Liquid MEMS capacitor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9455089-B2
Application number	US-201213665712-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2012
Priority date	Sep 10, 2012
Publication date	Sep 27, 2016
Grant date	Sep 27, 2016

Abstract

A liquid micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) capacitor includes a first capacitor plate, a second capacitor plate, a channel, a dielectric doped droplet, and a droplet activating module. The channel is implemented or embedded in one or more layers of a board and the dielectric doped droplet is contained in the channel. The droplet activating module operable to change the dielectric doped droplet with respect to the first and second capacitive plates, which are proximal to the channel and at a distance from each other, thereby changing a dielectric property of the liquid MEMS capacitor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) capacitor comprises:
a first capacitor plate;
a second capacitor plate;
a channel in one or more layers of a board configured to contain a first dielectric doped droplet and a second dielectric doped droplet that is physically separate from the first dielectric doped droplet, wherein the first dielectric doped droplet has first dielectric properties and the second dielectric doped droplet has second dielectric properties, and wherein the first and second capacitor plates are proximal to the channel and at a distance from each other; and
a droplet activating module operable to change the first dielectric doped and the second dielectric doped droplet with respect to the first and second capacitive plates thereby changing a dielectric property of the liquid MEMS capacitor, wherein the first dielectric doped droplet comprises a plurality of first dielectric particles suspended in a non-conductive liquid solution, wherein the non-conductive liquid solution expands in response to a stimulus from the droplet activating module, and wherein the second dielectric doped droplet comprises a plurality of second dielectric particles suspended in a non-conductive liquid solution, wherein the non-conductive liquid solution expands in response to a stimulus from the droplet activating module, and wherein the second dielectric particles have at least one of: a size that differs from the first dielectric particles, a concentration that differs from the first dielectric particles, or a material that differs from the first dielectric particles.

2. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 1 wherein the droplet activating module is further operable to move the first dielectric doped droplet within the channel to effect the change on the dielectric doped droplet.

3. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 1 wherein the board include one of a printed circuit board (PCB), an integrated circuit (IC) package substrate, and a redistribution layer (RDL) of a PCB or of an IC package substrate.

4. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 1 , wherein the droplet activating module comprises at least one of:
an actuator;
an electric field source;
a magnetic field source;
a heat source;
a compression source; and
an expansion source.

5. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 1 wherein the first dielectric doped droplet is stacked in the channel adjacent to the second dielectric doped droplet.

6. A liquid micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) capacitor comprises:
a board having a plurality of channels in multiple layers of the board, wherein a channel of the plurality of channels in one or more of the multiple layers of the board configured to contain a dielectric solution including a first dielectric doped droplet and a second dielectric doped droplet that is physically separate from the first dielectric doped droplet, wherein the first dielectric doped droplet has first dielectric properties and the second dielectric doped droplet has second dielectric properties;
a first capacitor plate proximal to the plurality of channels;
a second capacitor plate proximal to the plurality of channels and a distance from the first capacitor plate; and
an activating module operable to inject at least a portion of the dielectric solution into a least a portion one or more channels of the plurality of channels to change a dielectric property of the liquid MEMS capacitor.

7. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 6 , wherein the dielectric solution comprises:
a plurality of dielectric particles suspended in a non-conductive liquid solution.

8. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 6 further comprises:
a control module operable to generate a control signal, wherein the control module sends the control signal to the activating module to regulate injection of the dielectric solution to achieve a desired capacitance of the liquid MEMS capacitor.

9. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 6 further comprises:
the channel having a four-sided tubular shape;
the first capacitor plate on a first wall of the channel; and
the second capacitor plate on a first opposite wall of the channel, wherein the first wall and the first opposite wall are substantially parallel with respect to each other.

10. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 9 further comprises:
an insulator on a second wall and a second opposite wall, wherein the second wall is approximately perpendicular to the first wall and is substantially parallel to the second opposite wall.

11. A liquid micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) capacitor comprises:
a first capacitor plate;
a second capacitor plate;
a channel in one or more layers of a board configured to contain a first dielectric doped droplet and a second dielectric doped droplet that is physically separate from the first dielectric doped droplet, wherein the first dielectric doped droplet has first dielectric properties and the second dielectric doped droplet has second dielectric properties, and wherein the first and second capacitor plates are proximal to the channel and at a distance from each other; and
a droplet activating module operable exerts a force on the channel to change the first dielectric doped and the second dielectric doped droplet with respect to the first and second capacitive plates thereby changing a dielectric property of the liquid MEMS capacitor;
wherein the first dielectric doped droplet comprises a plurality of first dielectric particles suspended in a non-conductive liquid solution, wherein the non-conductive liquid solution expands in response to a stimulus from the droplet activating module, and wherein the second dielectric doped droplet comprises a plurality of second dielectric particles suspended in a non-conductive liquid solution, wherein the non-conductive liquid solution expands in response to a stimulus from the droplet activating module, and wherein the second dielectric particles have at least one of: a size that differs from the first dielectric particles, a concentration that differs from the first dielectric particles, or a material that differs from the first dielectric particles.

12. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 11 wherein the droplet activating module is further operable to move the first dielectric doped droplet within the channel to effect the change on the dielectric doped droplet.

13. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 11 wherein the board includes one of a printed circuit board (PCB), an integrated circuit (IC) package substrate, and a redistribution layer (RDL) of a PCB or of an IC package substrate.

14. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 11 , wherein the droplet activating module comprises at least one of:
an actuator;
an electric field source;
a magnetic field source;
a heat source;
a compression source; and
an expansion source.

15. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 11 wherein the first dielectric doped droplet is stacked in the channel adjacent to the second dielectric doped droplet.

16. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 11 further comprises:
a control module operable to generate a control signal, wherein the control module sends the control signal to the droplet activating module to regulate injection of the non-conductive liquid solution to achieve a desired capacitance of the liquid MEMS capacitor.

17. The liquid MEMS capacitor of claim 11 further comprises:
the channel having a four-sided tubular shape;
the first capacitor plate on a first wall of the channel; and
the second capacitor plate on a first opposite wall of the channel, wherein the first wall and the fir

Assignees

• Broadcom Corp

Inventors

• Rofougaran Ahmadreza

Classifications

• H01G7/00

  Capacitors in which the capacitance is varied by non-mechanical means; Processes of their manufacture · CPC title

• H01G5/0132 Primary

  Liquid dielectrics · CPC title

• H01G5/019

  Means for correcting the capacitance characteristics · CPC title

• H01H59/0009

  making use of micromechanics · CPC title