Integrated inductors

• US 8,368,501 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2006
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Hazucha, Peter, Nguyen, Trang T., Schrom, Gerhard, Paillet, Fabrice, Gardner, Donald S., Moon, Sung T., Karnik, Tanay
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUYEN T
• Application Number:
  US11/478,996
• Publication Number:
  US 20080001698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,413 Days
• Field of Search: 336/65, 336/83, 336/200, 336/232, 336/192, 257/531, 361760-766
• US Class Current: 336/200
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 17/0033 with the coil helically wound around a magnetic core
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 2021/125 Printed variable inductor with taps, e.g. for VCO
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 21/12 discontinuously variable, e.g. tapped
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/34 Special means for preventing or reducing unwanted electric or magnetic effects, e.g. no-load losses, reactive currents, harmonics, oscillations, leakage fields

Abstract

Multiple-inductor embodiments for use in substrates are provided herein.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a substrate comprising a row of embedded inductors with overlapping inductor areas, wherein adjacent inductors within the row of inductors are complementary inductor pairs with overlapping inductor area and with a terminal of an inductor from the adjacent inductors being coupled to a terminal from another inductor from the adjacent inductors.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the inductors comprise spaced apart vias conductively coupled together with at least a portion of a conductive layer in the substrate.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, in which each inductor comprises a single inductor turn.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, in which the inductors comprise conductive layer portions, used to couple inductor terminals, that cross one another, said conductive layer portions being disposed in separate layers.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate is part of an integrated circuit and supports an electrical die comprising at least part of a power converter circuit coupled to the inductors.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the power converter circuit is a multi-phase converter, and wherein phase components, substantially out of phase by 180 degrees from each other, are used for driving the adjacent inductors of the complementary inductor pairs.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the substrate is part of a circuit board and supports an electrical die comprising at least part of a power converter circuit coupled to the inductors.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, in which the power converter circuit is a multi-phase converter, wherein phase components substantially out of phase by 180 degrees drive the adjacent inductors.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the complementary inductor pairs have respective vias which are skewed relative to one another.

10. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the power converter circuit is a multiphase buck type switching power converter with complementary inductor pairs.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein another terminal of the inductor from the adjacent inductors being coupled to an output of a switch, and wherein another terminal from the other inductor from the adjacent inductors being coupled to an output of another switch.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the adjacent inductors of the complementary inductor pairs are driven by phase components that are out of phase by 180 degrees from each other.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the adjacent inductors are in complementary indicative alignment to cause constructive coupling.