Interposer Stacked Diodes and Capacitors for ESD Noise Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices face challenges in balancing noise mitigation and circuit area utilization, as components like decoupling capacitors and ESD circuitry occupy significant space, potentially reducing performance and increasing susceptibility to noise and damage.
Innovation Solution
The arrangement of diodes and capacitors in a stacked configuration within an interposer, rather than a substrate, allows for increased size and efficiency, reducing diode resistance and increasing capacitance without occupying additional circuit area, thereby enhancing ESD protection and noise filtering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If decoupling capacitors and ESD circuitry are included in the substrate, then noise filtering and ESD protection are improved, but circuit area available for core logic components is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts decoupling capacitors and ESD circuitry from the substrate and relocates them to a separate interposer. This separation allows the substrate to be dedicated to core logic components while the interposer handles noise filtering and protection functions, thereby resolving the area conflict.
Solution Approach 2:
The interposer serves as an intermediary component between the substrate and the package. It mediates the connection while providing dedicated space for decoupling capacitors and ESD circuitry, enabling both noise filtering/protection functions and efficient substrate utilization without direct area competition.
2Reliability
If the size of decoupling capacitors is increased to improve noise filtering, then capacitance is improved, but circuit area available for other components is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Decoupling capacitors are extracted from the substrate and placed on the interposer. This extraction enables the capacitors to be sized appropriately for effective noise filtering without constraining the substrate area available for core logic components, as the area consumption occurs on a separate component.
3Reliability
If diodes are arranged in a side-by-side configuration within the substrate, then ESD protection is provided, but the diode size is limited and resistance remains high
Solution Approach 1:
ESD diodes are extracted from the substrate and relocated to the interposer. This relocation frees the substrate from ESD protection functions, allowing the diodes to be implemented with optimized geometries on the interposer that achieve lower resistance while providing adequate ESD protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional side-by-side arrangement of diodes on the substrate to utilizing the vertical dimension by placing diodes on a separate interposer layer. This dimensional change enables larger diode areas and lower resistance without increasing the footprint of the core substrate.
4Reliability
If more circuit area is allocated to decoupling capacitors and ESD circuitry, then noise filtering and ESD protection are improved, but the overall device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interposer merges multiple functions into a single component: it provides mechanical support, electrical interconnection, and hosts decoupling capacitors and ESD circuitry. This consolidation allows noise filtering and protection functions to be added without proportionally increasing overall device size, as these functions are integrated into the existing interposer structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a substrate and an interposer associated with the substrate. The apparatus further includes a first device disposed within the substrate or within the interposer and a second device disposed within the interposer. The first device and the second device are arranged in a stacked configuration.