A new comprehensive wide-band compact modeling methodology for single-ended spiral inductors and differential spiral inductors is presented. The new modeling methodology creates an equivalent circuit model consisting of frequency-independent circuit elements for use in circuit simulators. A fast automated extraction procedure is developed for determining the circuit element values from two-port S-parameter measurement data. The methodology is extremely flexible in allowing for accurate modeling of general classes of inductors on high or low resistivity substrate and for large spirals exhibiting distributed trends. The new modeling methodology is applied to general classes of spirals with various sizes and substrate parameters. The presented compact modeling methodology has major benefits including greatly reducing model extraction time in comparison with currently available models based on optimization methods. To demonstrate the accuracy in comparison with past models a number of measurement data sets are used for sample extractions. A developed computer program is presented and used for circuit model extractions. Results are presented when the computer program is applied to a high-volume inductor extraction. The extracted models show excellent agreement with the measured data sets over the frequency range of 0.1 to 10 GHz. / Graduation date: 2004

M.Ing. / High frequency magnetic components have financial and physical advantages compared to low frequency magnetic components. Although high frequency magnetic components have been used for quite some time, the design and analysis of these components remain complicated.This can be ascribed to the effect of eddy currents and thermal constraints due to the smaller cooling area of such components. Planar magnetic components have long been preferred due to the higher manufacturing output, better quality control and the favorable flat shape of the component. Many studies have been conducted on planar magnetic components with respect to the energy storage capacity, air gap shape and placement, low permeability materials, to replace the air gaps, the placing of the conductors in the winding window, etc. The designs that are commonly used for planar magnetic components today, are the ones that are proven to work and not necessarily the ones that are optimal. In this study a thermal model is presented to ease the design of DC inductors. A lot of emphasis is placed on heat extraction resulting from losses in the embedded conductors through the core. This is an unconventional way to extract heat from the planar structure and leads to a new approach towards design planar inductor design.

Position sensing is one of the most important tasks in the industrial manufacturing of goods and materials. Position sensing can take on a variety of forms and is used in the measurement of a wide range of variables such as distance, speed, the number of revolutions per minute, orientation, identification, and in collision protection. Proximity sensors play a significant role and are used in a plethora of industries including agriculture, consumer goods, transportation, industrial processes, electrical services, medical, military and avionics. This research is aimed at improving the performance and manufacturability of inductive proximity sensors through the design and fabrication of coils using multilayer ceramic technologies common in the manufacturing of hybrid microelectronics components and circuits. As another alternative, multilayer structures utilizing polymer materials and fabrication techniques common to the printed circuit board (PCB) industry were also investigated. Manufacture of the coils utilizing ceramic and polymer materials and hybrid and PCB fabrication techniques would eliminate the problems of repeatability, and the placement and potting of the coil. The fabrication techniques also lend well to the mass production of the coils using techniques that are well established in the electronics industry. The overall result would be a planar inductor with high yield that is suitable for mass production. / Master of Science

This thesis presents algorithms and tools for the automated design of RF LC CMOS voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) with low phase noise given a set of specifications. The electromagnetic solver, ASITIC, combined with the circuit simulator, SpectreRF, allows optimization of the VCO circuit parameters and inductor layout. This approach gives a phase noise improvement of up to 20 dBc/Hz in the flicker noise region and up to 5 dBc/Hz in the thermal noise region. An optimization program for the computer-aided design of on-chip spiral inductors has also been developed. This program allows the designer to obtain the layout of an inductor with a required inductance value and maximal quality factor, thus enabling a reduction in the phase noise of the VCO being designed. The circuit simulator SPICE3 has been extended to handle phase noise analysis based on a non-linear perturbation analysis for oscillators. The implemented technique allows for an accurate simulation of phase noise due to devices described either by analytical or numerical models. With this extension, the automated design of RF LC oscillators can be performed within the SPICE3 framework. Furthermore, the technique is available in a public domain software and can be extended to other application domains. / Graduation date: 2004

No description available.

An impedance-based core loss measurement technique for power ferrites, the modeling and analysis of mechanisms of high-frequency losses, and design methodology for optimization for high-frequency magnetics are presented. The high-frequency losses of ferrite materials are characterized employing a large-signal impedance measurement technique. The impedance analyzer controlled through an IEEE-488 interface, measures the impedance of the inductor under test under large signal excitation via a power amplifier. The core loss is a form of a parallel resistance is derived from measured impedance characteristics. A wideband impedance probe, enables core loss characterization up to 100 MHz. A comprehensive analysis of all major loss mechanisms in ferrites is presented. A new form of residual losses due to a magnetoelectric effect is postulated to account for losses at high frequencies. Two models of losses in ferrites are proposed, one with emphasis on analysis of loss mechanisms, and the other with an emphasis on the design of high-frequency magnetic components. Both models include the important effect of static bias field, which is the case in many power electronics applications. Magnetic losses due to magnetostriction are measured. Dependence of magnetoelastic resonances on the magnetic bias. core material, core shape and size is studied. The influence of diffusion after-effect on core loss under time-varying bias field is investigated. Thermal stability of high-frequency magnetics is studied. A verification of one- and two- dimensional models of winding losses for solid and litz wire is performed. The optimum design method for high-frequency power transformers and inductors is proposed. / PhD