The world's smallest radio frequency (RF) integrated circuit packaging solution has been claimed by Avago Technologies Ltd. (San Jose, Calif.)--a spin-off of Agilent Technologies (which was a spin-off of Hewlett Packard). Avago claims its WaferCap is the industry's first wafer-level chip-scale packaging (CSP) technology, squeezing RF chips into a 1-by-.5-by.25 millimeter leadless "0402"-size package, more familiar as the form factor for surface-mount technology (SMT) capacitors.
The first in Avago's growing family of 0402-packaged chips is the world's smallest RF amplifier, available in five frequencies ranging from 500 MHz to 12 GHz, but the company claims its packaging can go as high as 100 GHz. Other RF devices on Avago's list of candidates for the tiny 0402 package include analog and digital attenuators, broadband detectors, bypass- and high-gain amplifiers, octave-band detectors, gain blocks and RF switches.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207601599
