Design of a high quality factor spiral inductors in RF MCM-D

Abstract

This thesis studies the design and fabrication of spiral inductors for use in Radio Frequency (RF) applications. A design methodology is developed to search an inductor design space efficiently using existing simulation software. The methodology allows designers to specify a desired inductance, total area, and frequency of operation instead of the geometrical parameters required by most design software. An implementation of the methodology that finds devices with optimal quality factor at a given frequency is presented. Several inductor designs are generated using this implementation, and the devices are fabricated in the Draper Laboratory, Inc. Multichip Module-Deposited (MCM-D) process. Simulated characteristics of the devices are verified using experimental measurements, and deviations from predicted performance are discussed.