High quality factor silicon-integrated spiral inductors achieved by using thick top metal with different passivation schemes

A novel approach combining 2 /spl mu/m thick top metal, stacked design and different passivation schemes has been adopted to realize high quality factor (Q) inductors fabricated using a conventional 0.25 /spl mu/m 5-level metal CMOS technology. Q-factor enhancement of greater than 50% at 2.45 GHz has been achieved. It has been found that the passivation scheme utilizing 17 k/spl Aring/ of high density plasma (HDP) oxide is most effective in boosting the Q-factor. The above highlighted techniques can be easily implemented in any standard CMOS technology without additional increase in cost to the end-users.