Compact Modeling of Series Stacked Tapered Spiral Inductors

TLDR: In this paper, a frequency independent equivalent circuit model is proposed for series stacked inductors having variable width and space (taper) across their turns, which accounts for the increase in mutual inductance between the stacked spirals due to taper.

Abstract: In this paper for the first time, a frequency independent equivalent circuit model is proposed for series stacked inductors having variable width and space (taper) across their turns. The proposed model accounts for the increase in mutual inductance between the stacked spirals due to taper. Also, the proximity effect losses with tapered top and bottom spirals of the series stack is accurately modeled. Finally, the inter-layer capacitance between the stacked spirals which dictates the self-resonant-frequency of the series inductor is calculated across different values of taper. EM simulations and measurements show excellent correlation with model simulations across different layouts with different values of taper thereby demonstrating the scalability of the proposed model.