# US 12,002,614 B2 · Inductor made of component carrier material comprising electrically conductive plate structures > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,002,614 B2 - Document ID: US12002614B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/949,573 - Filed: 2020-11-04 - Published: 2021-02-18 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2016-12-22 - Assignees: AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft - Applicants: AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik Aktiengesellschaft - Inventors: Johannes Stahr; Gerald Weidinger; Heinz Moitzi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12002614B2 ## CPC - H01F 27/2804: {Printed windings} - H01F 17/0013: {with stacked layers} - H01F 27/24: Magnetic cores - H01F 27/2847: {Sheets; Strips (H01F27/2866 takes precedence)} - H01F 41/041: {Printed circuit coils (apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits in general H05K3/00)} - H01F 41/042: {by thin film techniques} - H01F 41/046: {structurally combined with ferromagnetic material} - H01F 17/0033: {with the coil helically wound around a magnetic core} - H05K 1/181: associated with surface mounted components - H05K 1/185: associated with components encapsulated in the insulating substrate of the PCBs; associated with components incorporated in internal layers of multilayer circuit boards - H05K 2201/1003: Non-printed inductor - H01F: MAGNETS; INDUCTANCES; TRANSFORMERS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES - H05K: PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS ## Abstract An inductor component includes a plurality of stacked layer structures made of component carrier material with electrically conductive plate structures, and a plurality of electrically conductive interconnect structures connecting the electrically conductive plate structures to thereby form an inductance with multiple windings. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A component carrier, comprising: a stack comprising at least one electrically conductive layer structure and at least one electrically insulating layer structure; an inductor embedded in or surface mounted on the stack, the inductor having a plurality of stacked layer structures made of component carrier material and electrically conductive plate structures; and a plurality of electrically conductive interconnect structures connecting the electrically conductive plate structures to thereby form an inductance with multiple windings, wherein a stacking direction of the stack is slanted or perpendicular to a stacking direction of the stacked layer structures. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of the following features: wherein the plurality of electrically conductive interconnect structures comprise at least one of the group consisting of vertical interconnect structures, inclined interconnect structures, and horizontal interconnect structures; wherein the inductor is formed as a coil structure with multiple windings aligned along a common central axis and defined by the interconnect structures and the connected electrically conductive plate structures. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, further comprising: wherein an electrically conductive material filling factor of the inductor, defined as a ratio between a partial volume of electrically conductive material of the inductor component and a total volume of the inductor component, is at least 50%. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive plate structures have a thickness of at least 200 μm. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the interconnect structures comprise at least one of the group consisting of metal filled vias, and metallic inlays. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein a space between the electrically conductive plate structures and the interconnect structures is filled at least partially by electrically insulating material. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, further comprising: a magnetic structure in a space delimited by the electrically conductive plate structures and the interconnect structures. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The component carrier according to claim 7, wherein the magnetic structure is configured as a planar layer. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The component carrier according to claim 7, wherein the magnetic structure is configured as one of the group consisting of a magnetic inlay and printed magnetic paste. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the electrically conductive plate structures comprises a plurality of separate strips. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The component carrier according to claim 10, comprising at least one of the following features: wherein coplanar separate strips of two opposing electrically conductive plate structures are positioned in parallel planes; wherein separate strips of two opposing electrically conductive plate structures are pivoted relative to one another; wherein a width of the strips is larger than a gap between adjacent strips of a respective one of the electrically conductive plate structures. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the component carrier material comprises or consists of copper and resin. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of each of the electrically conductive plate structures is larger than a thickness of electrically insulating material between the electrically conductive plate structures. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, further comprising: an electrically conductive contact structure at an exterior surface of the component electrically contacting at least one of the interconnect structures configured as one of the group consisting of at least one metal inlay and a patterned galvanic metal layer. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the component carrier is configured as one of the group consisting of a printed circuit board and a substrate. ### Claim 16 A method, comprising: stacking a plurality of layer structures made of component carrier material and comprising electrically conductive plate structures to form a stack; connecting the electrically conductive plate structures by a plurality of electrically conductive interconnect structures to thereby form an inductor with multiple windings, the inductor having a plurality of stacked layer structures made of component carrier material and electrically conductive plate structures; and embedding the inductor in or surface mounting the inductor on a stack comprising at least one electrically conductive layer structure and at least one electrically insulating layer structure, wherein a stacking direction of the stack is slanted or perpendicular to a stacking direction of the stacked layer structures. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method according to claim 16, further comprising one of the following features: wherein at least one of the electrically conductive plate structures is formed by providing a plate with integrally connected strips, interconnecting the plate with the other layer structures, and subsequently removing part of the material of the plate to thereby separate the strips from one another; wherein at least one of the electrically conductive plate structures is formed by forming an interconnected body of a plurality of alternating electrically conductive plates and electrically insulating layers, separating the body into a plurality of bars, and separating the bars into a plurality of multi-layer structures.