The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 20, 2001
Filed:
Feb. 13, 1999
Dennis J. Herrell, Marble Falls, TX (US);
Mathias Boettcher, Dresden, DE;
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A decoupling capacitor structure formed integral with an integrated circuit chip and over top of circuitry defined thereon advantageously provides decoupling capacitance in close electrical proximity to switching circuits of the integrated circuit chip without substantially affecting die footprint. In contrast with on-die gate oxide capacitor configurations, a decoupling capacitor structure formed toward the back end of processing, typically after interconnect metal, allows large area capacitor structures without substantial impact on area available for devices and circuitry. Inductance associated with the intervening portion of a power supply loop circuit between switching circuits of the integrated circuit chip and the decoupling capacitor structure can be extremely low in configurations in accordance with the present invention. In some configurations, connection points, e.g., bonding pads and/or solder bumps for conveying power supply voltages, are defined over top of the decoupling capacitor structure.