Spiral Inductors Research Articles

INCAPE23-Design of Class E CMOS Power Amplifier with Integrated Active Inductor for 5G Applications

This paper presents a design of class E power amplifier (PA) with integrated active inductor for 5G applications. A high Q-factor active inductor (AI) is proposed utilizing CMOS 0.18-µm technology. A Gyrator-C based is employed to realize an active inductor with a double cascode resistive feedback configuration. The biasing voltage of 1.21 V, current source of 0.5 mA and supply voltage of 2.5 V is used. In order to obtain high efficiency, the proposed AI is implemented in a class E power amplifier by replacing on of the spiral inductors. According to the simulation results, the proposed AI can reach a high Q-factor of 50,000 and an inductance of 2.03 nH at 3.5 GHz. The power added efficiency (PAE) of CMOS class E PA with integrated AI, according to simulation result, is 72 % at 3.5 GHz. The intended PA's PAE was dramatically raised by the class E AI that was built.

Electromagnetic Fields Calculation and Optimization of Structural Parameters for Axial and Radial Helical Air-Core Inductors

To improve the current density distribution and electromagnetic performance of air-core inductors, a structural optimization method combining back-propagation(BP) neural network and genetic algorithm(GA) is proposed for the study of axial and radial spiral multi-winding inductors. The Monte Carlo method was used to extract the structural size samples of the inductors, and the training dataset was obtained through the finite element calculation of electromagnetic fields. Based on BP neural networks, nonlinear mapping models between the inductance value, volumetric inductance density, current distribution non-uniformity coefficient, and inductor structural parameters were constructed. A sensitivity analysis of the inductor inductance value affected by the structural parameters was conducted using the Sobol index calculation. Using the current distribution non-uniformity coefficient as the fitness function and the volumetric inductance density as the constraint condition, a genetic algorithm was applied to globally optimize the structural parameters of the inductor. The optimization results were verified through a finite element comparison. The results show that, under the requirement of satisfying the volumetric inductance density, the current distribution non-uniformity coefficient of the Axial Helical Inductor (AHI)-type inductor was reduced by 4.57% compared with the best sample in the sampling, while that of the Radial Helical Inductor (RHI)-type inductor was reduced by 5.33%, demonstrating the practicality of the BP-GA joint algorithm in the structural optimization design of inductors.

Experimental analysis of irregularly shaped octagonal on-chip inductors for improving area-efficiency in CMOS RFICs for millimeter wave applications

This article deals with the analysis of irregularly shaped single turn octagonal spiral inductors for millimeter-wave and sub-THz CMOS IC designs. Simulations and experimental results, along with theoretical formulations, are used to characterize these irregular structures. This article proposes a novel approach for efficient use of silicon chip area by reshaping the on-chip inductors used in millimeter wave (mm-wave) applications without compromising the performance of the inductors. Especially in CMOS RFICs when a space constraint exists in either X- or Y-direction in their layout, such reshaping can be attempted. Moreover, two novel methods of reshaping the inductors are proposed and studied thoroughly. The study of these irregular shapes has interesting conclusions, which are validated through on-wafer measurements. Certain methods of reshaping result in inductors which do not have degradation in their quality factors (Q), while other approaches degrade the Q. Based on these insights, a design methodology is proposed for designers who need to reshape their inductors to irregular structures while not compromising on the quality factor. The measurement results agree with the simulations and prove that the proposed reshaping is practically possible.

Hybrid Aerosol Jet Printing and Electrodeposition of Ferrite-Sandwiched Inductors

The additive manufacturing (AM) of inductors of suitable size to be integrated into packaged electronics is attractive to customize the device characteristics for the specific application. Magnetic ferrite cores are widely used in conventional inductors, however, wire wound inductors can be brittle, heavy, bulky. Planar spiral inductors in a sandwich configuration present a promising alternative. Aerosol jet printing, a direct write AM technology, can deposit metal inks at a resolution of < 10 µm. Metal nanoparticle inks have limited conductivity at < 40% bulk. Building a higher profile may result in loss of resolution. Electrodeposition offers the ability to plate thick layers of highly conductive metals, including copper and nickel which are normally hard to access as nanoparticle inks compatible with aerosol jetting. We have previously shown the construction of a multi-layer flyback transformer with this hybrid aerosol jet and electrodeposition method. [1]We present a three-layer planar inductor with the first layer being a 1.3mm stack of ferrite sheets (Fair-Rite) with a 9 mm x 9 mm footprint integrated onto a circuit board. The intermediate layer consists of a spiral inductor made by aerosol jet printing UTDots Ag40X silver nanoparticle ink as the seed layer. To achieve high accuracy, the inductor was printed with a rotary axis stage. Electrodeposition in an acidic CuSO4 plating bath on top of the Ag seed layer resulted in thicknesses of 50 µm. A submicron layer of Ni is added for oxidation protection by electrodeposition from a Ni-Sulfamate bath. Lastly, a top 1.3 mm ferrite stack, with laser cut holes, is added to provide pass throughs for wire bonding. Figure 1 shows a micrograph of an inductor as printed, after electrodeposition, and with the top ferrite layer. Electrical measurements including impedance characteristics will be presented.SNL is managed and operated by NTESS under DOE NNSA contract DE-NA0003525. The SAND No. is SAND2023-14571A.Figure 1. Construction of a ferrite-sandwiched inductor with (a) the aerosol jet printing of an Ag seed layer, (b) after electroplating of Cu and Ni.

Cooling Optimization of Integrated Planar Spiral Inductor with Heat Sink

Cooling Optimization of Integrated Planar Spiral Inductor with Heat Sink

A Geometrically Scalable Lumped Model for Spiral Inductors in Radio Frequency GaN Technology on Silicon

This paper presents a lumped scalable model for spiral inductors in a radio frequency (RF) gallium nitride (GaN) technology on silicon substrate. The model has been developed by exploiting electromagnetic (EM) simulations of geometrically scaled spiral inductors. To this aim, the technology substrate, i.e., the metal back-end-of-line along with dielectric and semiconductor layers of the adopted GaN process, has been validated by means of experimental data and then used to define the EM simulator set-up for the spiral inductors. The proposed model adopts a simple π-topology with only seven lumped components and predicts inductor performance in terms of inductance, quality factor (Q-factor) and self-resonance frequency (SRF) for a large range of geometrical parameters of the spiral (i.e., number of turns, metal width, inner diameter).

Development of a passive wireless sensor for fluidic detection and characterization utilizing the PCB-based coplanar electrode (PCE) configuration

During the global economic development, there's a growing focus on healthcare, especially in the advancement of medical diagnostic technologies, with a significant emphasis on glucose level evaluation. Glucose biosensors, predominantly electrochemical, have evolved over four generations, with the first three being enzyme-based and known for sensitivity and cost-effectiveness, albeit with limitations due to environmental susceptibility and reliance on enzyme activity. Recent advancements in non-invasive blood glucose monitoring, utilizing optical, microwave, and electrochemical techniques, offer diverse benefits without tissue penetration. Among these, impedance sensing stands out due to its flexibility and integration capability in handheld devices. This study proposes a wireless passive impedance method leveraging the inductor-capacitor (LC) sensing technique and PCB (Printed Circuit Board)-based coplanar electrode (PCE) configuration for fluidic sample detection. The proposed system integrates a two-coplanar-electrode layout with a square spiral inductor to assess fluidic conductivity and characterize various fluid types within samples. The effectiveness of this configuration was validated through experiments with NaCl and glucose solutions, confirming the feasibility of integrating PCB-based coplanar electrodes into conventional LC passive wireless sensing designs for fluidic detection and characterization.

Enhancing the quality factor of aerosol jet printed RF spiral inductors through gold electroplating

Aerosol jet printing (AJP) outperforms inkjet printing by significantly reducing printed line width, effectively addressing issues such as bulging and surface irregularities. This technology allows for line widths as narrow as 10–100 μm with high aspect ratios, making it well-suited for radio frequency (RF) applications. Consequently, AJP emerges as a valuable tool for direct printing in RF applications. Among conductive inks, silver nanoparticle (Ag-NP) ink is preferred for its straightforward direct printing process and lower sintering temperature requirements. However, the conductivity of printed Ag NP traces falls markedly below that of bulk silver due to significant porosity, limiting its use in RF applications where a high-quality factor is essential. The quality factor of an inductor, indicative of its efficiency in energy storage and release, inversely correlates with its resistance. Our research combines AJP with selective electroplating to reduce the resistance of printed traces, thereby enhancing the inductor’s quality factor for RF applications. We fabricated spiral inductors on alumina substrates using silver NP ink and subsequently applied selective gold electroplating to these traces. This approach led to a significant increase in the inductors’ quality factor, improving it by a factor of 3–5 in the RF frequency range of 100–700 MHz.

Flexible Mini‐Inductors with Ultra‐High Inductance Density Directly Cut from Soft Magnetic Amorphous Alloys by Femtosecond Laser

AbstractInductors are indispensable parts in power modules of electronic devices. With the rapid development of flexible and wearable electronic devices, developing flexible micro‐inductors with large energy storage has become an urgent task. In this research, a sophisticated femtosecond laser ablation technique is employed to craft circular spiral mini‐inductors via selective etching of soft magnetic amorphous alloy ribbons. Remarkably, while these inductors possess dimensions akin to human fingerprints, they demonstrate an impressively elevated inductance value of ≈1.15 µH at 1 MHz. The inductance density is ≈280–390 nH mm−2, which is ≈10 times larger than conventional circular spiral inductors and is attributed to the high permeability of the amorphous alloys. Furthermore, the inductors showcase commendable flexibility, marked by stellar elasticity and a bending endurance exceeding 2500 cycles, thanks to the amorphous alloys' superior elastic strain limit. When integrated with an LM2576‐3.3BT buck converter, the fabricated inductor achieved a peak power conversion efficiency nearing 70%. These findings underscore the potential of such flexible mini‐inductors in the landscape of flexible electronics.

On thermal characterization method of integrated magnetic components

The operating temperature of integrated magnetic components can be critical. Excessively high temperature can significantly modify the properties of components, especially those of magnetic material, such as saturation magnetization and magnetic permeability. This article introduces an experimental characterization method using two different sensors. We compare the results obtained from these sensors. Initially, the method is validated using a “meander component, and subsequently, it is applied to planar spiral inductors, both with and without magnetic material.

Modeling and Simulation of a Planar Permanent Magnet On-Chip Power Inductor

The on-chip integration of a power inductor together with other power converter components of small sizes and high-saturation currents, while maintaining a desired or high inductance value, is here pursued. The use of soft magnetic cores increases inductance density but results in a reduced saturation current. This article presents a 3D physical model and a magnetic circuit model for an integrated on-chip power inductor (OPI) to double the saturation current using permanent magnet (PM) material. A ~50 nH, 7.5 A spiral permanent magnet on-chip power inductor (PMOI) is here designed, and a 3D physical model is then developed and simulated using the ANSYS®/Maxwell® software package (version 2017.1). The 3D physical model simulation results agree with the presented magnetic circuit model, and show that in the example PMOI design, the addition of the PM increases the saturation current of the OPI from 4 A to 7.5 A, while the size and inductance value remain unchanged.

Fully Integrated Pneumatic-Free and Magnet-Free CMOS Ferrofluidic Platform for Comprehensive Biomolecular Processing.

This article presents a fully integrated CMOS ferrofluidic platform featuring on-chip three-electrode electrochemical cells, temperature regulators, and magnetic sensors. The proposed platform consists of 25 ferrofluidic pixels and 2 magnetic sensors. Each ferrofluidic pixel comprises a spiral inductor, a three-electrode electrochemical cell, a temperature sensor, and a localized Joule heater. Unlike pneumatic-based platforms, this ferrofluidic platform does not require an external pneumatic pump to drive droplets. Instead, the on-chip spiral inductors generate magnetic fields to manipulate the ferrofluidic droplets. Additionally, these inductors are repurposed as heat radiators. The CMOS ferrofluidic platform is implemented using a 45-nm CMOS SOI process. Theoretical analyses of ferrofluidic control and magnetic sensing are conducted to understand the relationship between ferrofluidic movement conditions and the integrated magnetic sensor. The on-chip electrochemical potentiostat is characterized using various concentrations of methylene blue solution, and the variation in the electrochemical sensor is measured. As proof of concept, biological measurements with on-chip real-time recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) are demonstrated. The proposed platform offers a fully integrated solution for ferrofluidic manipulation, sensing, and temperature regulation without the need for external bulky equipment, thereby supporting advanced biomolecular processing. While RT-RPA is used here solely for demonstration purposes, our ferrofluidic multi-functional CMOS array platform is also capable of processing a wide range of other molecular analytes. This versatility underscores the platform's potential for broad applications in molecular diagnostics and bioanalytical research.

Omnidirectional Monolithic Marker for Intra-Operative MR-Based Positional Sensing in Closed MRI.

We present a design of an inductively coupled radio frequency (ICRF) marker for magnetic resonance (MR)-based positional tracking, enabling the robust increase of tracking signal at all scanning orientations in quadrature-excited closed MR imaging (MRI). The marker employs three curved resonant circuits fully covering a cylindrical surface that encloses the signal source. Each resonant circuit is a planar spiral inductor with parallel plate capacitors fabricated monolithically on flexible printed circuit board (FPC) and bent to achieve the curved structure. Size of the constructed marker is Ø3-mm ×5 -mm with quality factor > 22, and its tracking performance was validated with 1.5 T MRI scanner. As result, the marker remains as a high positive contrast spot under 360° rotations in 3 axes. The marker can be accurately localized with a maximum error of 0.56 mm under a displacement of 56 mm from the isocenter, along with an inherent standard deviation of 0.1-mm. Accrediting to the high image contrast, the presented marker enables automatic and real-time tracking in 3D without dependency on its orientation with respect to the MRI scanner receive coil. In combination with its small form-factor, the presented marker would facilitate robust and wireless MR-based tracking for intervention and clinical diagnosis. This method targets applications that can involve rotational changes in all axes (X-Y-Z).

Daring to Put 400 Spiral Inductors on a Chip: Deog-Kyoon Jeong’s inspiration and encouragement that made the impossible possible

Daring to Put 400 Spiral Inductors on a Chip: Deog-Kyoon Jeong’s inspiration and encouragement that made the impossible possible

Design of Pulse Spiral Inductor Wound by Rectangular Cross-section Wire

Design of Pulse Spiral Inductor Wound by Rectangular Cross-section Wire

Compact high directivity branch‐line hybrid using distributed realization of lumped elements

AbstractThis letter presents a compact high directivity branch‐line hybrid. The proposed hybrid is designed using a symmetrical ‐shaped structure, which incorporates a symmetrical ‐equivalent circuit. The ‐structure comprises one series low‐impedance line and two shunt high‐impedance stubs. The low‐impedance line is realized using a ‐equivalent circuit consisting of two spiral inductors and one patch capacitor. A detailed analytical design procedure is developed. A prototype hybrid is fabricated on FR‐4 substrate and the measured ‐parameters are in close agreement with the simulated results. The proposed hybrid has a compact size with 54% area reduction compared to a conventional branch‐line hybrid. In addition, the hybrid achieves 43 dB directivity at its center frequency of 0.9 GHz.

Enhanced bandwidth of a lateral-pin Ge/Si avalanche photodiode using inductive gain peaking

Lateral-pin germanium silicon avalanche photodiodes (APDs) offer great potential for improving performance, cost-effectiveness, and versatile production processes for large-capacity data communication applications. However, excessive avalanche multiplication noise limits the increase in bandwidth. In this study, we propose and design the integrated peaking inductors to enhance the bandwidth of a lateral pin Ge/Si APD without compromising the direct current (DC) characteristics. By introducing the spiral inductor to counteract the capacitive effect of APD, the RF output power at high frequency can be effectively increased, thus improving the photodiode bandwidth. The impact of different sizes of inductors and APDs on the performance was experimentally investigated. The resulting APDs, with Ge lengths of 20μm (Ge20) and 45μm (Ge45), provided low dark currents of 11 nA and 27 nA, and primary responsivities of 0.85 A/W and 1.05 A/W at −1 V, respectively. A small inductor (375 pH) exhibited greater bandwidth enhancement than a large inductor (622 pH) and the Ge20 APD achieved a bandwidth of up to 78 GHz. For the larger Ge45 APD, the bandwidth was maintained above 50 GHz, even close to the breakdown voltage, and a high gain-bandwidth product of up to 609 GHz was calculated by an avalanche multiplication gain of 11.7. This result may provide ideas for balancing the speed and sensitivity of lateral-pin APDs used in high-speed optical communications.

180 nm NMOS voltage-controlled oscillator for phase-locked loop applications

&lt;p&gt;The voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is the primary device in the phase-locked loop (PLL) to produce the local oscillator frequency. The excessive phase noise of VCOs is the primary cause of PLL performance loss. This paper proposes the design and optimization of low phase noise and low power consumption for a 180 nm N-channel metal-oxide semiconductor NMOS VCO for PLL applications with P-channel metal-oxide semiconductor PMOS varactors and spiral inductors. At 2 V supply voltage, the optimized NMOS VCO has a power consumption of 21 mW, a phase noise of -130 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset and a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 3.9%. The proposed design is verified by PSpice simulations. A new criterion is proposed for optimizing NMOS LC oscillators.&lt;/p&gt;

Automatic Design of Planar Spiral Inductors Based on Improved Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

Aiming at the low design efficiency of planar spiral inductors in Integrated Passive Devices (IPD), a design scheme for automatically searching the optimal parameters of planar spiral inductors is presented based on the Improved Artificial Bee Colony (IABC) algorithm. By improving the single π model, the universality of the inductor equivalent model is improved, and the extracted model is convenient for the parameter optimization of the inductor. The artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is improved by introducing multi-neighborhood topology (MNT) and modification rate mechanism, which greatly improves the optimization efficiency of the original algorithm. The optimization parameters of the improved algorithm are simulated in ADS, and the results are consistent with the multiple design cases of planar spiral inductors, which verifies the effectiveness of the algorithm. The improved algorithm significantly improves the design efficiency of the planar spiral inductor, making the design time of a single inductor only in seconds, and the accuracy rate is more than 90%.

Fabrication of CoFeB–SiO2 Films With Large Uniaxial Anisotropy by Facing Target Sputtering and its Application to High-Frequency Planar-Type Spiral Inductors

Fabrication of CoFeB–SiO₂ Films With Large Uniaxial Anisotropy by Facing Target Sputtering and its Application to High-Frequency Planar-Type Spiral Inductors