Voltage regulation integrated circuit (IC) with circuit components in an integrated three-dimensional (3D) inductor core and related methods of fabrication

• Main Authors: SHENOY, RAVINDRA VAMAN, GOUSEV, EVGENI, CHIDAMBARAM, PERIANNAN, SHAH, MILIND, KIM, JONGHAE
• Format: Patent
• Language: Chinese; English
• Published: 16.01.2022
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; INDUCTANCES; MAGNETS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; TRANSFORMERS

Reducing the space occupied by a voltage regulation integrated circuit (IC) that includes an inductor is achieved by implementing the inductor as a 3D inductor having windings formed of conductive elements integrated into a lower substrate, a circuit layer, and an upper substrate, and positioning other components within a core space of the 3D inductor in the circuit layer. The space occupied by the inductor is shared with the other circuit components and with the structural layers of the voltage regulation IC. A voltage regulation IC may be a switched-mode power supply (SMPS) that includes an inductor with a capacitor and/or a switching circuit. The inductor is implemented as upper horizontal traces in an upper substrate, lower horizontal traces in a lower substrate, and vertical interconnects in a circuit layer between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, and the conductive elements form the 3D inductor as a rectangular coil.