Antenna in package with reduced electromagnetic interaction with on chip elements

Abstract

A IC package for a wireless device includes an antenna that is attached to the chip. The electrically conductive elements of the antenna are spaced away from the antenna and particularly the endpoint of the antenna to prevent interference with the antenna. An element on the IC package may he shielded antenna. The antenna may have the shape of a space-filling curve, including a Hilbert, box-counting or grid dimension curve.

1 . An integrated circuit package for an electronic device comprising:
 a substrate having a mounting area for an integrated circuit die;   a set of electrical conductors provided on the substrate for connection between the die and external package connectors;   a set of electrically inert fixation pads to provide mechanical connections between the package and a printed circuit board on which the package is mounted;   an antenna comprising a feeding point, a proximal end, and a distal end, wherein the proximal end is closer than the distal end to the feeding point;   wherein the electrical conductors are provided on the substrate outside a projection area of the antenna;   a ground plane that is spaced away from the antenna so that no part of the ground plane falls in the projection of the antenna;   wherein the antenna is arranged on the substrate so that the distal end is farther than the proximal end to an edge of the ground plane; and   wherein at least one or more fixation pads are positioned in the projection area of the antenna.   
     
     
         2 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a second set of electrical conductors provided on the substrate, coupled to a ground potential;   wherein at least some elements of the second set of electrical conductors are positioned on the substrate in the projection area of the antenna but only within a distance from a feedpoint of the antenna that is less than: 1) one-fifth of a side length of the integrated circuit package and 2) one-sixtieth of a free-space operating wavelength of the antenna.   
     
     
         3 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a metallic shielding structure configured to be coupled to a ground potential;   wherein the metallic shielding structure is positioned within the integrated circuit package to electrically isolate the integrated circuit die from the antenna.   
     
     
         4 . An integrated circuit package, comprising:
 a substrate having an area for mounting an integrated circuit die;   an antenna provided on the substrate, having a projection area;   a set of electrical conductors for carrying data signals for the integrated circuit die;   wherein the electrical conductors are provided on the substrate in an area formed by the union of:
 a) a sub-area outside the projection area of the antenna, and 
 b) a sub-area inside the projection area of the antenna and also inside an area that is a distance from a feedpoint of the antenna less than: 1) one-half of a side length of the integrated circuit package and 2) one-twenty-fourth of a free-space operating wavelength of the antenna. 
   
     
     
         5 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 4 , wherein the electrical conductors of said set of electrical conductors are selected from the group consisting of pads, pins, tracks, and ground planes. 
     
     
         6 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 1 , wherein the antenna is located along one edge of a first side of the integrated circuit package, and the electrical conductors of the set of electrical conductors are closer than the antenna to an opposite edge of the integrated circuit package. 
     
     
         7 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 1 , wherein the antenna is located along two edges that form a corner on a first side of the integrated circuit package, and the electrical conductors of the set of electrical conductors are closer than the antenna to an opposite corner of the integrated circuit package. 
     
     
         8 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 1 , wherein the electrical conductors of the set of electrical conductors are spaced away from the antenna by at least about 1 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the antenna forms a space-filling curve. 
     
     
         10 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 9 , wherein the portion of the antenna forms a curve selected from the group of: a Hilbert curve, a box-counting curve, and a grid-dimension curve. 
     
     
         11 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 1 , wherein the ground plane is spaced away from the antenna by at least 2.5 mm. 
     
     
         12 . An integrated circuit package for an electronic device comprising:
 a substrate having a mounting area for an integrated circuit die;   a set of electrical conductors provided on the substrate for connection between the die and external package connectors;   an antenna provided on the substrate, wherein the electrical conductors are provided on the substrate outside a projection area of the antenna; and   a ground plane provided on the substrate, wherein the ground plane is spaced away from the antenna by at least the greater of one-quarter of a side length of the integrated circuit package and one-fiftieth of a free-space operating wavelength of the antenna, so that no part of the ground plane falls in the projection of the antenna.   
     
     
         13 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 1 , wherein an edge of the ground plane nearest the distal end of the antenna is chamfered so that an edge of the ground plane nearest the distal end of the antenna is farther from the antenna than the edge of the ground plane nearest the proximal end of the antenna. 
     
     
         14 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 12 , wherein the antenna is located along two edges that form a corner on a first side of the integrated circuit package, and the electrical conductors of the set of electrical conductors are closer than the antenna to an opposite corner of the integrated circuit package. 
     
     
         15 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 12 , wherein the ground plane is a first ground plane in an analog domain that is internal to the integrated circuit package; and wherein the integrated circuit package comprises a second ground plane in a digital domain that is internal to the integrated circuit package. 
     
     
         16 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 15 , wherein the digital ground plane is located closer to an end point of the antenna in comparison to a proximity of the analog ground plane to the end point of the antenna. 
     
     
         17 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 16 , wherein the first ground plane is an RF ground plane. 
     
     
         18 . The integrated circuit package according to  claim 1 , wherein the integrated circuit package is mounted on a printed circuit board (“PCB”) including a PCB ground plane; and wherein the integrated circuit package is mounted at a corner of the PCB, with the distal end of the antenna near an edge of the corner. 
     
     
         19 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 18 , wherein the PCB ground plane includes a first protrusion that is located in a projection area of the integrated circuit package. 
     
     
         20 . The integrated circuit package of  claim 19 , wherein the PCB ground plane further comprises a second protrusion that is located adjacent to a projection area of the integrated circuit package.