부산대학교 도서관

Enhancing the integration of directional couplers is a crucial challenge in the design of wireless communication circuits and systems. This article proposes a design strategy based on through-silicon via (TSV) insertion and neuro-transfer function (Neuro-TF) modeling to achieve miniaturization of coupled-line couplers. By embedding coupled TSV pairs inside the substrate, a planar coupler can be transformed into a 3-D structure with a smaller footprint. Furthermore, a design flow is proposed to achieve the initial parameters of TSV insertion for various application scenarios. Two insertion schemes with regular and coaxial TSVs are applied to handle different requirements and process constraints. The flow also estimates the number of required TSV pairs based on the area reduction target. To reduce dependence on electromagnetic (EM) simulation and make the strategy more widely applicable to various coupler types, Neuro-TF modeling is utilized for optimization after the initial design. Subsequently, the compatibility between the TSV insertion flow and the Neuro-TF method is analyzed to develop a comprehensive miniaturization strategy. The approach has been validated by two design cases through EM simulations. The results indicate that the proposed strategy enables rapid design and achieves area reduction targets effectively.