SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INCLUDING PROTECTIVE VOLTAGE SWITCHABLE DIELECTRIC MATERIAL IN THE DESIGN OR SIMULATION OF SUBSTRATE DEVICES

• US 20080313576A1
• Filed: 09/24/2007
• Published: 12/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Littelfuse Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Shocking Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Kosowsky, Lex, Fleming, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,793,236 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 716/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0254 High voltage adaptations; Electrical insulation details; Overvoltage or electrostatic discharge protection electrostatic discharge protection for electric apparatus in general H05K9/0067, H05K9/0079; Arrangements for regulating voltages or for using plural voltages
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0259 Electrostatic discharge [ESD] protection
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0293 Individual printed conductors which are adapted for modification, e.g. fusable or breakable conductors, printed switches
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0373 containing additives, e.g. fillers H05K1/036 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0738 Use of voltage responsive materials, e.g. voltage switchable dielectric or varistor materials
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/105 Using an electrical field; Special methods of applying an electric potential electroplating H05K2203/0723
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0005 for designing circuits by computer

Abstract

A substrate device is designed by identifying one or more criteria for handling of a transient electrical event on the substrate device. The one or more criteria may be based at least in part on an input provided from a designer. From the one or more criteria, one or more characteristics may be determined for integrating VSD material as a layer within or on at least a portion of the substrate device. The layer of VSD material may be positioned to protect one or more components of the substrate from the transient electrical condition

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for designing a device during a design or simulation phase, the method comprising:

identifying one or more criteria for handling of a transient electrical event on the device, wherein identifying the one or more criteria is based at least in part on an input provided from a designer; and

determining, from the one or more criteria, one or more characteristics for integrating voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material as a layer within or on at least a portion of the device, the layer of VSD material being positioned to protect one or more electrical components of the device from the transient electrical condition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more characteristics for integrating VSD material includes selecting one or more types of VSD material based on at least one of the criteria.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying the one or more criteria includes identifying a threshold measure of energy that is to initiate the VSD material in switching from a dielectric state into a conductive state in order to protect the one or more components from the transient electrical event, and wherein selecting one or more types of VSD material includes identifying a type of VSD material having a known characteristic measure of energy for causing a designated quantity of that type of VSD material to switch form being dielectric to being conductive.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the one or more characteristics includes determining a linear dimension of the layer that is to separate the one or components from a protective electrical path, wherein determining the one or more characteristics is based on applying the known characteristic measure of energy to the linear dimension in determining the threshold measure of energy for switching the VSD material into the conductive state, the threshold measure of energy being less than a tolerance level of the one or more components.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein determining one or more characteristics for integrating VSD material includes determining a plurality of locations on at least a layer of the device where the layer of the VSD material is to protect one or more components from the transient electrical event.

6. The method of claim 1,

wherein identifying the one or more criteria includes identifying, as one of the criteria, a threshold measure of energy that, when exceeded as a result of the transient electrical event, is to initiate the VSD material into switching from a dielectric state into a conductive state in order to protect the one or more components from the transient electrical event, and

wherein determining the one or more characteristics includes selecting a linear dimension of the VSD material that is to define a gap separation between a component that is to be protected and a protective electrical path of the device,

wherein the threshold measure of energy that causes the VSD material to switch from the dielectric state into the conductive state is dependent on the linear dimension of the VSD material, and

wherein selecting the linear dimension is based at least in part on providing the threshold measure of energy to be less than a tolerable measure of energy that can be handled by the one or more components.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein selecting the linear dimension includes identifying a characteristic voltage level for a designated measurement of the VSD material, and wherein selecting the linear dimension includes using the characteristic voltage level to determine the linear dimension that provides a threshold voltage level for switching the VSD material into the conductive state to be less than a tolerance voltage level of the one or more components or the device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more criteria includes identifying one or more voltage or current tolerances of one or more components on the device that are to be protected.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more tolerances include a breakdown voltage corresponding to a voltage level that is likely to cause the one or more components or other element of the device to malfunction.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein identifying one or more criteria includes identifying a tolerance for a leakage current by the one or more components.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein identifying one or more criteria includes identifying a tolerance for leakage current by the one or components, wherein the leakage current is dependent on the linear dimension, and wherein selecting a linear dimension is based at least in part on determining the leakage current for the VSD material for the linear dimension.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the one or more characteristics includes identifying a type of VSD material based at least in part on the leakage current resulting from the VSD material used to provide the threshold measure of energy across the linear dimension of the gap separation.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the one or more characteristics includes identifying at least one of (i) the threshold measure of energy provided by that VSD material based on the linear dimension of the gap separation, or (ii) the linear dimension of the gap separation that is required for providing the threshold energy level.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more criteria includes identifying a spatial constraint at the at least the portion of the device where the layer of the VSD material is to be provided.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the one or more characteristics includes selecting a type of the VSD material based in part on the identified spatial constraint.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein selecting the type of VSD material is based at least in part on:

identifying a threshold measure of energy that is to initiate the VSD material of the selected type in switching from a dielectric state into a conductive state in order to protect the one or more components from the transient electrical event, wherein the selected type of VSD material has a known characteristic measure of energy that causes a designated quantity of that type of VSD material to switch form being dielectric to being conductive, and

determining a linear dimension of the layer that is to separate the one or components from a protective electrical path, by applying the known characteristic measure of energy to the linear dimension in determining the threshold measure of energy for switching the VSD material into the conductive state, the threshold measure of energy being less than a tolerance level of the one or more components,

wherein the linear dimension satisfies the spatial constraint.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the one or more characteristics includes determining an area that is to be occupied by the VSD material in separating one of the one or more components that are to be protected from the protective electrical path, wherein the area satisfies the spatial constraint.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the one or more characteristics includes determining a linear dimension of VSD material that separates the one of the one or more components from the protective electrical path.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more characteristics for integrating VSD material includes determining, from the one or more criteria, a thickness of the layer of VSD material at one or more locations on the integrated circuit device.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the area includes determining a shape of the area.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein determining the shape includes determining a shape for the VSD material that has multiple radii of curvatures.

22. A system for manufacturing a substrate device, the system comprising:

an interface, the interface being configured to receive one or more criteria from a designer of the substrate device;

a memory resource that stores information about at least one of the substrate or of various types of voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material;

a processing resource coupled to the interface and to the memory resource, the processing resource being configured to use the input and the information stored in the memory to;

identify one or more criteria for handling of a transient electrical event on the substrate device; and

determine, from the one or more criteria, one or more characteristics for integrating VSD material as a layer within or on at least a portion of the substrate device, the layer of VSD material being positioned to protect one or more components of the substrate from the transient electrical condition.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a manufacturing interface that communicates with a manufacturing workflow, wherein the processing resource is configured to generate substrate design data that is based at least in part on the determined one or more criteria for integrating VSD material, the substrate design data defining a design of a substrate that is to be manufactured, and wherein the processing resources are configured to communicate the substrate design data to the manufacturing workflow.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the memory resource stores a plurality of entries, each entry referencing a type of VSD material with one or more known characteristics, including at least one of (i) a characteristic voltage level for switching a designated measurement of that type of VSD material into a conductive state;

or (ii) a leakage current that is produced from a given measurement of the type of VSD material.

25. A computer-implemented method for designing a substrate device during a design or simulation phase, the method comprising:

responsive to an interaction with a designer, selecting a plurality of locations on a substrate device that are to provide a protective electrical path when the transient electrical event occurs;

at each of the plurality of locations, determining a dimension of a layer of a voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material at the selected location, wherein the dimension of layer of VSD material is selected based at least in part on a threshold measure of energy that is required to cause the layer of VSD material to switch from a dielectric state into a conductive state, wherein when the VSD material is in the conductive state, the VSD material interconnects one or more components to the protective electrical path.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein at one or more of the plurality of locations, the dimension of the layer of VSD material corresponds to a gap distance that separates the one or more components at that location from the protective electrical path, and wherein the threshold measure of energy depends at least in part on the gap distance.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the measure of energy corresponds to a threshold voltage level that is known to be within a tolerance of the one or more components at the one or more of the plurality of locations.

28. A computer-implemented method for determining a spacing of one or more electrical components that are to be connectable on a substrate device, the method comprising:

identifying one or more electrical tolerances of an electrical component that is to be protected against transient electrical events by a protective electrical path;

identifying a layer of voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material that is to provide a gap separation between the electrical component and the protective electrical path; and

wherein the VSD material is capable of switching from a dielectric state into a conductive state with application of a measure of energy that exceeds a threshold level, wherein the threshold level is dependent at least in part on a dimension of the VSD material; and

dimensioning the gap separation so that the threshold level for the measure of energy that causes the VSD material to switch is less than the one or more tolerances of the electrical component.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein identifying one or more electrical tolerances includes identifying a breakdown voltage of the electrical components, and wherein the VSD material is capable of switching from the dielectric state into the conductive state with application of a voltage that exceeds a threshold voltage level, wherein the threshold voltage level depends on a dimension of the gap separation.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein identifying one or more electrical tolerances includes identifying a tolerance for leakage current by the electrical components, wherein the VSD material is known to produce an amount of leakage current, and wherein identifying a layer of VSD material includes configuring the layer of VSD material to produce a leakage current that is less than the leakage current tolerance of the electrical components.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the leakage current of the VSD material depends at least in part on a dimension of the gap separation, and wherein configuring the layer of VSD material includes specifying the dimension of the gap separation so that the leakage current produced by the VSD material is less than the leakage current tolerance of the electrical components.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein configuring the layer of VSD material includes selecting a composition for the VSD material that is known to produce the amount of leakage current across the gap separation that is less than the leakage current tolerance of the electrical components.

33. The method of claim 28, further comprising dimensioning an area occupied by the layer of VSD material in providing the gap separation, wherein dimensioning the area is subject to or based on the one or more tolerances.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein dimensioning the area is subject to one or more of (i) a spatial constraint identified for the substrate, or (ii) a leakage current tolerance of the one or more components.

35. A system for enabling design or simulation of at least a portion of a substrate device, the system comprising:

a data store that maintains data that references a first entry representing a first type of voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material with one or more properties of the first VSD material, the one or more properties of the first VSD material including a value representing a characteristic voltage per designated length, the characteristic voltage per designated length corresponding to a known or designated voltage level value that, when applied across a designated length of the first VSD material, causes the first VSD material to switch from a dielectric state into a conductive state;

a configuration module that determines, from one or more interactions with a designer of the system, (i) one or more dimensional parameters that are based on one or more spatial constraints of the portion or of the substrate, and (ii) a voltage level that is tolerable by one or more electrical components that are to be protected in the portion of the substrate device; and

wherein the configuration module determines a gap separation that (i) is to be provided by a layer of the first VSD material on at least the portion of the substrate, and (ii) is to separate at least one electrical component from a protective electrical path on the substrate for transient events, wherein the configuration module determines the gap separation based at least in part on determining (i) a threshold voltage level that will likely cause the first VSD material to switch into the conductive state (ii) based on the characteristic voltage per designated length and a size of the gap separation, wherein the threshold voltage level is less than the tolerable voltage level of the one or more electrical components.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the first programmatic component references multiple entries that each reference a corresponding type of VSD material, the multiple entries including the first entry referencing the first VSD material, and wherein the corresponding VSD material of each of the multiple entries has a different composition.

37. An optimization system for enabling design or simulation of at least a portion of a substrate device, the system comprising:

a data store that maintains information about a plurality of types of voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) materials, the information including a characteristic voltage per designated length for each of one or more types of VSD materials, the characteristic voltage per designated length corresponding to a voltage level applied across a designated length of a particular type of VSD material that is likely to trigger the VSD material of the type to switch from being in a dielectric state to being in a conductive state;

a configuration module that determines, from one or more interactions with a designer of the system, (i) one or more dimensional parameters that are based on spatial constraints of the portion or of the substrate, and (ii) a voltage level that is tolerable by one or more electrical elements that are to be protected in the portion of the substrate device;

wherein the configuration module is configured to determine, for any of the plurality of types of VSD materials, a gap separation that (i) is to be occupied by that type of VSD material on at least the portion of the substrate, and (ii) is to separate at least one electrical element from a protective electrical path for transient events, wherein the configuration module is further configured to determine, for any one of the plurality of types of VSD material, the gap separation needed for using a layer of that VSD material to separate the at least one electrical element from the protective electrical path;

an optimization component that is configured to make a selection of at least one of (i) a selected type of VSD material from the plurality of types of VSD material, or (ii) a size of the gap separation for the selected type of VSD material, wherein the optimization component is configured to make the selection based on one or more optimization criteria.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the optimization component is configured to make the selection based at least in part on using a determination of the threshold voltage level needed to switch any of the types of VSD material into the conductive state, the threshold voltage level being determined from (i) the characteristic voltage per designated length for that type of VSD material and the (ii) the size of the gap separation;

and wherein the optimization component makes the selection so that the threshold voltage level is less than the tolerable voltage level of the one or more components.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the one or more optimization criteria correspond to at least one of (i) a cost for using each of the types of VSD material, (ii) a performance of each of the types of VSD material, and (iii) a minimization of the size of the gap separation required by use of each type of VSD material.

40. A system for optimizing application of voltage switchable dielectric material on a substrate device, the system comprising:

an interface, the interface being configured to receive one or more criteria from a designer of the substrate device;

a memory resource that stores information about at least one of the substrate or of various types of voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material;

a processing resource coupled to the interface and to the memory resource, the processing resource being configured to use the input and the information stored in the memory to;

identify one or more criteria for handling of a transient electrical event on the substrate device;

determine, from the one or more criteria, one or more characteristics for integrating VSD material as a layer within or on at least a portion of the substrate device, the layer of VSD material being positioned to protect one or more components of the substrate from the transient electrical condition;

identify one or more optimization criteria for integrating VSD material onto at least the portion of the substrate; and

optimize the layer of VSD material based on the one or more optimization criteria.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein the one or more optimization criteria includes one or more of (i) a cost of the layer of VSD material, (ii) one or more dimensions of the layer of VSD material, and (iii) a performance characteristic of the layer of VSD material.

42. A data system for enabling design or simulation of a substrate device, the data system comprising:

a data store that is accessible to a configuration module for integrating VSD material into a substrate device, wherein the data store maintains a plurality of entries, wherein each entry (i) identifies a type of VSD material, and (ii) includes data that identifies one or more electrical characteristics of the type of VSD material that are pertinent to integration of that type of VSD material into the substrate device,

wherein the one or more electrical characteristics of the type of VSD material including any one or more of;

(i) a characteristic measurement of energy that, when applied to a designated measurement of the type of VSD material, is likely to cause the VSD material of the type to switch from a dielectric state to being in a conductive state, (ii) a leakage current associated with the type of VSD material;

or (iii) an off-state resistance associated with the type of VSD material.

43. The data system of claim 42, wherein each of the entries include data identifying the leakage current for a designated measurement of the type of VSD material.

44. The data system of claim 42, wherein each of the entries include data identifying the characteristic measurement of energy as a characteristic voltage level that causes the VSD material to switch into the conductive state when applied across a designated linear dimension of the VSD material.

45. The data system of claim 42, further comprising an interface to couple the data store to one or more modules for configuring the substrate device with VSD material in a design or simulation phase.

46. A computer-implemented method for designing a display device during a design or simulation phase, the method comprising:

identifying one or more criteria for handling of a transient electrical event on the display device, wherein identifying the one or more criteria is based at least in part on an input provided from a designer; and

determining, from the one or more criteria, one or more characteristics for integrating voltage switchable dielectric (VSD) material as a layer at select positions between a transparent conductor of the display device and one or more locations of protective electrical paths, the layer of VSD material being provided at the select positions to protect one or more components of the display device from the transient electrical condition.