Integrated inductor for integrated circuit devices

• US 10,256,286 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2017
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Duevel, Andreas, Kamgaing, Telesphor, Rao, Valluri R., Zillmann, Uwe
• Primary Examiner(s): Turner, Brian
• Application Number:
  US15/589,981
• Publication Number:
  US 20170309700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 17/0006 Printed inductances printed coils for dynamo-electric machines H02K3/26; printed circuits H05K
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 2017/002 Details of via holes for interconnecting the layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76898 formed through a semiconductor substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/4813 Connecting within a semiconductor or solid-state body, i.e. fly wire, bridge wire
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/481 Internal lead connections, e.g. via connections, feedthrough structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/5227 Inductive arrangements or effects of, or between, wiring layers other inductive arrangements H01L23/645
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/0688 Integrated circuits having a three-dimensional layout
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/08 including only semiconductor components of a single kind
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 28/10 Inductors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00012 Relevant to the scope of the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

A three-dimensional inductor is formed in an integrated circuit die using conductive through-body-vias which pass through the body of the die and contact one or more metal interconnect layers on the front side of the die and terminate on the back side of the die. In another embodiment, the through-body-vias may pass through a dielectric material disposed in a plug in the body of the die. In yet another aspect, a transformer may be formed by coupling multiple inductors formed using through-body-vias. In still another aspect, a three-dimensional inductor may include conductors formed of stacks of on chip metallization layers and conductive through-layer-vias disposed in insulation layers between metallization layers. Other embodiments are described.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

forming first and second turns of a first through-body-via-based inductor in a die having a back side and a front side of the die, the inductor first turn forming comprising;

forming first and second conductive through-body-vias passing through the body of the die from the front side of the die to the back side of the die, said first and second through-body-vias each having a front side end at the front side of the die and said first and second through-body-vias each having a back side end at the back side of the die;

wherein the forming first and second through-body-vias includes;

forming first and second through-body passageways passing through the body of the die from the front side of the die to the back side of the die; and

depositing conductive metal in said first and second through-body passageways from the front side of the die to the back side of the die to form said first and second conductive through-body-vias; and

wherein said forming first and second through-body passageways comprises;

removing semiconductor material from the body of the die from the front side of the die to the back side of the die;

replacing removed semiconductor material with insulative material to form a plug of insulative material within the body of the die; and

removing insulative material from the plug; and

forming a transformer including forming first and second turns of a second through-body-via-based inductor in the die; and

interwinding the first and second turns of the first and second through-body-via-based inductors so that the first and second through-body-via-based inductors are inductively coupled together and share a core in the die body.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the inductor first turn forming further includes:

forming a first series conductor disposed at one of the front side and the back side of the die and electrically coupling together ends of the first and second through-body-vias.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the forming a second turn of the first through-body-via-based inductor in the die comprises:

forming third and fourth conductive through-body-vias passing through the body of the die from the front side of the die to the back side of the die, said third and fourth through-body-vias each having a front side end at the front side of the die and a back side end at the back side of the die; and

forming a second series conductor disposed at one of the front side and the back side of the die and electrically coupling together of the conductive third and fourth through-body-via.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising forming a bridge conductor disposed at one of the front side and back side of the die and electrically coupling a through-body-via of the first turn and a through-body-via of the second turn in series.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising forming a plurality of conductive metal layers on the back side of the die which include a first conductive metal layer having a first thickness and a first resistance, and a second conductive metal layer having a second thickness at least several times thicker than the first thickness and a second resistance less than the first resistance and wherein the bridge conductor forming includes forming the bridge conductor from the second conductive metal layer.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising forming a stack conductor on the front side of the die for each through-body-via, comprising:

forming a stack of electrically conductive metal layers separated by insulation layers disposed at the front side of the die; and

forming a plurality of conductive through-layer-vias in each insulation layer, each through-layer-via passing through an insulation layer and electrically coupling adjacent metal layers of the stack conductor.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said forming first and second through-body passageways comprises removing bulk semiconductor material from the body of the die from the front side of the die to the back side of the die;

and wherein the forming first and second through-body-vias further includes depositing liner material in each through-body passageway before depositing the conductive metal in the through-body passageways.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein all the through-body-vias of the inductors pass through a single plug of insulative material.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising depositing conductive metal layers on the front side and on the back side of the die, wherein each through-body-via extends to and is in electrical contact with at least one conductive metal layer of the front side and on the back side of the die.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

forming transistor devices in diffusion regions at the at the front side of the die;

forming an interconnection conductor in a metal layer coupled to the first inductor and disposed in a redistribution layer at the back side of the die; and

forming an interconnection through-body via electrically coupled to the interconnection conductor and to at least one of said transistor devices on the front side of the die wherein the first inductor is electrically coupled to at least one of said transistor devices on the front side of the die.