SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES WITH THROUGH-SUBSTRATE COILS FOR WIRELESS SIGNAL AND POWER COUPLING
A semiconductor device comprising a substrate and a substantially spiral-shaped conductor is provided. The substantially spiral-shaped conductor extends substantially into the substrate and has a spiral axis substantially perpendicular to a surface of the substrate. The substantially spiral-shaped conductor can be configured to be wirelessly coupled to another substantially spiral-shaped conductor in another semiconductor device.
1 . A semiconductor device, comprising:
a substrate having a front side and a back side;
a plurality of circuit elements on the front side of the substrate; and
a spiral-shaped conductor extending downward from the front side of the substrate into the substrate and having a spiral axis perpendicular to the front side of the substrate,
wherein opposite ends of the spiral-shaped conductor are electrically connected to at least one of the plurality of circuit elements.
2 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the spiral-shaped conductor is configured to be wirelessly coupled to another spiral-shaped conductor in another semiconductor device.
3 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising a layer of insulating material covering the spiral-shaped conductor.
4 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a thickness, and wherein the substantially spiral-shaped conductor extends into the substrate by at least half of the thickness.
5 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the spiral-shaped conductor extends completely through the substrate.
6 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a silicon substrate between 10 μm and 200 μm thick, and wherein the spiral-shaped conductor extends into the substrate by at least 30 μm.
7 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the spiral-shaped conductor spans an area of between 80 μm and 600 μm across.
8 . The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein turns of the spiral-shaped conductor each have a width of between about 15 μm and 75 μm across.
9 . (canceled)
10 . A semiconductor package, comprising:
a first die including:
a first substrate having a front side and a back side,
a first plurality of circuit elements on the front side of the first substrate, and
a first spiral-shaped conductor extending downward from the front side of the first substrate into the first substrate and having a spiral axis perpendicular to the front side of the first substrate; and
a second die including:
a second substrate having a front side and a back side,
a second plurality of circuit elements on the front side of the second substrate, and
a second spiral-shaped conductor,
wherein the first spirally-shaped conductor and the second spirally-shaped conductor are wirelessly coupled.
11 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein the first spirally-shaped conductor and the second substantially spiral-shaped conductors conductor are configured to wirelessly communicate by inductive coupling.
12 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein the first spirally-shaped conductor and the second spiral-shaped conductor are configured to wirelessly communicate by capacitive coupling.
13 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein each of the first spirally-shaped conductor and the second spiral-shaped conductor has a span of between 80 μm and 600 μm across.
14 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein the first spirally-shaped conductor and the second spiral-shaped conductors conductor are coaxially aligned.
15 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein the first substrate has a thickness, and wherein the first spiral-shaped conductor extends into the substrate by at least half of the thickness.
16 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein the first spiral-shaped conductor extends completely through the first substrate.
17 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein the second spiral-shaped conductor extends downward from the front side of the second substrate into the second substrate.
18 . The semiconductor package of claim 10 , wherein the first die and the second die are stacked in a front-to-back arrangement.
19 . A semiconductor package, comprising:
a plurality of dies arranged in a stack, each die including a substrate, a plurality of circuit elements on a front side of the substrate, and a spiral-shaped conductor having a spiral axis perpendicular to a surface of the substrate,
wherein adjacent dies of the plurality of dies are wirelessly coupled by the respective spiral-shaped conductors thereof, and
wherein the spiral-shaped conductor of a first die of the plurality of dies extends downward from the front side of the substrate of the first die into the substrate thereof of the first die.
20 . The semiconductor package of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of dies includes more than two dies.