This thesis reports on a new implementation of high quality factor (Q) copper (Cu) inductors on CMOS-grade (10-20ohm.cm) silicon (Si) substrates using a fully CMOS-compatible process. A low-temperature (less than300C) fabrication sequence is employed to reduce the loss of Si wafers at RF frequencies by trenching the Si substrate. The high aspect-ratio (30:1) trenches are subsequently bridged over or refilled with a low-loss material to close the open areas and to create a rigid low-loss island (Trenched Si Island) on which the inductors can be fabricated. The method reported here does not require air suspension of the inductors, resulting in mechanically-robust structures that are compatible with any packaging technology. The metal loss of inductors is reduced by electroplating thick (~20m) Cu layer. Fabricated inductors are characterized and modeled from S-parameter measurement. Measurement results are in good agreement with SONNET electromagnetic simulations. A one-turn 0.8nH Cu inductor fabricated on a Trenched Silicon Island (TSI) exhibits high Q of 71 at 8.75 GHz. Whereas, the identical inductor fabricated on a 20um thick silicon dioxide (SiO2) coated standard Si substrate has a maximum Q of 41 at 1.95GHz. Comparing the Q of inductors on TSI with that of other micromachined Si substrates reveals the significant effect of trenching the Si in reduction of the substrate loss. This thesis outlines the design, fabrication, characterization and modeling of spiral type Cu inductors on the TSIs.

Several fabrication techniques for surface micromachined 3-D structures have been developed for RF components. The fabrication techniques all have in common the use of epoxy patterning and subsequent metallization. Techniques and structures such as embedded conductors, epoxy-core conductors, a reverse-side exposure technique, a multi-exposure scheme, and inclined patterning are presented. The epoxy-core conductor technique makes it easy to fabricate high-aspect-ratio (10-20:1), tall (~1mm) RF subelements as well as potentially very complex structures by taking advantage of advanced epoxy processes. To demonstrate feasibility and usefulness of the developed fabrication techniques for RF applications, two test vehicles are employed. One is a solenoid type RF inductor, and the other is a millimeter wave radiating structure such as a W-band quarter-wavelength monopole antenna. The embedded inductor approach provides mechanical robustness and package compatibility as well as good electrical performance. An inductor with a peak Q-factor of 21 and an inductance of 2.6nH at 4.5GHz has been fabricated on a silicon substrate. In addition, successful integration with a CMOS power amplifier has been demonstrated. A high-aspect-ratio inductor fabricated using epoxy core conductors shows a maximum Q-factor of 84 and an inductance of 1.17nH at 2.6GHz on a glass substrate with a height of 900um and a single turn. Successful W-band monopole antenna fabrication is demonstrated. A monopole with a height of 800um shows its radiating resonance at 85GHz with a return loss of 16dB. In addition to the epoxy-based devices, an advanced tunable ferroelectric device architecture is introduced. This architecture enables a low-loss conductor device; a reduced intermodulation distortion (IMD) device; and a compact tunable LC module. A single-finger capacitor having a low-loss conductor with an electrode gap of 1.2um and an electrode thickness of 2.2um has been fabricated using a reverse-side exposure technique, showing a tunability of 33% at 10V. It shows an improved Q-factor of 21.5. Reduced IMD capacitors consist of wide RF gaps and narrowly spaced high resistivity electrodes with a gap of 2um and a width of 2um within the wide gap. A 14um gap and a 20um gap capacitor show improved IMD performance compared to a 4um gap capacitor by 6dB and 15dB, respectively, while the tunability is approximately 21% at 30V for all three devices due to the narrowly spaced multi-pair high resistivity DC electrodes within the gap. Finally, a compact tunable LC module is implemented by forming the narrow gap capacitor in an inductor shape. The resonance frequency of this device is variable as a function of DC bias and a frequency tunability of 1.1%/V is achieved. The RF components developed in this thesis illustrate the usefulness of the application of micromachining technology to this application area, especially as frequencies of operation of RF systems continue to increase (and therefore wavelengths continue to shrink).

La miniaturisation, la fabrication et l'intégration des composants passifs RF constituent des enjeux majeurs actuels, sans oublier le critère du coût de fabrication, très important notamment pour les applications grand public. Les composants passifs tels que les inductances et les transformateurs font l'objet d'un effort de développement permanent pour accroitre leurs performances et réduire la surface occupée. Les travaux décrits dans ce manuscrit s'inscrivent dans ce contexte et visent le développement d'une nouvelle filière technologique permettant la réalisation à faible coût de composants inductifs tridimensionnels à hautes performances. Le travail présenté dans ce mémoire s'articule en quatre chapitres. Le premier chapitre dresse un état de l'art des inductances et des transformateurs intégrés en abordant les principales topologies utilisées, les technologies de fabrication et les applications. Dans le deuxième chapitre, l'étude et l'optimisation des inductances et des transformateurs solénoïdaux est abordée après avoir décrit les origines des pertes limitant les performances. Pour cela, nous avons recours à la simulation électromagnétiques 3D. Dans le troisième chapitre, un problème de caractérisation des composants inductifs à forts coefficients de surtension est soulevé. Après avoir constaté que l'environnement de mesure réduisait artificiellement les performances, quelques solutions sont proposées et vérifiées expérimentalement. Enfin, le dernier chapitre traite de la fabrication et de la caractérisation des composants mis au point. Les meilleures performances mesurées correspondent à un facteur de qualité de 61 à 5,4 GHz pour une inductance de 2,5 nH et un gain maximum disponible de -0,5 dB à -0,39 dB sur la plage 3,8 - 6,5 GHz pour un transformateur 2:2. Ces résultats placent ces composants parmi les meilleures réalisations actuelles. / The miniaturization, fabrication and integration of RF passive components are current major challenges, also taking into account the fabrication cost which is very important especially for consumer applications. Passive components such as inductors and transformers are subject to an ongoing development to improve their performance and reduce the area occupied. The work described in this manuscript is part of that context and target the development of a new technological process allowing the production of low-cost three-dimensional high-performance inductive components. The work presented in this paper is divided into four chapters. The first chapter describes the state of the art of integrated inductors and transformers by addressing the main topologies used fabrication technologies and applications. In the second chapter, the study and optimization of solenoid inductors and transformers is discussed after describing the origins of performance limiting losses. For this, we use the 3D electromagnetic simulation. In the third chapter, the problem concerning the characterization of inductive components with high Q factor is raised. After finding that the measurement environment artificially reduces performance, some solutions are proposed and experimentally verified. Finally, the last chapter discusses the fabrication and characterization of developed components. The best measured performance corresponds to a quality factor of 61 to 5.4 GHz for an inductance value of 2.5 nH and a maximum available gain of -0.5 dB to 0.39 dB over the range from 3.8 to 6.5 GHz for a 2:2 transformer. These results place these components among the best current achievements.