Ultra-Thin Silicon Chips for Submillimeter-Wave Applications

We present a process for fabricating ultra-thin silicon chips for submillimeter-wave mixing applications using SOI (Silicon On Insulator) wafers. Such chips allow the profile of the mixer substrate to be minimized within the microstrip channel, thereby simplifying RF design considerations and minimizing machining constraints. The chips feature gold beam leads, RF filter structures, and hot-electron bolometers as the non-linear element.