Pattern Density Effect on Characteristics of Spiral Inductor with Patterned Ground Shield

Abstract

In this paper, we describe the pattern density effect on the characteristics of a spiral inductor with a patterned ground shield (PGS) fabricated using complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The inductance of the inductor is nearly constant for various pattern densities owing to the constant magnetic energy of the electromagnetic wave stored in the inductor. The quality factor of the inductor at a substrate resistivity ≥ 10 Ω·cm is maximum at a pattern density where the energy loss in the inductor is minimum because the energy loss in the silicon substrate decreases and the energy loss in the PGS increases as pattern density increases. In contrast, the quality factor of the inductor at a substrate resistivity of 10 mΩ·cm slightly decreases as pattern density increases owing to a slight increase in the energy loss in the inductor.