Rolled-up inductor structure for a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC)

1. A rolled-up inductor structure for a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC), the rolled-up structure comprising:

a multilayer sheet in a rolled configuration comprising multiple turns about a longitudinal axis, the multilayer sheet comprising a conductive pattern layer on a strain-relieved layer,

wherein the conductive pattern layer comprises:

at least one conductive strip having a length extending in a rolling direction, the at least one conductive strip thereby wrapping around the longitudinal axis in the rolled configuration; and

two conductive feed lines connected to the at least one conductive strip for passage of electrical current therethrough, wherein the two conductive feed lines extend away from the at least one conductive strip in a rolling direction, and

wherein the conductive strip is an inductor cell of the rolled-up inductor structure.

2. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of the conductive strips disposed along the direction of the longitudinal axis and connected in series by connecting lines.

3. The rolled-up structure of claim 2 comprising n of the conductive strips, n being an even number from 2 to 20, and further comprising n−1 of the connecting lines.

4. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 2 , wherein a first connecting line connects a base of a first conductive strip to a top of a second conductive strip, and a second connecting line connects a base of the second inductor cell to a top of a third inductor cell, such that the electrical current passes through adjacent conductive strips in the same direction.

5. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 4 , wherein each of the connecting lines defines an angle θ with respect to a side of one of the conductive strips, the angle θ ranging from about 30° to about 60°.

6. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 2 , wherein a first connecting line connects a base of a first conductive strip to a base of a second conductive strip, and a second connecting line connects a top of the second conductive strip to a top of a third conductive strip, such that electrical current passes through adjacent conductive strips in opposing directions.

7. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 6 , wherein the connecting lines are aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis.

8. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 2 , wherein the two conductive feed lines are connected to first and second ends of the plurality of the conductive strips.

9. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the strain-relieved layer comprises two layers, and wherein, in an unrolled configuration of the multilayer sheet, a top layer of the two layers is in tension and a bottom layer of the two layers is in compression.

10. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 9 , wherein each of the two layers comprises non-stoichiometric silicon nitride.

11. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern layer comprises one or more materials selected from the group consisting of carbon, silver, gold, aluminum, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, zinc, palladium, platinum, and nickel.

12. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern layer comprises a thickness of from about 10 nm to about 100 nm.

13. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of the thickness of the conductive pattern layer to an inner diameter of the rolled configuration of the multilayer sheet is at least about 0.005.

14. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the rolled configuration of the multilayer sheet comprises at least about 10 turns.

15. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the length of the at least one conductive strip is aligned substantially parallel to a rolling direction of the rolled configuration.

16. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 1 , wherein the rolled configuration of the multilayer sheet comprises an on-wafer footprint of about 5000 μm 2 or less.

17. A device comprising:

a plurality of the rolled-up inductor structures of claim 1 on a substrate, wherein the rolled-up inductor structures are components of a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC), the substrate comprising a semiconductor.

18. A rolled-up inductor structure for a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC), the rolled-up structure comprising:

a multilayer sheet in a rolled configuration comprising multiple turns about a longitudinal axis, the multilayer sheet comprising a conductive pattern layer on a strain-relieved layer,

wherein the conductive pattern layer comprises:

a plurality of conductive strips disposed along the direction of the longitudinal axis and connected in series by connecting lines, each of the conductive strips having a length extending in a rolling direction and wrapping around the longitudinal axis in the rolled configuration; and

two conductive feed lines connected to the plurality of conductive strips for passage of electrical current therethrough, wherein the two conductive feed lines are connected to first and second ends of the plurality of the conductive strips, and

wherein each of the conductive strips is an inductor cell of the rolled-up inductor structure.

19. The rolled-up inducture of claim 18 , wherein a first connecting line connects a base of a first conductive strip to a base of a second conductive strip, and a second connecting line connects a top of the second conductive strip to a top of a third conductive strip, such that electrical current passes through adjacent conductive strips in opposing directions.

20. The rolled-up inductor structure of claim 18 , wherein a first connecting line connects a base of a first conductive strip to a top of a second conductive strip, and a second connecting line connects a base of the second inductor cell to a top of a third inductor cell, such that the electrical current passes through adjacent conductive strips in the same direction.