CAREER: Advanced Microfabricated Magnetics for Power and RF Applications

职业：用于电源和射频应用的先进微加工磁性材料

• 批准号: 9875204
• 负责人: Charles Sullivan
• 金额: $ 24.99万
• 依托单位: Dartmouth College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-07-01 至 2003-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9875204&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Advanced; Microfabricated; Magnetics; Power

9875204SullivanThrough the combined efforts of researchers and manufacturers all over the world, the capabilities of microprocessors continue to grow exponentially as predicted by Gordon Moore in 1965. Progress in numerous fields is on track to continue to uphold Moore's Law. But a new obstacle looms: powering very high-current, very low-voltage processors. The difficulties in delivering this power with sufficient stability and fast enough response time have earned the industry nickname the Power Wall. This project will develop innovations in microfabricated magnetic components that will allow microprocessor power delivery with performance well beyond the capabilities of other techniques now being studied, and will lay the foundations for advanced magnetics in a wide range of applications.Future microprocessors will typically require supply currents on the order of 100 A. The power requirement is mitigated by scaling supply voltages to lower levels, but the resulting low impedance makes stable power delivery more difficult. A small-size, fast-response power converter will need to be located immediately adjacent to the processor. Portable, battery powered systems impose even more stringent efficiency and size constraints. Improved inductors are critical for meeting these requirements. State-of-the-art inductors remain the largest and most expensive components in power converters, and they limit the efficiency and response time. A new technology-such as microfabrication-must be applied. But existing microfabricated magnetics exhibit poor efficiency, poor power density, or both.This project will introduce several innovative approaches that will dramatically boost performance. New magnetic materials will achieve low hysteresis and eddy-current losses, yet allow operation with high flux density in the 5-20 MHz range. These properties will be obtained by using composite materials comprising nanoscale particles of magnetic metal in a ceramic matrix, deposited by vacuum evaporation. In these materials, the ceramic will insulate the particles to prevent eddy currents, while the ultrafine particles will reduce coercivity and hysteresis loss. In addition, a newly proposed fabrication process will use anisotropic silicon etching and other microfabrication techniques to form inductors in a configuration optimized for low-impedance high-current applications. The result will be higher power density and efficiency with a streamlined process flow that will simplify magnetic material deposition. Inductors using the new material and process will be fabricated and tested, and applications will be developed in cooperation with industrial partners including Intel Corp. and Volterra, who will collaborate on implementation of circuits and provide financial support.The new magnetics technology will have a broad range of applications including power conversion in other systems and inductors for RF communications circuits; the new magnetic materials are expected to have good properties up to frequencies on the order of 1 GHz.The project is designed to capture synergy between research and education. Students including first-year undergraduates, upper-level undergraduates, and Ph.D. candidates will be actively involved in the research program. To meet the significant challenges associated with providing undergraduates with a meaningful research experience, successful, proven programs in undergraduate research will be combined with refinements in student teaming. The research program will be structured to provide opportunities for useful and satisfying work at appropriate skill levels for undergraduates, by taking advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by work in microfabrication.Outreach and curriculum innovation will help develop the next generation of engineers. Outreach activities involving high-school and junior-high-school students will attract them to engineering; courses that let undergraduates sample the fun of real-world problem solving will inspire them to continue; and a streamlined class in power electronics and electromechanical energy conversion based on modem applications will encourage them to study this critical area.***

9875204 Sullivan通过世界各地研究人员和制造商的共同努力，微处理器的能力继续呈指数级增长，正如戈登·摩尔（Gordon Moore）在1965年所预测的那样。 许多领域的进展都在继续坚持摩尔定律。 但一个新的障碍隐现：为非常高电流、非常低电压的处理器供电。 在提供足够的稳定性和足够快的响应时间的能力方面存在的困难为业界赢得了Power Wall的绰号。 该项目将在微加工磁性元件方面进行创新，使微处理器的功率传输性能远远超过目前正在研究的其他技术的能力，并将为广泛应用的先进磁性技术奠定基础。未来的微处理器通常需要100 A量级的电源电流。通过将电源电压缩放到较低水平来减轻功率要求，但由此产生的低阻抗使得稳定的功率输送更加困难。 一个小尺寸、快速响应的电源转换器需要紧邻处理器放置。 便携式电池供电系统对效率和尺寸的限制更加严格。 改进的电感器对于满足这些要求至关重要。 最先进的电感器仍然是功率转换器中最大和最昂贵的组件，它们限制了效率和响应时间。 必须采用一种新技术，如微加工技术。 但是现有的微制造磁性材料表现出效率低，功率密度低，或者两者兼而有之。本项目将介绍几种创新的方法，将大大提高性能。 新的磁性材料将实现低磁滞和涡流损耗，但允许在5-20 MHz范围内以高磁通密度运行。 这些特性将通过使用复合材料来获得，该复合材料包括通过真空蒸发沉积的在陶瓷基质中的磁性金属的纳米级颗粒。 在这些材料中，陶瓷将使颗粒绝缘以防止涡流，而超细颗粒将降低介电性和磁滞损耗。 此外，新提出的制造工艺将使用各向异性硅蚀刻和其他微加工技术来形成电感器，其配置针对低阻抗高电流应用进行了优化。 其结果将是更高的功率密度和效率，简化的工艺流程将简化磁性材料沉积。 使用新材料和工艺的电感器将被制造和测试，并将与包括英特尔公司和沃尔泰拉在内的工业合作伙伴合作开发应用程序，他们将在电路实施方面进行合作并提供资金支持。新的磁性技术将有广泛的应用，包括其他系统中的功率转换和RF通信电路中的电感器;这种新的磁性材料预计在高达1 GHz的频率下具有良好的性能。2该项目旨在实现研究和教育之间的协同作用。 学生包括一年级本科生、高级本科生和博士生。候选人将积极参与研究计划。 为了应对与为本科生提供有意义的研究经验相关的重大挑战，成功的，经过验证的本科生研究项目将与学生团队的改进相结合。 该研究计划的结构将提供有用的和满意的工作在适当的技能水平为本科生的机会，通过利用在微细加工工作所提供的独特的机会。拓展和课程创新将有助于开发下一代工程师。 涉及高中和初中学生的推广活动将吸引他们进入工程领域;让本科生体验解决现实问题的乐趣的课程将激励他们继续学习;基于现代应用的电力电子和机电能量转换的精简课程将鼓励他们学习这一关键领域。