Tunable/variable passive microelectronic components

• US 6,556,415 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Lee, Cheng-Hong, Lee, Hsin-Li
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinkins, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US10/184,818
• Time in Patent Office: 305 Days
• Field of Search: 361/311, 361/312, 361/313, 361/277, 361/278, 361/287, 361/290, 361/292, 361/296
• US Class Current: 361/277
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 17/0033 with the coil helically wound around a magnetic core
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 21/065 Measures for obtaining a desired relation between the position of the core and the inductance
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 5/0138 with movable dielectrics

Abstract

A tunable microelectronic capacitor and a tunable microelectronic inductor, each utilizing a micro-actuator fabricated by MEMS technique as a major component in the capacitor, the micro-actuator drives a dielectric plate in between to electrode plates to vary the capacitance. In the inductor, the micro-actuator drives a cantilever beam member made of a magnetic material into an inductor coil for changing the inductance of the coil.

Claims

1. A tunable microelectronic capacitor comprising:

a pre-processed semiconductor substrate;

a micro-actuator constructed of two opposing sections supported on said pre-processed semiconductor substrate, one of said two opposing sections having attached thereon a horizontal plate member formed of a dielectric material extending outwardly away from said micro-actuator; and

a pair of electrode plates supported on said pre-processed semiconductor substrate and are parallelly positioned spaced-apart from each other for receiving said horizontal plate member formed of said dielectric material there-in-between.

2. A tunable microelectronic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein said micro-actuator is a comb drive actuator.

3. A tunable microelectronic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein said horizontal plate member is formed of a dielectric material selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride and silicon carbide.

4. A tunable microelectronic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein said capacitor has a capacitance of C=k∈

₀ A/d, k is the dielectric constant of the dielectric material, ∈

₀ is the capacitance coefficient in vacuum, A is the area of the parallel electrode plates, d is the distance between the parallel electrode plates.

5. A tunable microelectronic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein said dielectric material having a dielectric constant larger than 2.

6. A tunable microelectronic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein said capacitor having a capacitance tunable by changing the overlapped area between said horizontal plate member and said pair of electrode plates.

7. A tunable microelectronic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein a capacitance of said capacitor can be increased by increasing the dielectric constant of said horizontal plate member.

8. A tunable microelectronic capacitor according to claim 1, wherein a capacitance of said capacitor can be decreased by decreasing the dielectric constant of said horizontal plate member.