STTR Phase I: Wafer-Integrated Soft Magnetic Composite Films for Inductors with High Power Density and Efficiency

这个小型企业技术转移（STTR）第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是彻底改变微型集成电路（IC）转换器市场，广泛应用于手机，物联网设备和微传感器。该技术将减少各种模块的外形尺寸，从而进一步实现片上组件的小型化。一家制造工厂可以为多家IC公司提供代工能力，根据每个客户的设计集成电感器。该技术可以为此类设备的美国制造商在商业和国防市场的大型移动电子和微型电子市场提供显着的竞争优势。在美国建立制造能力将支持组件封装和后端集成业务的复苏。移动设备的小型化正在快速发展。在板载电源变换器中，电感和电容器等无源元件是最大的元件之一。集成电路兼容、低成本、低损耗、高频（10MHz）和高饱和磁化的软磁磁芯的不可用性限制了片上电感器的实现。该项目旨在为电感芯创造创新的软磁复合材料（SMC）。ic兼容的高性能SMC薄膜，其厚度可以缩放到50微米以上而不会损失性能，将首次被开发出来。该项目的最初目标将是开发高磁矩、低损耗SMC材料的物理和电化学合成方法，这些材料可用于制造片上电感器，取代电路中的铁氧体磁芯电感器。该方法可以扩展以处理不同的功率范围，并且可以集成在晶圆、封装基板或电路板上。这些芯将使电感厚度减少至少10倍，用于低外形系数，使用点，直流（DC）到直流功率转换器和IC稳压电路。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to revolutionize the miniature-powered Integrated Circuit (IC) converter market, widely used in cellular phones, Internet of Things devices, and microsensors. The technology will provide form factor reductions of various modules, leading to the further miniaturization of on-chip components. A manufacturing facility can service several IC companies by providing foundry capabilities to integrate inductors according to each customer’s design. The technology can provide US manufacturers of such devices with a significant competitive edge in the very large mobile electronics and miniature electronics markets both in commercial and defense markets. Establishing manufacturing capability in the US will support a revival of component packaging and back-end integration business. Mobile device miniaturization is increasing at a rapid rate. In on-board power converters, passive components such as inductors and capacitors are among the largest components. The non-availability of IC-compatible, low-cost, soft magnetic cores with low loss, high frequency (10MHz), and high saturation magnetization limits the implementation of on-chip inductors. The project aims to create innovative, soft magnetic composite (SMC) materials for inductor cores. IC-compatible high-performance SMC films, with thicknesses that can be scaled to 50 microns and above without losing performance, will be developed for the first time. The project's initial goal will be to develop physical and electrochemical synthesis methodologies for high magnetic moment, low loss, SMC materials that can be used to fabricate on-chip inductors, replacing ferrite core-based inductors in circuits. The approach can be scaled to handle different ranges of power and can be integrated on wafers, package substrates, or boards. These cores will enable inductor thickness to be reduced by at least 10 times for use in low form factor, point-of-use, direct current (DC) to DC power converters and IC voltage regulator circuitry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.