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suitable for a device operating at 28GHz
or 39GHz. But the question mark remains
on the device efficiency, as the power
amplifier must drive enough power (15 to
20dBm) to comply with the device radiation
power requirements. The antenna array is
small (4x1 elements), therefore the gain is
relatively low. We can expect innovation to
solve this issue. In addition, mmWave AiP
will also benefit from the roll out of high-
Figure 2: Tomographic imaging of the AiP module for 5G mmWave (left) and integration in the Samsung Galaxy density small cells that network providers
S10 5G US (right). must create to deliver the service.
The second type of antenna is made up of 5G customer premises equipment (CPE)
four dual-polarized antenna patches. The for fixed wireless access (Inseego, Netgear, AiP footprint to extend with radar-
four patches are built on the top part of the etc.). It could also certainly extend to tablets based HMI
laminate substrate. A complex routing from and laptops soon. Previous attempts for AiP technology not only found application
the transceiver down to these antennas AiP integration in consumer products had in the broadband communication use case,
through the package substrate ensures been made through the 60GHz WiGig but also in wireless sensing. Infineon and
efficient radiation by the antennas for all the technology, however with less emphasis Google set the stage with a human-machine
supported frequency bands. than 5G. For the WiGig technology, interface (HMI) feature based on radar
The second generation of AiP has no Qualcomm co-developed with Murata a sensing through the Soli project [9]. The
dipole antenna. Indeed, the removal of double-sided molding technology for the two companies joined forces to include a
the dipole area enabled a 20% form factor baseband processor, and created the first revolutionary gesture control system based
reduction, so it can be easily integrated AiP device for a cell phone using a laminate on radar sensing in a flagship phone for the
into the phone case. The cost also has substrate, a single mold, copper pillar, and first time. Indeed, the Pixel 4 is equipped
been reduced by 10%. To achieve this through-molding vias (TMV) [8]. with an AiP radar sensor beside the front
breakthrough technology, Qualcomm It’s worth noting that system-on-chip camera module, as shown in Figure 4.
worked with its OSAT partners: Siliconware (SoC) market leaders Qualcomm, Intel, The 60GHz broadband radar technology
Precision Industries Co., Ltd. (SPIL) and HiSilicon, Samsung, and MediaTek, are measures velocity and distance from objects
Amkor Technology, Inc. paving the way for 5G mmWave AiP in the millimeter range, while the power
Verizon 5G UWB is a starting point and targeting the consumer market. The analog consumption is in the milliwatt range.
anticipates that other carriers will roll out domain is investing in the RF world for such Motion sensing is then converted into
5G mmWave services worldwide. Therefore, applications. Indeed, advanced technology wireless control functions thanks to machine
the AiP market for mobile handsets is poised nodes, such as 28nm CMOS, enable a learning. This technology could extend
for substantial growth in the next five years good compromise between cost, size and far beyond the mobile phone throughout
[7] as depicted in Figure 3. performance for the transceiver, which the consumer market, for instance in TV
We can expect 5G mmWave AiP also includes the RF front end in that case. sets, gaming, smartwatches, headsets,
development will not only be of benefit to The high cutoff frequency in the range of etc., for which a camera-based HMI is less
mobile phones, as it can also be found in 250GHz makes this type of technology applicable than a radar-based one.

AiP: industrial, automotive and
medical
The consumer market is not the only
one in which AiP technology can apply.
Indeed, it also makes sense in industrial
applications such as building automation,
factory automation, traffic monitoring, and
so forth. For example, a tiny radar sensor
with integrated antennas could easily be
included in a light pole for vehicle counting,
thereby helping in optimizing traffic
management. The same concept could also
apply for automatic door opening, counting
people in buildings, and detecting their
presence. Radar sensing has some technical
advantages to compete with legacy imaging
and infrared technologies, but the form
factor and the overall system cost could not
Figure 3: RF Front end market forecast for mobile handset – new market opportunities for AiP. SOURCE: [7]

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