The effect of copper design rules on inductor performance

In this paper, the effect of process-related design rules on inductor performance are shown. In advanced processes the copper line width is limited, and the metal pattern density must be as uniform as possible. The results obtained on inductors fabricated in-one metal layer with a different number of parallel tracks, with and without copper tiles are presented. The geometry and the orientation of the tiles are also varied. The comparison allows us to quantify the influence of copper tiles on the inductor quality factor.