Structure and system for simultaneous sensing a magnetic field and mechanical stress
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A dual Hall element comprising:
- a substrate having a bottom surface and a top surface;
an N-type epitaxial layer disposed over the substrate top surface, the epitaxial layer having a top surface and a bottom surface;
a barrier structure disposed over the substrate and extending perpendicular from the epitaxial layer top surface so as to form a barrier to electrical charges within the epitaxial layer and resulting in a bounded region of the epitaxial layer having a generally octagonal shape;
a P-well region diffused into the epitaxial layer; and
a plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the epitaxial layer, opposing pairs of the plurality of pickups separated by the P-well region, each one of the plurality of pickups comprising an N+ type diffusion,wherein a first set of the plurality of pickups is operable to form a first planar Hall element and a second different set of the plurality of pickups is operable to form a second planar Hall element.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A structure having collocated magnetic field sensing elements can be used to simultaneously determine magnetic field and mechanical stress. A primary magnetic field sensing element generates a primary signal responsive to a magnetic field and a secondary magnetic field sensing element generates a secondary signal responsive to mechanical stress. A system includes a stress compensation module to receive the primary and signals, and to compensate for mechanical stress in the primary signal.
51 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A dual Hall element comprising:
-
a substrate having a bottom surface and a top surface; an N-type epitaxial layer disposed over the substrate top surface, the epitaxial layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; a barrier structure disposed over the substrate and extending perpendicular from the epitaxial layer top surface so as to form a barrier to electrical charges within the epitaxial layer and resulting in a bounded region of the epitaxial layer having a generally octagonal shape; a P-well region diffused into the epitaxial layer; and a plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the epitaxial layer, opposing pairs of the plurality of pickups separated by the P-well region, each one of the plurality of pickups comprising an N+ type diffusion, wherein a first set of the plurality of pickups is operable to form a first planar Hall element and a second different set of the plurality of pickups is operable to form a second planar Hall element. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. A dual Hall element comprising:
-
a substrate having a bottom surface and a top surface; an N-type epitaxial layer disposed over the substrate top surface, the epitaxial layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; a barrier structure disposed over the substrate and extending perpendicular from the epitaxial layer top surface so as to form a barrier to electrical charges within the epitaxial layer; a P-well region diffused into the epitaxial layer; a first plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the epitaxial layer, opposing pairs of the first plurality of pickups separated by the P-well region, each one of the first plurality of pickups comprising an N+ type diffusion; and a second plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the P-well region, each one of the second plurality of pickups comprising a P+ type diffusion, wherein the first plurality of pickups is operable to form a first planar Hall element and the second plurality of pickups is operable to form a second planar Hall element. - View Dependent Claims (4)
-
-
5. A dual Hall element comprising:
-
a bottom structure including; a substrate having a bottom surface and a top surface; an N-type epitaxial layer disposed over the substrate top surface, the epitaxial layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; a barrier structure disposed over the substrate and extending perpendicular from the epitaxial layer top surface so as to form a barrier to electrical charges within the epitaxial layer; a P-well region diffused into the epitaxial layer; and a first plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the epitaxial layer, opposing pairs of the first plurality of pickups separated by the P-well region, each one of the first plurality of pickups comprising an N+ type diffusion; and a top structure electrically isolated from the bottom structure via an isolation region, the top structure including; a top layer; and a second plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the top layer, wherein the first plurality of pickups is operable to form a first planar Hall element and the second plurality of pickups is operable to form a second planar Hall element. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A dual Hall element comprising:
-
a substrate having a bottom surface and a top surface; an P-type epitaxial layer disposed over the substrate top surface, the epitaxial layer having a top surface and a bottom surface; an N-well region diffused into the epitaxial layer; a P-well region diffused into the N-well region; a first plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the N-well region, opposing pairs of the first plurality of pickups separated by the P-well region, each one of the first plurality of pickups comprising an N+ type diffusion; and a second plurality of pickups implanted and diffused into the P-well region, each one of the second plurality of pickups comprising a P+ type diffusion, wherein the first plurality of pickups is operable to form a first Hall element and the second plurality of pickups is operable to form a second Hall element. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
-
-
13. A magnetic field sensor comprising a dual Hall element, the dual Hall element comprising:
-
a substrate having a bottom surface and a top surface; an N-type epitaxial layer disposed over the substrate top surface; a first planar Hall element disposed within or over the epitaxial layer, the first planar Hall element having a first plurality of pickups with a first center between the first plurality of pickups; and a second planar Hall element disposed within or over the epitaxial layer, the second planar Hall element having a second different plurality of pickups with a second center between the second plurality of pickups, wherein the first and second centers are substantially collocated. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification