Monolithic DC/DC power management module with surface FET

• US 8,552,708 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2011
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: L. Pierre De Rochemont
• Original Assignee: L. Pierre De Rochemont
• Inventors: de Rochemont, L. Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): PERT, EVAN T
• Application Number:
  US13/152,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20120098509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• Field of Search: 323/355, 257/531, 336/105, 336/219, 336/229
• US Class Current: 323/355
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 17/062 Toroidal core with turns of coil around it
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 2027/2814 with only part of the coil or of the winding in the printed circuit board, e.g. the remaining coil or winding sections can be made of wires or sheets
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/2804 Printed windings
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/645 Inductive arrangements H01L23/647, H01L23/66 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/16 the devices being of types provided for in two or more different main groups of groups H01L27/00 - H01L33/00, or in a single subclass of H10K, H10N, e.g. forming hybrid circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/003 Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections

Abstract

A monolithic DC to DC converter, provides a semiconductor substrate, a surface FET formed on the semiconductor substrate that modulates currents across a surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a toroidal inductor with a magnetic core formed on the substrate around the FET and having a first winding connected to the FET.

Claims

1. A monolithic DC to DC converter, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a surface FET formed on the semiconductor substrate that modulates currents across a surface of the semiconductor substrate; and

a toroidal inductor with a magnetic core formed on the substrate around the FET and having a first winding connected to the FET.

2. The converter of claim 1, wherein the first winding is a primary inductor coil and further comprising a secondary inductor coil formed on the substrate and having windings interleaved between windings of the primary inductor coil.

3. The converter of claim 1, wherein the FET includes a circular or arcuate source electrode and an arcuate gate electrode formed peripherally around the source electrode.

4. The converter of claim 3, further comprising a via connecting the source electrode through the substrate to a ground plane.

5. The converter of claim 3, wherein the FET includes an arcuate drain electrode formed peripherally to the source and gate electrodes.

6. The converter of claim 3, wherein the FET includes a plurality of arcuate drain electrodes formed peripherally at different angular positions around the source and gate electrodes.

7. The converter of claim 3, wherein the FET includes passive components formed on the semiconductor substrate within the toroidal inductor and connected to the source, gate or drain electrodes.

8. The converter of claim 1, further comprising an arcuate plate capacitor formed peripherally to the toroidal inductor.

9. The converter of claim 1 further comprising an arcuate diode formed peripherally to the toroidal inductor.

10. The converter of claim 1, wherein the magnetic core is ceramic and formed on the substrate with at least one layer of amorphous silica located between opposing sections of high permeability crystalline core material.

11. The converter of claim 10, wherein the toroidal inductor includes a secondary winding having a turn aligned with the at least one layer of amorphous silica.

12. The converter of claim 1, wherein toroidal inductor includes windings that are mechanically constrained.

13. The converter of claim 12, wherein mechanical constraint of the windings is achieved by a coating of amorphous silica.

14. A monolithic DC to DC converter as in claim 1 having a semiconductor substrate containing silicon.

15. A monolithic DC to DC converter as in claim 1 having III-V compound semiconductor substrate.

16. A magnetic core, comprising a ceramic core element formed with at least one layer of amorphous silica located between opposing sections of high permeability crystalline core material, wherein the ceramic element (or core material) has a resistivity >

10⁴ ohm-cm and a permeability ≧

70.

17. The magnetic core of claim 16, wherein the ceramic core element is formed with a plurality of amorphous silica layers, each located between opposing sections of crystalline core material.

18. The magnetic core of claim 16, further comprising an electrical conductor winding aligned with the at least one layer of amorphous silica.

19. An inductor, comprising:

a magnetic core formed with a dielectric gap of high-resistivity material located between opposing sections of crystalline core material and an electrical conductor aligned with the dielectric gap.

20. The inductor of claim 19, wherein the electrical conductor is a secondary winding of a transformer.