Planar inductor and method of manufacturing it
First Claim
1. A planar inductor, comprising a metal element on a substrate, said metal element being provided with at least one groove extending along and into said element from at least one surface of said element, wherein said at least one groove extends into the element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate,wherein the metal element comprises at least three superposed metal layers each extending in a direction parallel to the substrate, wherein at least one of said layers is not provided with said at least one groove, and wherein said at least one groove extends from a surface of said inductor and all through at least two of said layers until reaching the at least one layer not being provided with said at least one groove.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A planar inductor comprises a metal element (11-14) on a substrate (300, 310), said metal element being provided with at least one groove (20) extending along and into said element from at least one surface (2) of said element. Said groove or grooves (20) extend into the element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate (300, 310), giving rise to a higher Q value and a lower serial resistance are also achieved. The inductor may comprise grooved (11, 13, 14) and non-grooved (12) layers.
The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the inductor.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A planar inductor, comprising a metal element on a substrate, said metal element being provided with at least one groove extending along and into said element from at least one surface of said element, wherein said at least one groove extends into the element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate,
wherein the metal element comprises at least three superposed metal layers each extending in a direction parallel to the substrate, wherein at least one of said layers is not provided with said at least one groove, and wherein said at least one groove extends from a surface of said inductor and all through at least two of said layers until reaching the at least one layer not being provided with said at least one groove.
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8. A planar inductor, comprising a metal element on a substrate, said metal element being provided with at least one groove extending along and into said element from at least one surface of said element, wherein said at least one groove extends into the element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate,
wherein the metal element comprises at least three superposed metal layers each extending in a direction parallel to the substrate, wherein at least one of said layers is not provided with said at least one groove, and wherein the at least one layer not provided with said at least one groove is sandwiched between layers provided with said at least one groove.
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16. A planar inductor, comprising a metal element on a substrate, said metal element being provided with at least one groove extending along and into said element from at least one surface of said element, wherein said at least one groove extends into the element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate,
wherein the metal element comprises at least two superposed metal layers each extending in a direction parallel to the substrate, wherein at least one of said layers is provided with said at least one groove, wherein at least one of said layers is not provided with said at least one groove, and wherein the at least one groove extends into the metal element to an extent corresponding to, at least, 75% of the height of the metal element in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate.
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24. A method of manufacturing a planar inductor, comprising the steps of:
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applying a metal element onto a substrate; and providing said metal element with grooves; wherein the grooves are made to extend into the metal element in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, wherein the step of applying a metal element onto a substrate comprises the step of applying at least one metal layer onto the substrate; and wherein the step of providing the metal element with grooves comprises the steps of; applying a non-metal material on said at least one metal layer; creating grooves in said non-metal material, said grooves being separated by partitions of said non-metal material; and filling said grooves with metal, thus creating a grooved metal layer.
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Specification