Electrochemical sensing of biomolecules eliminates the need for the bulky and expensive optical instrumentation required in traditional fluorescence-based sensing assays. Integration of the sensor interface electrodes and active electrochemical detection circuitry on a CMOS substrate miniaturizes the sensing platform, enhancing its portability for use in point-of-care applications, while enabling the high-throughput, highly parallel analysis characteristic of traditional microarrays. This paper describes the design of a four-by-four active sensor array for multiplexed electrochemical biomolecular detection in a standard 0.25-mum CMOS process. Integrated potentiostats, comprised of control amplifiers and dual-slope analog-to-digital converters, stimulate the electrochemical cell and detect the current flowing through the on-chip gold electrodes at each sensor site that results from biomolecular reactions occurring on the chip surface. Post-processing steps needed to fabricate a biologically-compatible surface-electrode array in CMOS that can withstand operation in a harsh electrochemical environment are also described. Experimental results demonstrating the proper operation of the active CMOS array for biomolecular detection include cyclic voltammetry of a reversible redox species, DNA probe density characterization, as well as quantitative and specific DNA hybridization detection.

Active CMOS Sensor Array for Electrochemical Biomolecular Detection

Methods and structures for constructing a magnetic core of a coupled inductor. The method provides for constructing N-phase coupled inductors as both single and scalable magnetic structures, where N is an integer greater than 1. The method additionally describes how such a construction of the magnetic core may enhance the benefits of using the scalable N-phase coupled inductor. The first and second magnetic cores may be formed into shapes that, when coupled together, may form a single scalable magnetic core. For example, the cores can be fashioned into shapes such as a U, an I, an H, a ring, a rectangle, and a comb, that cooperatively form the single magnetic core.

Method For Making Magnetic Components With M-Phase Coupling, And Related Inductor Structures

Integration of efficient power converters requires technology for efficient, high-power on-chip inductors and transformers. Increases in switching frequency, facilitated by advances in circuit designs and silicon or wide-bandgap semiconductors, can enable miniaturization, but only if the magnetics technology works well at the higher frequencies. Technologies, geometries, and scaling of air-core and magnetic-core inductors and transformers are examined, and their potential for integration is discussed. Air-core inductors can use simpler fabrication, and increasing frequency can always be used to decrease their size, but magnetic cores can decrease the required thickness without requiring as high a frequency.

Integrating Magnetics for On-Chip Power: A Perspective

An integrated circuit has a semiconductor die provided in a first IC layer and an inductor fabricated on a second IC layer. The inductor may have a winding and a magnetic core, which are oriented to conduct magnetic flux in a direction parallel to a surface of a semiconductor die. The semiconductor die may have active circuit components fabricated in a first layer of the die, provided under the inductor layer. The integrated circuit may include a flux conductor provided on a side of the die opposite the first layer. PCB connections to active elements on the semiconductor die may progress through the inductor layer as necessary.

Small size and fully integrated power converter with magnetics on chip

A semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof The semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate (300) provided with a plurality of pads (301), columnar electrodes on the pads (301) and a solder ball (321) provided on the columnar electrode The columnar electrode comprises a main body (307) and a groove in the main body (307), and an opening of the groove is overlapped with the top surface of the columnar electrode The solder ball (321) comprises a metal bump (320) arranged on the top of the columnar electrode and a filling part (319) filled in the groove The solder ball and the columnar electrode form a structure similar to a bolt; thus the binding force between the solder ball and the columnar electrode is improved

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

The effect of a closed magnetic core structure on an integrated inductor was investigated by winding two series connected inductors around a stretched hexagonal ring of CoTaZr. The 8.5 and 17.5 turn inductors were fabricated using standard silicon process, and simulations were performed using Ansoft HFSS software. The resulting inductance of the device showed no improvement over two inductors without the closed magnetic cores, indicating that the closed core structure was insufficient to enhance the mutual inductance between the two devices. This was attributed to the uniaxial anisotropy of the magnetic film, which prevented the film from routing the generated flux circularly around the core. Therefore, while the physical shape of the magnetic film was closed, the effective magnetic shape maintained an air gap.

Analysis of Integrated Solenoid Inductor With Closed Magnetic Core

Saturation of nonlinear ferromagnetic core material for on-chip inductors for high current applications is significantly reduced by providing a core design wherein magnetic flux does not form a closed loop, but rather splits into multiple sub-fluxes that are directed to cancel each other. The design enables high on-chip inductance for high current power applications.

On-chip inductor for high current applications

An apparatus and method for wafer level fabrication of high value inductors directly on top of semiconductor integrated circuits. The apparatus and method includes fabricating a semiconductor wafer including a plurality of dice, each of the dice including power circuitry and a switching node. Once the wafer is fabricated, then a plurality of inductors are fabricated directly onto the plurality of dice on the wafer respectively. Each inductor is fabricated by forming a plurality of magnetic core inductor members on an interconnect dielectric layer formed on the wafer. An insulating layer, and then inductor coils, are then formed over the plurality of magnetic core inductor members over each die. A plated magnetic layer is formed over the plurality of inductors respectively to raise the permeability and inductance of the structure.

Apparatus and method for wafer level fabrication of high value inductors on semiconductor integrated circuits

A damascene process is utilized to fabricate the segmented magnetic core elements of an integrated circuit inductor structure. The magnetic core is electroplated from a seed layer that is conformal with a permanent dielectric mold that results in sidewall plating defining an easy magnetic axis. The hard axis runs parallel to the longitudinal axis of the core and the inductor coils are orthogonal to the core's longitudinal axis. The magnetic field generated by the inductor coils is, therefore, parallel and self-aligned to the hard magnetic axis. The easy axis is enhanced by electroplating in an applied magnetic field parallel to the easy axis.

Magnetically enhanced power inductor with self-aligned hard axis magnetic core produced in an applied magnetic field using a damascene process sequence

A micro-fabricated atomic clock structure is thermally insulated so that the atomic clock structure can operate with very little power in an environment where the external temperature can drop to −40° C., while at the same time maintaining the temperature required for the proper operation of the VCSEL and the gas within the vapor cell.

Andrei Papou

Papers

Analysis of Integrated Solenoid Inductor With Closed Magnetic Core

On-chip inductor for high current applications

Apparatus and method for wafer level fabrication of high value inductors on semiconductor integrated circuits

Magnetically enhanced power inductor with self-aligned hard axis magnetic core produced in an applied magnetic field using a damascene process sequence

Thermally-Insulated Micro-Fabricated Atomic Clock Structure and Method of Forming the Atomic Clock Structure