A robust high-Q micromachined RF inductor for RFIC applications

Jr Wei Lin, C. C. Chen, Yu Ting Cheng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

70 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, a robust micromachined spiral inductor with a cross-shaped sandwich membrane support is proposed and fabricated with fully CMOS compatible post-processes for radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) applications. Via the incorporation of a sandwich dielectric membrane (0.7 μm SiO2/0.7 μm Si3N4/0.7 μm TEOS) to enhance the structure rigidity, the inductor can have better signal stability. In comparison, the new design of a ∼5-nH micromachined inductor can have 45% less inductance variation than the one without the dielectric support while both devices are operated with 10 m/s2 acceleration. Meanwhile, using a cross shape instead of blanket membrane can also effectively eliminate the inductance variation induced by the working temperature change (20 °C to 75 °C). The measurement results show the robust inductor can have similar electrical performance to the as-fabricated freely suspended inductor, which has five times Q (quality factor) improvement than the inductor without the substrate removal. It is our belief that the new micromachined inductors can have not only high-Q performance but also better signal stability suitable for wide-range RFIC applications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1489-1496
Number of pages8
JournalIEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
Volume52
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2005

Keywords

  • Accelerative and thermal disturbance system
  • High-Q micromachined inductor
  • Radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)
  • Robust design
  • Signal stability

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A robust high-Q micromachined RF inductor for RFIC applications'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this