High voltage isolation semiconductor capacitor digital communication device and corresponding package
First Claim
1. A high voltage isolation semiconductor digital communication device, comprising:
- at least one communication drive electrode comprising a drive input and opposing substantially vertical sidewalls having a height of about Tn, the drive electrode further being formed of a first electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture;
at least one communication sense electrode comprising a sense output and opposing substantially vertical sidewalls having the height of about Tn, the sense electrode being formed of a second electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture;
an electrically conductive ground plane substrate spaced apart from the drive and sense electrodes by an electrically insulative layer having a thickness d;
a drive circuit operably coupled to the drive input and configured to transmit a communication drive signal therethrough, anda receive circuit operably coupled to the sense output and configured to receive the communication drive signal transmitted between the sense and drive electrodes;
wherein the drive and sense communication electrodes are disposed substantially in a single plane and are operably configured and associated in respect of one another to effect the transfer of digital communication signals therebetween by capacitive means, the sidewall heights Tn exceed about 1 micron thereby to decrease electrical field densities associated therewith, the sense and drive electrodes are separated by an inter-electrode spacing Td exceeding about 1 micron, the inter-electrode spacing Td is greater than or equal to the thickness d, and a first breakdown voltage between the drive electrode and the sense electrode exceeds about 2,000 volts RMS when applied over a time period of about one minute.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to one embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor digital communication device comprising communication drive and sense electrodes formed in a single plane, where the electrodes have relatively high sidewalls. The relatively high sidewalls permit low electrical field densities to be obtained in the sense and drive electrodes during operation, and further permit very high breakdown voltages to be obtained between the electrodes, and between the drive electrode and an underlying ground plane substrate. The device effects communications between drive and receive circuits through the drive and sense electrodes by capacitive means, and in a preferred embodiment is capable of effecting relatively high-speed digital communications. The device may be formed in a small package using, by way of example, CMOS or other semiconductor fabrication and packaging processes.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A high voltage isolation semiconductor digital communication device, comprising:
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at least one communication drive electrode comprising a drive input and opposing substantially vertical sidewalls having a height of about Tn, the drive electrode further being formed of a first electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture; at least one communication sense electrode comprising a sense output and opposing substantially vertical sidewalls having the height of about Tn, the sense electrode being formed of a second electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture; an electrically conductive ground plane substrate spaced apart from the drive and sense electrodes by an electrically insulative layer having a thickness d; a drive circuit operably coupled to the drive input and configured to transmit a communication drive signal therethrough, and a receive circuit operably coupled to the sense output and configured to receive the communication drive signal transmitted between the sense and drive electrodes; wherein the drive and sense communication electrodes are disposed substantially in a single plane and are operably configured and associated in respect of one another to effect the transfer of digital communication signals therebetween by capacitive means, the sidewall heights Tn exceed about 1 micron thereby to decrease electrical field densities associated therewith, the sense and drive electrodes are separated by an inter-electrode spacing Td exceeding about 1 micron, the inter-electrode spacing Td is greater than or equal to the thickness d, and a first breakdown voltage between the drive electrode and the sense electrode exceeds about 2,000 volts RMS when applied over a time period of about one minute. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of making a high voltage isolation semiconductor digital communication device, comprising:
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providing at least one communication drive electrode comprising a drive input and opposing substantially vertical sidewalls having a height of about Tn, the drive electrode further being formed of a first electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture; providing at least one communication sense electrode comprising a sense output and opposing substantially vertical sidewalls having a height of about Tn, the sense electrode being formed of a second electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture; providing an electrically conductive ground plane substrate spaced apart from the drive and sense electrodes by an electrically insulative layer having a thickness d; providing a drive circuit operably coupled to the drive input and configured is to transmit a communication drive signal therethrough, and providing a receive circuit operably coupled to the sense output and configured to receive the communication drive signal transmitted between the sense and drive electrodes; wherein the drive and sense communication electrodes are disposed substantially in a single plane and are operably configured and associated in respect of one another to effect the transfer of digital communication signals therebetween by capacitive means, the sidewall heights Tn exceed about 1 micron thereby to decrease electrical field densities associated therewith, the sense and drive electrodes are separated by an inter-electrode spacing Td exceeding about 1 micron, the inter-electrode spacing Td is greater than or equal to the thickness d, and a first breakdown voltage between the drive electrode and the sense electrode exceeds about 2,000 volts RMS when applied over a time period of about one minute. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification