Voltage Regulator Using Stacked Metal Wires to Reduce Chip Size
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional voltage regulators have increased size and manufacturing costs due to the use of trimming pads and fuses, which require additional processing steps and can lead to latent damage during high-energy trimming processes.
Innovation Solution
A voltage regulator design utilizing metal wires arranged in regular patterns and conductive metal wiring patterns to selectively connect and activate the metal wires, eliminating the need for trimming pads and fuses, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing chip size and costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If trimming pads and fuses are used to adjust output voltage, then voltage regulation capability is improved, but chip size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from planar trimming pads to vertically stacked metal wires in different layers. The voltage division unit uses metal wires arranged in regular patterns across multiple layers, connected through conductive patterns, effectively utilizing the third dimension (vertical stacking) to achieve voltage regulation without increasing chip footprint area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent embeds multiple metal wires within a compact voltage division unit structure. The metal wires are arranged in regular patterns and nested within the chip's vertical architecture, with conductive patterns connecting them. This nested arrangement allows multiple voltage regulation functions to coexist in a small space, reducing overall chip size.
2Adaptability or versatility
If trimming pads and fuses are used to adjust output voltage, then voltage regulation capability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the fuse components from the design. Instead of using fuses to connect trimming pads, the invention directly connects metal wires through conductive patterns that can be selectively activated. This removal of the fuse element simplifies the manufacturing process by eliminating the trimming step that requires high-current or laser processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-arranges metal wires in regular patterns during the standard semiconductor manufacturing process, with conductive patterns already configured to connect specific wires. This preliminary arrangement allows voltage regulation to be achieved through standard fabrication steps without requiring subsequent trimming operations, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If high current or laser is used to fuse fuses during trimming, then voltage regulation is achieved, but latent damage occurs to the voltage regulator
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the fuse element entirely from the design, replacing it with conductive patterns that connect metal wires without requiring high-energy trimming operations. This extraction eliminates the source of latent damage caused by high current or laser exposure during the trimming process.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive patterns are designed to selectively connect metal wires during standard manufacturing processes, enabling the voltage regulator to self-configure its voltage division ratio without requiring external trimming interventions. This self-service approach avoids the harmful effects of high-energy processing on the device.
Data Source
AI summary
A voltage regulator and a method of manufacturing the voltage regulator, which can provide a desired output voltage of the voltage regulator using a plurality of metal wires, arranged in regular patterns, and conductive metal wiring patterns, configured to activate the metal wires by selectively connecting them to each other when a voltage regulator having various output voltage patterns is produced through a single chip, thus reducing the costs of manufacturing the voltage regulator by simplifying the manufacturing process while reducing the size of the chip of the voltage regulator.