be flexibly adapted to different sized RFIC chips. Besides the lid can also be adapted to cover multiple RFIC chips and other electronic components, e.g. capacitors, diodes, transistors, etc. that are placed on the circuit board.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the lid is configured to form with the substrate an air cavity embedding the radio frequency integrated circuit chip.

Such design of the lid provides that the lid can protect the RFIC chip by providing a sealed cavity in which the RFIC chip may be placed on the circuit board.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, a height of the air cavity is variable according to design requirements.

This provides that different circuit board designs can be covered by such lid. A different height of the air cavity can be used to form the antenna characteristics and/or the capacitive coupling between the antenna feeding terminal of the RFIC and the antenna structures on the surface-mountable antenna device.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the at least one second conductive layer is formed on a bottom surface of the plate, formed on an inner surface of at least one of the side walls and formed on a bottom surface of the at least one side wall to form a step or ramp-like profile.

This provides that different kinds of feeding structures may be flexibly applied. This provides flexibility in antenna tuning. The antenna implementation has more degrees of freedom due the first and second conductive layers and the air-cavity.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the at least one first conductive layer is formed on a top surface of the plate of the lid, and at least one fourth conductive layer is formed on a bottom surface of the plate opposite to the top surface, the at least one fourth conductive layer forming another antenna structure coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer.

This provides that double patches formed by the first and fourth conductive layers on both sides of the antenna substrate can be used to trim the antenna characteristic for more efficiency and bandwidth.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device is configured to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip which is mounted on a top surface of the circuit board or mounted on a backside surface of the circuit board.

This provides the advantage of flexible circuit design, for example. The surface-mountable antenna device can be applied with a surface-mounted RFIC chip as well as with a flip-chip mounted RFIC chip.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip is capacitively coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer.

Such a capacitive coupling provides higher antenna gain and efficiency.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device comprises a printed-circuit board (PCB) forming the insulating substrate and the at least one first conductive layer. Such a PCB implementation is described in the following as a second variant of the surface-mountable antenna device.

This provides a flat structure with low-cost materials and simpler assembly with less interconnects.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device is configured to cover the radio frequency integrated circuit chip which is arranged in an air cavity of the surface of the circuit board.

This provides that the RFIC can be placed in a hermetically sealed air cavity and hence is protected from the environment.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device comprises at least one second conductive layer formed on the bottom surface of the substrate, the at least one second conductive layer forming another antenna structure coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer.

This provides that double patches formed by the first and second conductive layers on both sides of the antenna substrate can be used to trim the antenna characteristic for more efficiency and bandwidth.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device comprises at least one radiating antenna, placed on the at least one first conductive layer.

The radiating antenna may be a broad-side radiating antenna, e.g. realized as patch antenna, aperture coupled antenna, dielectric resonator antenna, etc.

This provides implementation of improved antenna designs, for example.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the surface-mountable antenna device comprises a second printed-circuit board, forming another insulating substrate and another at least one first conductive layer; wherein the printed circuit board is configured to form with the circuit board a first air cavity embedding the radio frequency integrated circuit chip; and wherein the second printed-circuit board is configured to form with the printed-circuit board a second air cavity above the first air cavity and above the radio frequency integrated circuit chip.

This provides an improved tuning of antenna behavior, for example.

In an exemplary implementation of the surface-mountable antenna device, the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer of the printed-circuit board and the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer of the second printed-circuit board are coupled in order to tune an antenna characteristic of the surface-mountable antenna device.

Such coupling improves the antenna characteristic of the surface-mountable antenna device. Multiple air cavities between the PCBs may be utilized to tune the antenna behavior.

According to a second aspect, the disclosure relates to an antenna-in-package device, comprising: a circuit board; a radio frequency integrated circuit chip mounted on a surface of the circuit board; an antenna feeding terminal; and a surface-mountable antenna device according to the first aspect described above, mounted on the surface of the circuit board and covering the radio frequency integrated circuit chip, wherein the surface-mountable antenna device is configured to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip.

Such an antenna-in-package device provides an efficient integration of a phased-antenna array in the millimetre wave domain. The surface-mountable antenna device can be realized as SMD component which can be modularly scaled to different array sizes. Appling selective 3D metallization signal routing as well as shielding can be implemented in the antenna-in-package device for improved signal integrity. The antenna-in-package device provides flexible design options. The surface-mountable antenna device can be realized in a first variant as a selective metallized 3D mold material (3D MID) , or in a second variant as a printed circuit board technology with laminates (PCBs) .

In an exemplary implementation of the antenna-in-package device, the surface-mountable antenna device is a surface-mountable antenna device according to the first variant of the first aspect described above, wherein the surface-mountable antenna device is mounted in a cavity of the surface of the circuit board.

This provides that the air cavity can efficiently protect the RFIC chip against the environment and can also be used for efficient wideband antenna feeding.

In an exemplary implementation of the antenna-in-package device, the top surface of the insulating substrate of the surface-mountable antenna device which is mounted in the cavity of the circuit board and the surface of the circuit board are aligned to form a common plane.

This provides that a planar surface of the circuit board can be implemented that is advantageous for antenna radiation, for example.

In an exemplary implementation of the antenna-in-package device, the surface-mountable antenna device is a surface-mountable antenna device according to the second variant of the first aspect described above, wherein the surface-mountable antenna device comprises at least one third conductive layer formed within the circuit board of the antenna-in-package device lateral to the printed-circuit board, the at least one third conductive layer forming an antenna shielding structure.

According to a third aspect, the disclosure relates to an antenna-in-package array device, comprising: a plurality of antenna-in-package devices according to the second aspect described above, arranged as an array on a common circuit board.

This provides that antenna scaling can be easily implemented. Different sizes of antenna array can be flexibly implemented.

According to a fourth aspect, the disclosure relates to a method for producing a surface-mountable antenna device, the method comprising: providing an insulating substrate comprising a top surface and a bottom surface; forming at least one first conductive layer on the top surface of a substrate, the at least one first conductive layer forming an antenna structure.

Such a method provides that the surface-mountable antenna device can be easily produced in a single production step.

According to a fifth aspect, the disclosure relates to a method for producing an antenna-in-package device, the method comprising: mounting the surface-mountable antenna device on a surface of a circuit board; covering a radio frequency integrated circuit chip of the antenna-in-package device by the surface-mountable antenna device; and connecting the surface-mountable antenna device to an antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip.

Such a method provides that the antenna-in-package device can be easily manufactured with the above surface-mountable antenna device.

The advantages of the methods of this disclosure are the same as those for the corresponding implementation forms of the devices and vice versa.

According to a sixth aspect, the disclosure relates to a computer program product including computer executable code or computer executable instructions that, when executed, causes at least one computer to execute the method according to the fourth or fifth aspect described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to the following figures, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 100 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a according to a first variant;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 200 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b according to a second variant;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 300 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant;

Fig. 4a shows a schematic diagram illustrating the surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant as shown in Figure 3;

Fig. 4b shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 400b with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant;

Fig. 4c shows a schematic diagram illustrating an array implementation example of an antenna-in-package devices array 400c with surface-mountable antenna devices 120a of the first variant;

Fig. 4d shows a schematic diagram illustrating an array implementation example of an antenna-in-package devices array 400d with surface-mountable antenna devices 120a of the first variant;

Fig. 5a shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 500a with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant;

Fig. 5b shows a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary antenna-in-package device 500b with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant;

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an array implementation example 600 of an antenna-in-package devices array 500a with surface-mountable antenna devices 120a of the first variant;

Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 700 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant;

Fig. 8a shows a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary antenna-in-package device 800a with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant;

Fig. 8b shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 800b with another surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant;

Fig. 9a shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 900a with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant and

additional antenna elements

902a, 902b;

Fig. 9b shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 900b with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant comprising two PCBs; and

Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an array implementation example 1000 of an array of antenna-in-package devices 800a with surface-mountable antenna devices 120b of the second variant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific aspects in which the disclosure may be practiced. It is understood that other aspects may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

It is understood that comments made in connection with a described method may also hold true for a corresponding device or system configured to perform the method and vice versa. For example, if a specific method step is described, a corresponding device may include a unit to perform the described method step, even if such unit is not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures. Further, it is understood that the features of the various exemplary aspects described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise.

The RFIC chips and packages described herein may, for example, be implemented in wireless communication schemes, e.g. communication schemes according to 5G or WiFi.

The RFIC chips and packages may also be implemented in automotive or industrial systems, e.g. Internet of Things, etc. The described RFIC chips may be used to produce integrated circuits and/or power semiconductors and may be manufactured according to various technologies. For example, the RFIC chips and packages may be utilized in logic integrated circuits, analog integrated circuits, mixed signal integrated circuits, optical circuits, memory circuits and/or integrated passives.

In the following sections, antennas and antenna feeding structures are described. In a transmitting part of an antenna structure of antenna system the term ,, antenna feed“ can refer to any one or all of the components involved conveying the RF electrical current into the radiating part of the antenna, where the current is converted to radiation; in a receiving part of the antenna structure or antenna system, the term ,, antenna feed“ refers to the parts of the system that convert the electric currents already collected from incoming radio waves into a specific voltage to current ratio (impedance) needed at the receiver.

In this disclosure antenna-in-package (AIP) and also antenna-on-board (AoB) solutions are described. In such solutions the antenna is integrated into a package or onto a board, e.g. PCB, along with the RFIC. In this case, antennas are no longer a separate component placed within the wireless device, but they are directly integrated into the package or onto a board along with other ICs. Traditionally, an antenna is placed on a board, separate from the RF IC chipset. This approach is known as a discrete antenna approach. In the AiP or AoB solution the RF IC and the antenna are integrated into a single package or onto a board, e.g. a PCB.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 100 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a according to a first variant.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a is mountable on a circuit board (e.g. PCB) 101 of the antenna-in-package device 100.

The antenna-in-package device 100 comprises a radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 and an antenna feeding terminal.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a comprises: an insulating substrate 121 comprising a top surface 121a and a bottom surface 121 b opposite to the top surface 121a; and at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b formed on the top surface 121a of the substrate 121. The at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b is forming an antenna structure.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a is mountable on a surface 101a of the circuit board 101 and configured to cover a radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 of the antenna-in-package device 100, and to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102.

The antenna feeding terminal is a terminal of the RFIC chip 102 that feeds the antenna structure of the surface-mountable antenna device 120a. That means, the antenna feeding terminal connects or couples the antenna structure to the RFIC chip 102.

The insulating substrate 121 may form with the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b a single part molded interconnect device (MID) . A single part MID means that the surface-mountable antenna device 120a is produced as a single unit or single part of insulating substrate 121 with one or more

conductive layers

122a, 122b.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a may comprise at least one second

conductive layer

123a, 123b formed on the bottom surface 121 b of the substrate 121. These one or more second

conductive layers

123a, 123b are forming an antenna feed structure that may be used for feeding the antenna structure formed by the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a may comprise at least one third

conductive layer

124a, 124b formed on at least one lateral surface of the substrate 121. These one or more third

conductive layers

124a, 124b are forming an antenna shielding structure that may be used for shielding the

antenna structure

122a, 122b and/or the

antenna feed structure

123a, 123b from electromagnetic distortion of other, e.g. neighboring AiP devices in an arrayed antenna device or from shielding against any other electromagnetic distortion.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a forms a

lid

126a, 126b, 126c for covering the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102. Figure 1 shows that the surface-mountable antenna device 120a covers the RFIC chip 102 in a lid-like structure. This lid comprises: a plate 126a configured to be arranged above the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102; and

side walls

126b, 126c configured to mount the surface-mountable antenna device 120a on the surface 101a of the circuit board 101. The lid may be formed as a square, rectangle, triangle circle, ring or may be formed according to any other geometrical shape. The inner surfaces of the

side walls

126b, 126c may be arranged at an angle with respect to the vertical while the outer surfaces of the

side walls

126b, 126c may be arranged in line with the vertical.

The

lid

126a, 126b, 126c forms with the substrate 121 an air cavity 501 embedding the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102.

A height, length and/or a volume of the air cavity 501 may be variable according to design requirements. Depending on the size of the plate 126a and the size of the

side walls

126b, 126c, the height, length and/or a volume of the air cavity 501 may be designed.

The at least one second

conductive layer

123a, 123b may be formed on a bottom surface 121 b of the plate 126a. The at least one second

conductive layer

123a, 123b may be formed on an inner surface of at least one of the

side walls

126b, 126c. The at least one second

conductive layer

123a, 123b may be formed on a bottom surface of the at least one

side wall

126b, 126c. These one or more second

conductive layers

123a, 123b may form a step or ramp-like profile as can be seen in Figure 1. This step or ramp-like profile may have a Z-like or S-like structure.

The at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b may be formed on a top surface 121a of the plate 126a of the lid which corresponds to the top surface 121a of the insulating substrate 121. At least one fourth conductive layer (not shown in this implementation example) may be formed on a bottom surface 121 b of the plate 126a opposite to the top surface 121a. These one or more fourth conductive layers may form another antenna structure coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a may be configured to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 which is mounted on a top surface 101a of the circuit board 101 or mounted on a backside surface 101b of the circuit board 101. In Figure 1, the top surface 101a mounting of the RFIC chip 102 is shown.

The antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 may be capacitively coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a may further comprise at least one radiating antenna, that may be placed on the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b. This implementation of a radiating antenna, however, is not shown in Figure 1.

The antenna-in-package device 100 shown in Figure 1 comprises: a circuit board 101; a radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 mounted on the surface 101a of the circuit board 101; an antenna feeding terminal; and a surface-mountable antenna device 120a as described above, mounted on the surface 101a of the circuit board 101 and covering the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102. The surface-mountable antenna device 120a is configured to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a may be mounted in a cavity of the surface 101a of the circuit board 101 (not shown in Figure 1) .

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 200 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b according to a second variant.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b is mountable on a circuit board (e.g. PCB) 101 of the antenna-in-package device 200.

The antenna-in-package device 200 comprises a radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 and an antenna feeding terminal.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b comprises: an insulating substrate 121 comprising a top surface 121a and a bottom surface 121 b opposite to the top surface 121a; and at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b is forming an antenna structure.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b is mountable on a surface 101a of the circuit board 101 and configured to cover a radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 of the antenna-in-package device 200, and to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102.

The antenna feeding terminal is a terminal of the RFIC chip 102 that feeds the antenna structure of the surface-mountable antenna device 120b. That means, the antenna feeding terminal connects or couples the antenna structure to the RFIC chip 102.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b comprises a printed-circuit board forming the insulating substrate 121 and the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b. This printed-circuit of the surface-mountable antenna device 120b is different from the circuit board 101 of the antenna-in-package device 200.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b may be configured to cover the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 which is arranged in an air cavity 501 of the surface of the circuit board 101.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b may comprise at least one second

conductive layer

123a, 123b formed on the bottom surface 121b of the substrate 121. The at least one second conductive layer forms another antenna structure coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b.

Such a second

conductive layer

123a, 123b is not shown in Figure 2 but can be seen in the implementation shown in Figure 8b.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b may comprise a second printed-circuit board 128 (not shown in Figure 2, but shown in Figure 9b) , forming another insulating substrate 121 and another at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b. The printed circuit board 127 may be configured to form with the circuit board 101 a first air cavity 501 embedding the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102. The second printed-circuit board 128 may be configured to form with the printed-circuit board 127 a second air cavity 901 above the first air cavity 501 and above the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102.

The antenna structure formed by the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b of the printed-circuit board 127 and the antenna structure formed by the other at least one first conductive layer of the second printed-circuit board 128 may be coupled in order to tune an antenna characteristic of the surface-mountable antenna device 120b.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b may further comprise at least one radiating

antenna

902a, 902b (not shown in Figure 2 but shown in Figure 9a) , placed on the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b of the printed circuit board 127. In the implementation with a second printed circuit board 128, the at least one radiating

antenna

902a, 902b may be placed on the at least one first conductive layer of the second printed circuit board 128.

The antenna-in-package device 200 comprises: the circuit board 101; the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102 mounted on the surface 101a of the circuit board 101; the antenna feeding terminal; and the surface-mountable antenna device 120b as described above, mounted on the surface 101a of the circuit board 101 and covering the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102. The surface-mountable antenna device 120b is configured to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b may comprise at least one third conductive layer 104 formed within the circuit board 101 of the antenna-in-package device 200 lateral to the printed-circuit board 127. This at least one third conductive layer 104 forms an antenna shielding structure, e.g. as described above with respect to Figure 1.

For both variants shown in Figures 1 and 2, a heat sink 103 may be mounted on a bottom surface 101 b of the circuit board 101 which bottom surface is opposite to the top surface or surface 101a of the circuit board. Through-vias 105 may be arranged within the circuit board 101 to thermally connect the RFIC chip 102 to the heat sink 103.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 300 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a corresponds to the surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant as shown in Figure 1. The surface-mountable antenna device 120a is mounted on the top surface of the circuit board (main PCB) 101 of the antenna-in-package device 300. A heat sink 103 is mounted on the bottom surface of the circuit board 101 which is opposite to the top surface of the circuit board 101.

Substrate structures 301 are shown by grey patterns, mold structures 302 are shown by checkered patterns and conductors or conductive structures 303 are shown by black areas.

Figure 3 shows the antenna-in-package device 300 where a functional lid (i.e. the surface-mountable antenna device 120a) is 3D formed and metal structured in such a way that it integrates the antenna, the antenna feeds, and the shielding structures in a single MID component as a SMD.

The antenna-in-package device 300 can be implemented with air cavity 501 in the compartment, metal shielding implemented by the

conductive layer

124a, 124b, antenna patch implemented by the

conductive layers

122a, 122b and a Z-feed implemented by the

conductive layers

123a, 123b. The Z-feed may be implemented by metal for antenna feed, solder patch and direct vertical interconnect in between.

The metal shielding implemented by the

conductive layers

124a, 124b may be formed as AMC (artificial magnetic conductor) structures. Such an AMC, which has the perfect magnetic conductor (PMC) characteristics, is known as a meta-material that has the electromagnetic band gap (EBG) characteristics under a specific condition. The electromagnetic wave is reflected without phase rotations on the surface of the AMC with the PMC characteristics and suppressed in a specific frequency band with EBG characteristics. Therefore, a low-profile antenna can be realized by using AMC, and the degree of freedom of the directivity can be improved. On the other hand, it is not necessarily that an AMC have PMC and EBG characteristics in the same frequency bands.

Such antenna-in-package device 300 provides the following technical advantages: MID component with all main structures are directly metal parts (Z-feed) . The device 300 can be assembled from top-side with the MID component and with the flip-chip and SMD components in the compartment. Vertical shielding structures can be placed directly on the component to prevent RF coupling between (a) the antenna elements and (b) between the vertical and planar feed-lines.

Antenna tuning can be efficiently performed with this antenna-in-package device 300. The antenna implementation has more degrees of freedom due to the air-cavity 501: the antenna substrate and air-cavity thickness as well as the option of double patches (on both sides of the antenna substrate) can be used to trim the antenna characteristic for more efficiency and bandwidth.

The antenna-in-package device 300 is tolerance insensitive: Vertical tolerances no longer impact the heat dissipation, as the MID component is manufactured in one process step there is also self-alignment between the antenna and the feed-structures.

The lid can be used to achieve hermitic sealing of the chipset 102. It can be important for specific applications in harsh environments to ensure sufficient lifetime of the chipset 102.

The antenna-in-package device 300 may require only one interconnect bonding interface: This causes less interface stress (as compared to multiple interfaces in prior art) , and results in less signal loss, simpler manufacturing (higher yield) , and a longer lifetime due to the reduced stress.

The low component count (no antenna laminate) allows lower cost.

The antenna-in-package device 300 can be flexible designed. Various antenna types can be attached in a modular/scalable way. The array size can be easily scaled without additional design or further components.

The antenna-in-package device 300 can easily be reworked. Just de-solder the MID lid to access the chip, no on-PCB mold is necessary.

Besides, passive SMDs can be added under the MID lid.

With respect to warpage, no board-to-board connection is needed, the antenna array can be implemented as single-chip lids (small) or multi-chip lids depending on the warpage requirements.

Fig. 4a shows a schematic diagram illustrating the surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant as shown in Figure 3.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120a may be implemented as a single chip lid as shown in the example of Figure 4b or as a multi-chip lid as shown in the examples of Figure 4c and Figure 4d. The lid shape and metal structure allow a periodic modular assembly to form antenna arrays of many sizes as shown below with respect to Figures 4c and 4d.

A component option with parasitic antenna patch on bottom side of the lid (not shown in Figure 4a) allows broader bandwidth.

Fig. 4b shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 400b with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant.

An integration option is shown where the lid shown in Figure 4a is integrated into a PCB cavity, i.e. a cavity 501 of the circuit board 101.

The top surface 121a of the insulating substrate 121 of the surface-mountable antenna device 120a which is mounted in the cavity 501 of the circuit board 101 and the surface 101a of the circuit board 101 are aligned to form a common plane.

The antenna-in-package device 400b comprises one or more conductive layers 104 formed within the circuit board 101 of the antenna-in-package device 400b lateral to the surface-mountable antenna device 120a. These conductive layers 104 are forming an antenna shielding structure.

Conductive vias 105 are placed in the circuit board 101 between the RFIC chip 102 and the heat sink at the bottom side of the circuit board 101 to thermally connect the RFIC chip 102 to the heatsink 103.

Fig. 4c shows a schematic diagram illustrating an array implementation example of an array 400c of antenna-in-package devices with surface-mountable antenna devices 120a of the first variant.

Multiple antenna-in-package devices 300 as shown in Figure 3 are arranged side-by-side in an array structure to form the array 400c of antenna-in-package devices shown in Figure 4c. The surface-mountable antenna devices 120a are directly surface mounted on the surface of the circuit board 101.

Fig. 4d shows a schematic diagram illustrating an array implementation example of an array 400d of antenna-in-package devices with surface-mountable antenna devices 120a of the first variant.

Multiple antenna-in-package devices 400b as shown in Figure 4b are arranged side-by-side in an array structure to form the array 400d of antenna-in-package devices shown in Figure 4d. The surface-mountable antenna devices 120a are embedded in substrate cavities of the circuit board 101.

Fig. 5a shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 500a with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant.

The antenna-in-package device 500a is an alternative version for backside chip integration, i.e. for backside-integration of the chipset (RFIC) . The antenna-in-package device 500a is realized with a substrate cavity 601 on the bottom side of the circuit board 101. The antenna-in-package device 500a can be also combined with feed patches on top of the circuit board 101 (PCB) to improve wideband feeding. The height and thickness of the antenna component can be adapted as needed. The antenna component can be realized with mold (MID) as shown here in Figure 5a or laminate (PCB) , not shown in Figure 5a, both allow selective metallization.

The antenna-in-package device 500a provides the integration option of backside-cavity integration of the RFIC chip 102 with heatsink 103 attachment through thermal interconnect material.

The air-cavity 501 height can be adapted to the antenna need. Even though the main chip 102 is on the backside in this implementation, the cavity 501 may still host one or more components if needed, e.g. antenna filters.

Fig. 5b shows a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary antenna-in-package device 500b with a surface-mountable antenna device 120a of the first variant.

The antenna-in-package device 500b is an alternative version for backside chip integration, i.e. for backside-integration of the chipset (RFIC) . The antenna-in-package device 500a is realized without the substrate cavity 601 shown in Figure 5a on the bottom side of the circuit board 101. The antenna-in-package device 500b can be combined with feed patches 502 on top of the circuit board 101 (PCB) to improve wideband feeding. The height and thickness of the antenna component can be adapted as needed. For example, the cavity 501 of the antenna-in-package device 500b has a greater volume than the cavity 501 of the antenna-in-package device 500a shown in Figure 5a. The antenna component can be realized with mold (MID) as shown here in Figure 5b or laminate (PCB) , not shown in Figure 5b, both allow selective metallization.

The antenna-in-package device 500b provides the integration option of backside-integration of the RFIC chip 102 without cavity. Heatsink 103 may be attached through thermal interconnect material. The antenna component may have adapted thickness and feeding patches on the PCB 101 for wideband tuning.

The air-cavity 501 height can be adapted to the antenna need. Even though the main chip 102 is on the backside in this implementation, the cavity 501 may still host components if needed, e.g. antenna filters.

The antenna-in-package device 500b provides the option of antenna feeding patch 502 on the substrate, i.e. the carrier circuit 101.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an array implementation example 600 of an antenna-in-package devices array 500a with surface-mountable antenna devices 120a of the first variant.

Multiple antenna-in-package devices 500a as shown in Figure 5a are arranged side-by-side in an array structure to form the antenna-in-package devices array 500a shown in Figure 5a. The RFIC chips 102 are embedded in substrate cavities on the bottom side of the circuit board 101.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 700 with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b corresponds to the surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant as shown in Figure 2. The surface-mountable antenna device 120b is mounted in a substrate cavity 501 on the top surface of the circuit board (main PCB) 101 of the antenna-in-package device 700. A heat sink 103 is mounted on the bottom surface of the circuit board 101 which is opposite to the top surface of the circuit board 101. Through-vias 105 are brought in the circuit board 101 to thermally connect the RFIC 102 with a heatsink 103 mounted on a bottom side of the circuit board 101.

Substrate structures 301 are shown by grey patterns and conductors or conductive structures 303 are shown by black areas.

This second variant of the surface-mountable antenna device 120b is an alternative version of the first variant shown in Figure 1. This second variant is using laminate (PCB) technology instead of MID technology. It integrates the feed-ring directly as a cavity 501 using (a) a top-side cavity 501 to host the chip 102, (b) a further board 127 with antenna patches on top as a lid of the cavity 501, and (c) regular vias as vertical interconnects 702 and shielding 104 in-between the chip routing layer and the antenna feed. This way also top-side assembly and single-substrate solution is possible.

The antenna-in-package device 700 with surface-mountable antenna device 120b according to the second variant provides the following technical advantages. Flat, low-cost materials and simpler assembly, less interconnects. Face down flip-chip assembly provides good thermal dissipation. Passive SMDs can be added in the cavity 501. Vertical shielding structures 104 can easily be implemented. High flexibility can be achieved since various antenna types can be attached in a modular and scalable way. Rework can easily be achieved by just de-soldering antenna lid to access the chip, i.e., no mold is necessary.

The antenna-in-package device 700 is tolerance insensitive; vertical tolerances no longer impact the heat dissipation. Motherboard joining can be easily implemented. The surface-mountable antenna device 120b can be attached on top, or directly integrated. With respect to warpage no board-to-board connection is needed, and stiffener structures can be added on top, for example as a co-function as an electro-magnetic isolation grid or at the bottom, e.g. even as a heat sink.

Fig. 8a shows a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary antenna-in-package device 800a with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant.

The surface-mountable antenna device 120b forms an antenna lid covering a single cavity 501 in the circuit board 101. Thermal vias 105 may be implemented to thermally connect the hot chip 102 with the heatsink on the backside (not shown in Figure 8a) .

Fig. 8b shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 800b with another surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant.

A double cavity is implemented in the circuit board 101 of the antenna-in-package device 800b. The surface-mountable antenna device 120b forms an antenna lid covering a first cavity 501 of the circuit board 101. The surface-mountable antenna device 120b is placed in a second cavity 901 of the circuit board 101 that is placed above the first cavity 501. The first cavity 501 may have a length or width smaller than the second cavity 901.

Antenna patches 15a, 125b may be placed on the backside of the surface-mountable antenna device 120b as (i) a design variation, or (ii) to enhance the antenna performance with a double patch implementation (combined with the top-

side patch

122a, 122b) .

Shielding structures 104 may be implemented for electromagnetic shielding.

additional antenna elements

902a, 902b.

The antenna-in-package device 900a is similar to the antenna-in-package device 800b. A

double cavity

901, 501 is implemented in the circuit board 101 of the antenna-in-package device 900a. The surface-mountable antenna device 120b forms an antenna lid covering the first cavity 501 of the circuit board 101. The surface-mountable antenna device 120b is placed in the second cavity 901 of the circuit board 101 that is placed above the first cavity 501. The first cavity 501 may have a length or width smaller than the second cavity 901.

In the antenna-in-package device

900a radiating antennas

902a, 902b are placed on the first

conductive layers

122a, 122b of the surface-mountable antenna device 120b. The build-up structure of the first

conductive layers

122a, 122b can be combined with such

additional antenna elements

902a, 902b, e.g., gain enhancing dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) .

The radiating

antennas

902a, 902b may be broad-side radiating antennas, e.g. realized as patch antennas, aperture coupled antennas, dielectric resonator antennas, etc. For the sake of simplicity, the figure indicates only a patch antenna.

The dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) 902a, 902b is a radio antenna that can be used at microwave frequencies and higher. The

DRA

902a, 902b may consist of a block of ceramic material of various shapes, the dielectric resonator, mounted on a metal surface, a ground plane. Radio waves are introduced into the inside of the resonator material from the transmitter circuit and bounce back and forth between the resonator walls, forming standing waves. The walls of the resonator are partially transparent to radio waves, allowing the radio power to radiate into space.

The radiating

antennas

902a, 902b may also be implemented in connection with the surface mountable antenna device 120a according to the first variant described above with respect to Figures 1 and 3 to 6. In this first variant, the radiating

antennas

902a, 902b may be placed on the first

conductive layers

122a, 122b of the surface-mountable antenna device 120a.

Fig. 9b shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary antenna-in-package device 900b with a surface-mountable antenna device 120b of the second variant comprising two

PCBs

127, 128.

The antenna-in-package device 900b comprises a double cavity 501, 801 with dual antenna lid and air cavity.

The double cavity is implemented in the circuit board 101 of the antenna-in-package device 900b. A first surface-mountable antenna device 120b forms a first antenna lid covering a first cavity 501 of the circuit board 101. The first surface-mountable antenna device 120b is placed in a second cavity 901 of the circuit board 101 that is placed above the first cavity 501. A second surface-mountable antenna device 120b forms a second antenna lid covering the second cavity 901 of the circuit board 101.

The first surface-mountable antenna device 120b comprises a first printed circuit board 127 comprising an insulating substrate and at least one conductive layer as described above with respect to Figure 2. The second surface-mountable antenna device 120b comprises a second printed-circuit board 128 comprising another insulating substrate and another at least one first conductive layer as described above with respect to Figure 2.

The first printed circuit board 127 forms with the circuit board 101 a first air cavity 501 embedding the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102. The second printed-circuit board 128 forms with the first printed-circuit board 127 a second air cavity 901 above the first air cavity 501 and above the radio frequency integrated circuit chip 102.

The antenna structure formed by the at least one first

conductive layer

122a, 122b of the first printed-circuit board 127 and the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b of the second printed-circuit board 128 may be coupled in order to tune an antenna characteristic of the first and second surface-mountable antenna devices 120b.

The first cavity 501 may have a length or width smaller than the second cavity 901.

Multiple substrates with antenna patches can be implemented, also allowing for additional air-cavities in-between them to tune the antenna behavior.

Multiple antenna-in-

package devices

800a, 800b, 900a, 900b as shown in Figures 8a, 8b, 9a and 9b may be arranged side-by-side in an array structure to form the antenna-in-package devices array 1000 shown in Figure 10. The surface-mountable antenna devices 120b may be directly surface mounted on the surface of the circuit board 101 or may be mounted in second air cavities 901 of the circuit board 101 as described above with respect to Figure 9a.

In this array implementation example, the unit cells can be periodically duplicated in both horizontal directions (x-and y-direction) to form arrays of different sizes.

While a particular feature or aspect of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature or aspect may be combined with one or more other features or aspects of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "include" , "have" , "with" , or other variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprise" . Also, the terms "exemplary" , "for example" and "e.g. " are merely meant as an example, rather than the best or optimal. The terms “coupled” and “connected” , along with derivatives may have been used. It should be understood that these terms may have been used to indicate that two elements cooperate or interact with each other regardless whether they are in direct physical or electrical contact, or they are not in direct contact with each other.

Although specific aspects have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific aspects shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific aspects discussed herein.

Although the elements in the following claims are recited in a particular sequence with corresponding labeling, unless the claim recitations otherwise imply a particular sequence for implementing some or all of those elements, those elements are not necessarily intended to be limited to being implemented in that particular sequence.

Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. Of course, those skilled in the art readily recognize that there are numerous applications of the invention beyond those described herein. While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Claims

A surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) which is mountable on a circuit board (101) of an antenna-in-package device (100, 200) , the antenna-in-package device (100, 200) comprising a radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) and an antenna feeding terminal, the surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) comprising:

an insulating substrate (121) comprising a top surface (121a) and a bottom surface (121b) ; and

at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) formed on the top surface (121a) of the substrate (121) , the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) forming an antenna structure,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) is mountable on a surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) and configured to cover a radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) of the antenna-in-package device (100, 200) , and to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of claim 1,

wherein the insulating substrate (121) forms with the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) a single part molded interconnect device.
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of claim 1 or 2, comprising:

at least one second conductive layer (123a, 123b) formed on the bottom surface (121b) of the substrate (121) , the at least one second conductive layer (123a, 123b) forming an antenna feed structure.
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of claim 3, comprising:

at least one third conductive layer (124a, 124b) formed on at least one lateral surface of the substrate (121) , the at least one third conductive layer (124a, 124b) forming an antenna shielding structure.
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of claim 3 or 4,

configured to form a lid for covering the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of claim 5, wherein the lid comprises:

a plate (126a) configured to be arranged above the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) ; and

side walls (126b, 126c) configured to mount the surface-mountable antenna device (120a) on the surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of claim 5 or 6,

wherein the lid is configured to form with the substrate (121) an air cavity (501) embedding the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of claim 7,

wherein a height of the air cavity (501) is variable according to design requirements.
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of any of claims 6 to 8,

wherein the at least one second conductive layer (123a, 123b) is formed on a bottom surface (121b) of the plate (126a) , formed on an inner surface of at least one of the side walls (126b, 126c) and formed on a bottom surface of the at least one side wall (126b, 126c) to form a step or ramp-like profile.
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of any of claims 6 to 9,

wherein the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) is formed on a top surface (121a) of the plate (126a) of the lid, and at least one fourth conductive layer is formed on a bottom surface (121b) of the plate (126a) opposite to the top surface (121a) , the at least one fourth conductive layer forming another antenna structure coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of any of claims 6 to 9,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device (120a) is configured to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) which is mounted on a top surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) or mounted on a backside surface (101b) of the circuit board (101) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a) of any of the preceding claims,

wherein the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) is capacitively coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120b) of claim 1, comprising:

a printed-circuit board (127) forming the insulating substrate (121) and the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120b) of claim 13,

configured to cover the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) which is arranged in an air cavity (501) of the surface of the circuit board (101) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120b) of claim 13 or 14, comprising:

at least one second conductive layer (123a, 123b) formed on the bottom surface (121b) of the substrate (121) , the at least one second conductive layer forming another antenna structure coupled with the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120b) of any of claims 13 to 15, comprising:

a second printed-circuit board (128) , forming another insulating substrate and another at least one first conductive layer;

wherein the printed circuit board (127) is configured to form with the circuit board (101) a first air cavity (501) embedding the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) ; and

wherein the second printed-circuit board (128) is configured to form with the printed-circuit board (127) a second air cavity (901) above the first air cavity (501) and above the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120b) of any of claims 13 to 16,

wherein the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) of the printed-circuit board (127) and the antenna structure formed by the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) of the second printed-circuit board (128) are coupled in order to tune an antenna characteristic of the surface-mountable antenna device (120b) .
The surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) of any of the preceding claims, comprising:

at least one radiating antenna (902a, 902b) , placed on the at least one first conductive layer (122a, 122b) .
An antenna-in-package device (100, 200) , comprising:

a circuit board (101) ;

a radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) mounted on a surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) ;

an antenna feeding terminal; and

a surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) according to any of claims 1 to 18, mounted on the surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) and covering the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) ,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device (120a, 120b) is configured to connect to the antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip (102) .
The antenna-in-package device (100) of claim 19,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device (120a) is a surface-mountable antenna device (120a) according to any of claims 1 to 12,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device (120a) is mounted in a cavity of the surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) .
The antenna-in-package device (100) of claim 20,

wherein the top surface (121a) of the insulating substrate (121) of the surface-mountable antenna device (120a) which is mounted in the cavity of the circuit board (101) and the surface (101a) of the circuit board (101) are aligned to form a common plane.
The antenna-in-package device (200) of claim 19,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device (120b) is a surface-mountable antenna device (120b) according to any of claims 13 to 18,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device (120b) comprises at least one third conductive layer (104) formed within the circuit board (101) of the antenna-in-package device (200) lateral to the printed-circuit board, the at least one third conductive layer (104) forming an antenna shielding structure.
An antenna-in-package array device, comprising:

a plurality of antenna-in-package devices (100, 200) according to any of claims 19 to 22 arranged as an array on a common circuit board (101) .
A method for producing a surface-mountable antenna device, the method comprising:

providing an insulating substrate comprising a top surface and a bottom surface; and

forming at least one first conductive layer on the top surface of the substrate, the at least one first conductive layer forming an antenna structure.
A method for producing an antenna-in-package device, the method comprising:

mounting a surface-mountable antenna device on a surface of a circuit board;

covering a radio frequency integrated circuit chip of the antenna-in-package device by the surface-mountable antenna device; and

connecting the surface-mountable antenna device to an antenna feeding terminal of the radio frequency integrated circuit chip.
The method of claim 24 or 25,

wherein the surface-mountable antenna device comprises a surface-mountable antenna device according to any of claims 1 to 18.
A computer program product including computer executable code or computer executable instructions that, when executed, causes at least one computer to execute the method according to any of claims 24 to 26.