Patent ID: 6278352
Filing Date: 2001-08-21
Classification: H01F

Abstract:
A thin film inductor, comprising:a first dielectric layer;on the first dielectric layer, a wire spiral that is a thin film conductor and that has a number of turns, said spiral having an inner end that is a starting point of the spiral and an outer end that is an ending point of the spiral;said wire spiral having a rectangular cross-section with first dimensions of between 10 and 10.sup.6 Angstroms high and between 0.5 and 50 microns wide;a second dielectric layer over the wire spiral;a first conductive plug extending downwards from said inner end through the first dielectric layer and projecting below it;a second conductive plug extending upwards from said outer end through the second dielectric and projecting above it;adjacent to the first conductive plug, a core plug of a ferromagnetic material that extends upwards through the second dielectric layer and downwards through the first dielectric layer, the core plug not contacting the spiral at any point;said core plug having second dimensions of a diameter between 0.1 and 5 microns and a length between 0.5 and 5 microns; andwhereby said first and second dimensions result in said thin film inductor having a reduced size which makes it compatible with full integration within a semiconductor integrated circuit.