Apple Inc.

Chad O Simpson

Mark J Beesley

Anne M Mason

William Hannon

Bharat K Patel

Mark K Sin

Asif Iqbal

Paul S Michelsen

Adrian E Sun

Steven Ichung Kuo

Erik A Gutfeldt

Steve Xing-Fu Zhou

Kim Phuong T Truong

Lee M Schaff

Derrick C Lau

Structures that implement three-dimensional (3D) conductive material (e.g., copper) in printed circuit boards (PCBs) are disclosed. 3D (three-dimensional) conductive material may include trenches and/or buried vias that are filled with conductive material in the PCBs. Trenches may be formed in build-up layers of a PCB by overlapping multiple laser drilled vias. The trenches may be filled with conductive material using electroplating process(es). Buried vias may be formed through the core layers of the PCB by mechanical drilling. The buried via may be filled with solid conductive material using a combination of electroless plating and electrolytic plating of conductive material. Various PCB structures are disclosed that implement combinations of these trenches and/or these buried vias filled with conductive material.

Three-dimensional (3D) copper in printed circuit boards

The embodiments discussed herein relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for controlling power consumption of a computing device in a standby or sleep mode. During the standby or sleep mode an external device can be plugged into the computing device. The external device can be provided power from a standby power supply until a determination is made as to whether a main power supply is operating. The determination can be based on comparing the output of the main power supply to an output of the standby power supply. If the main power supply is operating, a switch in the computing device can close to allow the main power supply to provide power to the external device. Moreover, in some embodiments, the switch can close based exclusively on a current demand of the external device from the standby power supply.

Reduced energy consumption in a computer system through software and hardware coordinated control of multiple power supplies

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Chad O Simpson