Inductor design with metal dummy features

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for enhancing performance of integrated or on-chip inductors by implementing a schema of conductive metal dummies in the design thereof. In some cases, a metal dummy schema may be disposed in a layer proximate an upper surface of the inductor. The techniques may be implemented to improve overall inductor performance while enabling area scaling effects such as shrinking of inductor-to-inductor spacing on a die and/or increasing the quantity of inductors that may be manufactured on a die. In some cases, conductive metal dummies may be disposed in a region of minimal or non-peak magnetic field relative to the inductor, orthogonal to current flow in the inductor, and/or so as to minimize their occupation of the overall area of the inductor. The techniques may be implemented in analog circuits such as inductor-capacitor phase-locked loops (LC-PLLs), high-volume architectures, processor microarchitectures, applications involving stringent jitter requirements, microprocessor clocking, and wireless communication systems.