Lecture Notes

Course Number:

ECE 712

Instructor:
Lecture Number:

Dr. Floyd
5

North Carolina State University, All Rights Reserved

ECE 712: IC Design for Wireless Communications

Lecture 5
Spiral Inductors
Dr. Brian Floyd
Topics
for
Today

Greenhouse method
Square spiral inductor
Reading:
Greenhouse paper (see website,
supplement section)
Lee (4.1, 4.2, 4.5) , Raz (7.1-7.3, 7.6)

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Inductor Motivation
Die photograph of a WCDMA/
HSPA/EGPRS transceiver with
GPS and receive diversity, by
Qualcomm ~42 inductors

A. Hadjichristos, et al., Single-chip RF CMOS UMTS/EGSM transceiver 2009, pp. 118-119.

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Calculating Inductance
w

w
s

Spiral Inductor
Example
# turns = 1.5
Diameter = d
Trace width = w
Trace spacing = s

NOTE:
Following
formulas assume
return current is
arbitrarily far
away

PLUS ALL OF THE

MUTUAL
INDUCTANCES

LT Self_Induc tance Positive_Mutual Negative_M utual

Positive mutual inductance caused by currents in same direction
Negative mutual inductance caused by currents in opposite direction
Zero mutual inductance by currents flowing in orthogonal directions
Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Review: Mutual and Self Inductance

Currents 1 and 2 generate magnetic fields.
Magnetic field integrated over a surface = flux :
The flux fi is proportional to the current Ij
where Mij is the mutual inductance.

fi M ij I j

Mutual inductance ij causes flux in circuit i due to the current in circuit j.

Self inductance is the flux in circuit i due to the current in circuit i (Li=Mii)
Mutual inductances are reciprocal, i.e., Mij = Mji

Time-varying currents produce voltages (Faradays Law):

V1

V2
I2

I1
k

Lec. #4

di1
di
M 2
dt
dt
di
di
v2 M 1 L2 2
dt
dt

v1 L1

M
L1 L2
| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Self Inductance of Straight Conductor

Key Steps
1

Using Biot-Savart, find

B-field at position h, r

o
B
4
2

Id r

Calculate total flux flowing

through surface parallel to
segment

B dA

Bext o
4

Calculate flux internal to

segment

Self-inductance is
flux/current.

L
I

Lec. #4

I r dz

r 2 z h

2 3/2

I
h
h

4r r 2 h 2
r 2 h2

o I 1
h
h

dhd r
4 r r 0 r 2 h 2
r 2 h2

o I 1

2 r r

r
2

o I 2
ln
2 r

Bint
r

Example for cylindrical conductor

o I 2 r 2
ln
r dr
2
r

r
1

o I
r
2 r 2

Lint I r B
0

r2
r

I
d r r o4
2 r

r 3d r

o I r

2 4

o 2
r r
ln

2 r
4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Self-Inductance of Straight Conductors

See Greenhouse paper* (course website), aka Grovers method
o 2
AMD r Eq. (1)
L
ln
T
1.25
2 GMD

4
Watch units!!!

o=permeability constant = 4 x 10-7 H/m

l = length of conductor in meters
r = relative permeability of conductor (usually 1)
T = freq-correction factor (accounting for skin depth)

GMD = geometric mean distance of x-section (see paper)

AMD = arithmetic mean distance of x-section (see paper)
GMD

AMD

Circular x-section (bondwire)

0.7788 r

Rectangular x-section (slab)

0.2232 (W + t)

(W + t)/3

*H.M. Greenhouse, Design of planar rectangular microelectronic inductors, IEEE Trans. Parts, Hybrids, and Packaging, v10, n2 June 1974, p.101-9.
6
Lec. #4
| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Self-Inductance of Straight Cylindrical Conductor (Bondwire)

L

o 2
AMD r
ln

1
.
25

2 GMD

GMD 0.7788 r
AMD r

Greenhouse: Eq. (4)

o 2
r 1
L
ln ln 0.7788 1.25
2 r
4

-0.25

2
r
L 2 107 ln 0.75

Bondwire example: d = 2r = 1mil = 25m

Lec. #4

Notice that the

inductance grows faster
than linear. (superlinear)

Inductance/length

1 mm

0.86 nH

0.9 nH/mm

2 mm

2.0 nH

1.0 nH/mm

3 mm

3.25 nH

1.1 nH/mm
| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Check my derivation:
L

o 2
ln
2 r

r r

Rule-of-thumb for (bond)wires.

7

Self-Inductance of Straight Rectangular Conductor (Slab)

2

AMD r
L o ln

1
.
25

2 GMD

Greenhouse: Eq. (7)

GMD 0.2232 (W + t)
AMD (W + t)/3

o 2
W t 1

ln

ln
0
.
2232

1
.
25

2 W t
3
4
+1.5

2
W t
L 2 10 ln
0.5

3
W t
7

l
W

Slab example: l = 200um, W = 2um, t = 1 um

400
3
L 2 10 7 200 106 ln

0
.
5

3 200
3
0.216 nH

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Mutual Inductance for Conductors

See Greenhouse paper* (course website)
2
2

D
D
i

Mi
i ln
1 1

2
D
D
i i

Eq. (10+11)
Watch units!!!

o=4 x 10-7 H/m

li = length of conductor-pair i in meters
[special rules apply when two lengths are unequal SEE NEXT PAGE]
D = distance separating the two conductor centers (paper calls this GMD)
Formula can be used for parallel bondwires
Lees formula 44 is equivalent if you assume l >>D.
Formula can be used for parallel conductors on-chip
NOTE: Only applies to parallel conductors,
orthogonal conductors have minimal coupling.

l
D

*H.M. Greenhouse, Design of planar rectangular microelectronic inductors, IEEE Trans. Parts, Hybrids, and Packaging, v10, n2 June 1974, p.101-9.
9
Lec. #4
| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Mutual Inductance for Different Length Conductors

See Greenhouse paper (Eqs. 13, 14, 15)
j

2M j ,m M m p M mq M p M q

D
p

Eq. (13)
m

If p = q
p=0

Lec. #4

M j ,m M m p M p

2M j ,m M j M m M q

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

Eq. (14)
Eq. (15)
10

Topics to Cover Today

Inductors
Greenhouse method
Self inductance
Bondwires
Rectangular slabs

Mutual inductance

Square spiral inductor

Lec. #4

Inductance
Resistance
Capacitance
Equivalent model
| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

11

Greenhouse Formula: Square Spiral

w
s

5
6
2

Design Parameters
Number of turns
Metal layer to use
Diameter = d
Trace thickness = 4um
Trace width = w Trace spacing = s
Positive mutual inductance :
currents in same direction
Negative mutual inductance :
currents in opposite direction

LT Self_Induc tance Positive_Mutual Negative_M utual

Sum Self Inductance = L1+L2+L3+L4+L5+L6
Sum Positive Mutual = M15 + M26 + M51 + M62 = 2(M15 + M26)
Sum Negative Mutual = M13 + M24 + M31 + M35 + M42 + M46 + M53 + M64
= 2 (M13 + M24 + M35 + M46)
Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

12

Matrix Organization for Mutual Inductances

w
s

5
6

2
d

Accounting scheme to keep track of the signs of the mutuals.

Define Mij = mutual inductance between i and j.
Self-inductance (Mii) along the diagonal.
Zero mutual inductance between odd/even mixed pairs (M12)
Positive mutual occur 4 elements away from self and then intervals of 4.
Negative mutual occur 2 elements away from self and then intervals of 4.

ML111
M0
21
MM
M 3113
M
M041
M
M5115

M061

M 120 M 13 MM
M
0 15
1314
M 22L2 M 23 0M 24 M
M25
24
M 320 M 33 L3M 34 M
0 35
M42M 24M 43 0M 44 M
L445
M 520 M 53 MM3554 M
0 55
MM
M6546
62 26 M 63 0M 64 M

MM1615
0
M 26
0
M 26

M
M
0
36 35

M 46
0 M 46
ML565
0

M 66
0
L6

LT Self_Induc tance Positive_Mutual Negative_M utual

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

13

Back to Spiral Inductor Example

w
s

# turns = 1.0
Diameter =
150um
Width = 5um
Spacing = 5um
Thick=4um

2
d

l1 = l2 = l3 = d-w = 145um
l4 = d 2w s = 135um
D = 145um

Lec. #4

M 13
0
0
M 24

L1
0

0
L2

M 13

L3

M 24

L4

L = 3L1 + L4 2M13 -2M24

L1=L2=L3
L(l=145, w=5, t=4)
L4
L(l=135, w=5, t=4)
M13
M (l=145, D=145)
2M24 = M2 + M4 MW+S
M2 = M13 M (l=145, D=145)
M4 =
M (l=135, D=145)
MW+S
M (l=10, D=145)

L Total

0.401 nH

* Greenhouse *

L without Mutual

0.453 nH

Neglect mutual

L straight wire

0.622 nH

Unwind segments

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

= 0.116nH
= 0.106nH
= 13.5pH
= 25.3 pH
= 13.5pH
= 11.8 pH
= 69 fH

14

Inductance Formula for Complete Spirals

1. Mohans uniform current sheet
model (Lee, Eq. 31)
o n2 d avg c1 c2
2
L
ln c3 r c4 r
2
r

dout din
2
d d
r out in
dout din

din

d avg

n is the no. of turns

Shape

c1

c2

c3

c4

Square

1.27

2.07

0.18

0.13

Hexagon

1.09

2.23

0.00

0.17

d out

2. Modified Wheeler
Formula (Lee, Eq. 30)

9.375

L o n d avg
11d 7d
out
avg

Octagon

1.07

2.29

0.00

0.19

Circle

1.00

2.36

0.00

0.20

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

15

Resistance of Traces
w

W
s

4
# turns = 1.0
Diameter =
150um
Width = 5um
Spacing = 5um
Thick=4um

Aluminum :
Copper :

L
L
R
Rsheet
Wt
W

# of squares

= 3.65 x 107 S/m at room temp

= 5.8 x 107 S/m at room temp

Note: semiconductor processes use metal alloys, so

these pure values are not appropriate.
You have to check design manual for Rsheet.

For t 0.5 to 5 um

Rsheet 50 mW/sq to 5 mW/sq

Counting squares for example above:

#sq(1) = (150-w)/w = 145/5 = 29 squares (excluding the corner)
#sq(2) =#sq(3)= (150-2w)/w = 140/5 = 28 squares (excluding the corners)
#sq(4) = (150-2w-s)/w = 135/5 = 27 squares (excluding the corner)
CORNERS COUNT AS 0.56 squares
Total of 3 corners = 1.68 squares
Total squares = 113.7
Total resistance = 113.7 square * 5 mW/sq = 0.568 W
Neglects Skin Effect
Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

16

Skin Effect
Distance where the current density is 1/e
times the surface value.
Due to eddy currents within the conductor
which reinforce current at surface and cancel
currents in the center.
2
d

Picture from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wi
ki/Skin_effect

Note the square root dependence on w.

d [Al, 1GHz] ~ 2.5 um
d [Al, 60GHz] ~ 0.3 um

Trace resistance modified for skin effect

(Lee, Eq.34)
t
L
R Rsheet
t / d
W
d
1

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

17

Shunt Capacitance of Trace

w
s

4
# turns = 1.0
Diameter =
150um
Width = 5um
Spacing = 5um
Thick=4um

2
d

W
Cox
H
3.9 8.85 1012 F/m

Ex: Number of squares

without corners = 29 + 28 + 28
+ 27 = 112
3 corners 115 squares
Total capacitance
W2
Cox
9.93 fF
H W

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

18

Excel Spreadsheet Example

Self Inductance
Length
Width
Thickness
Spacing
Lsegment

200 um
10 um
3 um
10 um
1.48125E-10

Mutual Inductance
Length
Distance
Mpair

L
=4Lseg+8Mpair

Lec. #4

20 um
190 um

2.10333E-13

5.91659E-10

Resistance Calculation for segment

Squares
104.8 sq
R-square
0.010 ohm/sq
Rs
0.998 ohm

Capacitance Calculation for Segment

Height
11 um
eox
3.9
eo
8.85E-12 F/m
e
3.45E-17 F/um
C-sq
3.14E-16 F/sq
Csegment
3.29E+01 fF
squares
107 sq
Ctotal
3.36E-14 F
C/side
1.68E-14 F

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

f
w
skin-dep
R

1.00E+10 Hz
6.28E+10 rad/sec
8.51E-01 um
3.63E+00 ohm

Substrate
resistivity
e-sub
RC const
ftransition

15 ohm-cm
1.05E-12 F/cm
1.58E-11
1.01E+10 Hz

Rsub
Csub

300
5.27E-14 F

19

Inductor Model: Putting it all together

R
Cox
2

L
Cox
2

Csub
2

2 Rsub

Csub
2

2 Rsub

Substrate network

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

20

Q Factor of Spiral Inductors

The Q factor of spiral is complicated by capacitive coupling to the lossy silicon
substrate. Even if the substrate was not lossy, there would be additional
losses at high frequency do the skin effect reducing the effective cross
sectional area as the high frequency currents are pushed out towards the
surface of the conductor.
Because of these extra loss factors the Q of the inductor degrades at higher
frequencies.
30
30
25

Ideal Ind Q

20
Q y ue( w )
Q L( w )

Peak Q

15

Spiral Ind Q

10

5
0.654
0

1 10

0
8

110

2 10

3 10

4 10

5 10

6 10

7 10

8 10

9 10

1 10

10

10

110

Lec. #4

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

21

Substrate Effects: Electromagnetics

How does the silicon substrate behave with respect to
signals?
Silicon (a semiconductor) behaves like a lossy medium.
It has a resistivity, (r=1/) conductive current (resistor)
Typical values: r = 0.1 to 10 W-cm (doping dependent).

It has a permittivity (r=11.9) displacement current (capacitor)

Maxwells curl equations (in differential, phasor form):

E jw H

Faradays Law: time-varying magnetic field induces

electric field

H J jw E E jw E

Amperes Law with Maxwells correction: current and

time-varying electric field generate magnetic field.

The solution of these (Helmholtz eqn.):

2
2
E w 1 j
E 0
w

Lec. #5

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

22

Substrate Transition Frequency

E w 1 j
E 0
w

The frequency where the conductive and displacement

currents are equal is a useful metric.
Well call this the substrate transition frequency (wsub).
2

1
1
wsub
w
r

Note:
~1/RC

Below this angular frequency, resistive effects dominate.

Above this angular frequency, capacitive effects dominate.

Substrate transition frequencies:

r=0.1W-cm, fsub = 1.5 THz heavily-doped substrates (CMOS),

resistive effects dominate
r=10W-cm, fsub = 15 GHz lightly-doped substrates (SiGe),
include both R and C

Lec. #5

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

23

Modeling the Substrate Network

Top-side nodes and
GND connections

Node 1 Node 2
Slab of silicon

Bondwires

Ground Plane (in package/board, perhaps a heat sink)

Termination
network

RSUB1

Coupling network

Node 1

Node 2

RSUB3
CSUB1

CSUB3

RSUB2

Termination
network

CSUB2

Back-side ground plane

The RC time-constant of each pair should match the r timeconstant of the substrate.
Termination networks are used for models of single devices.
Coupling networks can be used to connect multiple devices.
Lec. #5

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

24

Substrate Effects
Rsubs are a function of distance.

Surface barriers (n-wells, trenches) can be used to

try to force the current deeper into the substrate
and increase Rsub.
Surface sinks (p+ substrate contacts) can be used
to suck up all of the substrate current to try and
decrease Rsub this is generally more effective.

In general, you get the highest performance in an

RF circuit if you can either make the substrate
behave either like a short circuit or an open
circuit.
Lec. #5

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

25

Symmetric Spiral Inductors

Symmetric spirals use a structure which wind in and then wind out to achieve
complete symmetry. This means that both ports of the inductor have exactly the
same geometry and exactly the same electrical components (see left)
This is especially important for fully-differential circuits, where any imbalance in
the components can lead to offsets.
Also, fully symmetric spiral inductors are more area efficient than using two
individual spiral inductors for a differential circuit (see right).
VDD

Axis of symmetry

Axes of symmetry

Differential Amp, using

two inductors

Itail

Differential Amp, using

symmetric inductor

Lec. #5

| B. Floyd | ECE 712 |

VDD

Itail
26