Electronic device with integrated galvanic isolation, and manufacturing method of the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9935098-B2
Application number	US-201615279050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2016
Priority date	Mar 25, 2016
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

An electronic device includes a semiconductor body and a dielectric layer extending over the semiconductor body. A galvanic isolation module includes a first metal region extending in the dielectric layer at a first height and a second metal region extending in the dielectric layer at a second height greater than the first height. The first and second metal regions are capacitively or magnetically coupleable together. The second metal region includes a side wall and a bottom wall coupled to one another through rounded surface portions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a semiconductor body;
a dielectric layer extending over the semiconductor body; and
a galvanic isolation module including a first metal region extending in the dielectric layer at a first height, and a second metal region extending in the dielectric layer at a second height greater than the first height, said first and second metal regions being capacitively or magnetically coupled and the second metal region including a side wall and a bottom wall coupled to one another through rounded surface portions.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1 wherein the rounded surface portions have a respective radius of curvature comprised between 2 μm and 6 μm.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 wherein said side wall extends in a plane that forms, with a plane in which the bottom wall extends, an approximately right angle or an obtuse angle.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1 wherein the bottom wall defines, together with the rounded surface portions, a hemispherical profile.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1 wherein the galvanic isolation module is an integrated transformer, the first metal region is a primary winding of said transformer, and the second metal region is a secondary winding of said micro-transformer.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1 wherein the galvanic isolation module is an integrated capacitor, the first metal region is a first plate of said capacitor, and the second metal region is a second plate of said capacitor.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter circuit and/or a receiver circuit integrated in the semiconductor body and operatively coupled to the first metal region, and configured to supply to the first metal region a data or power signal to be transmitted via the galvanic isolation module.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1 wherein the second metal region extends in a last metal level of said electronic device, and the first metal region extends in a penultimate metal level of said electronic device.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1 wherein the first and second metal regions are of a material chosen from among copper, aluminum, and gold.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one electrical contact pad, extending in the dielectric layer, coplanar to the first metal region, and wherein said electrical contact pad is electrically accessible via a trench and is electrically coupled to a bonding wire for transmitting and/or receiving a data signal.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1 , further comprising an active-area region, said galvanic isolation module extending around said active area.

12. A device, comprising:
a semiconductor body;
a dielectric layer formed over the semiconductor body; and
a galvanic isolation circuit including a first conductive region formed at a first distance over the substrate body and including a second conductive region formed in the dielectric layer at a second distance over the substrate body, the second distance being greater than the first distance and the first and second conductive regions being electrically coupled, and the second conductive region having a U-shaped profile including rounded corners.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the U-shaped profile includes a side wall coupled through the rounded corners to a bottom wall.

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the side wall has a surface that is approximately orthogonal to a surface of the bottom wall.

15. The device of claim 12 , wherein the galvanic isolation module comprises an integrated transformer including a primary winding formed by the first conductive region and a secondary winding formed by the second conductive region.

16. The device of claim 15 , wherein the primary winding includes a plurality of turns and the secondary winding includes a plurality of turns, each turn having the U-shaped profile including rounded corners.

17. The device of claim 12 , wherein the galvanic isolation module comprises an integrated capacitor including a first conductive plate formed by the first conductive region and a second conductive plate formed by the second conductive region.

18. The device of claim 12 , wherein each of the first and second conductive regions comprises a metal region.

19. The device of claim 12 , wherein the semiconductor body includes electrical components that are electrically coupled to the first conductive region.

20. The device of claim 12 , wherein the second conductive region comprises a last metal level formed in the dielectric layer and the first conductive region comprises a penultimate metal level at the first distance over the substrate body.

Assignees

• St Microelectronics Srl

Inventors

• Palumbo Vincenzo
• Pizzi Elisabetta

Classifications

• H10W72/5522

  comprising gold [Au] · CPC title

• H10W72/547

  Dispositions of multiple bond wires · CPC title

• H10W72/07554

  changes in dispositions · CPC title

• H10W72/536

  the connected ends being ball-shaped · CPC title

• H10W72/944

  Dispositions of multiple bond pads · CPC title