rtainment unit, a navigation device, a communications device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a fixed location data unit, and a computer. Although FIG. 1 illustrates remote units according to the teachings of the disclosure, the disclosure is not limited to these exemplary illustrated units. The disclosure may be suitably employed in any device which includes semiconductor components, as described below.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a design workstation for circuit, layout, and design of a semiconductor part as disclosed below. A design workstation 200 includes a hard disk 201 containing operating system software, support files, and design software such as Cadence or OrCAD. The design workstation 200 also includes a display to facilitate design of a semiconductor part 210 that may include a circuit and semiconductor dies. A storage medium 204 is provided for tangibly storing the semiconductor part 210. The semiconductor part 210 may be stored on the storage medium 204 in a file format such as GDSII or GERBER. The storage medium 204 may be a CD-ROM, DVD, hard disk, flash memory, or other appropriate device. Furthermore, the design workstation 200 includes a drive apparatus 203 for accepting input from or writing output to the storage medium 204.
Data recorded on the storage medium 204 may specify logic circuit configurations, pattern data for photolithography masks, or mask pattern data for serial write tools such as electron beam lithography. Providing data on the storage medium 204 facilitates the design of the semiconductor part 210 by decreasing the number of processes for designing circuits and semiconductor dies.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional voltage regulator on a printed circuit board. An IC product 300 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) 310 that supports packaging substrates and provides communication between packaging substrates on the PCB 310. A packaging substrate 320 is coupled to the PCB 310 through a packaging connection 322 such as bumps or pillars and includes through vias 324 to enable communications between the PCB 310 and a die 330. The die 330 is coupled to the packaging substrate 320 through an interconnect structure 332 such as bumps or pillars.
A voltage regulator 340 is coupled to the PCB 310 through a packaging connection 342. The voltage regulator 340 conventionally couples to discrete passive components such as inductors and capacitors mounted on the PCB 310. Low inductance passes (not shown) provide power from the voltage regulator 340 to the die 330. The low inductance passes are restricted in location on the PCB 310, which also restricts location of the voltage regulator 340. Thus, the distance between the voltage regulator 340 and the die 330 has a fixed minimum based on the PCB 310.
For the reasons discussed above including large voltage drop between the voltage regulator and the die, slow response times due to distance from the die to the voltage regulator, increased PCB size, the use of large decoupling capacitors, and the use of additional pins on the die to communicate with the voltage regulator, locating a voltage regulator on the PCB separate from the packaging substrate may not provide sufficient voltages to the die for proper operation. If the supply voltage drops below an acceptable level, the circuits on the die may output incorrect results or stop working completely.
According to one embodiment, a voltage regulator may be integrated into the die. An integrated voltage regulator in the die does not use additional pins for communicating with the die. Instead, communication occurs through interconnects in the die. The integrated voltage regulator is also closer to the die resulting in quicker response times to current transients and smaller decoupling capacitors to filter the output of the voltage regulator. Furthermore, passive components may be embedded in the packaging substrate to reduce area on the die occupied by the voltage regulator.
Passive components may be embedded in a packaging substrate or a PCB. Embedding the passive c