Novel Parallel Resonance Peak Measurement and Lossy Transmission Line Modeling of 2-T and 3-T MLCC Capacitors for PDN Application

Abstract

Multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are one of the main energy storage components for an electronics power distribution network (PDN). The most important performance band of an MLCC capacitor is not at the series resonant frequency (SRF), but at the higher frequency where it forms a parallel resonant peak with its mounted inductance and the on-die capacitance or power plane capacitance. The properties of the all-important resonant peak are determined by the frequency dependent series inductance and resistance of the mounted MLCC capacitor. MLCC capacitors traditionally measured with a fixture, introduce inaccuracy in the series inductance and resistance from improper fixture de-embedding. A new technique called Parallel Resonance Frequency (PRF) measurement is proposed to accurately extract the series inductance and resistance by utilizing a controlled plane cavity LC resonance measured with well-defined fixtures. Measured impedances are characterized by using a Lossy-Transmission Line (LTL) model to estimate parameters including frequency dependent series inductance and resistance. Finally, case studies using both commercially available 2-T and 3-T capacitors have successfully demonstrated the accuracy of the methodology.