Through extensive research, the Lotus Microsystems' team has developed a novel technology for producing highly integrated power converters based on a silicon interposer.
On one hand, this results in unprecedented miniaturization capabilities that are important for the development of future mobile phones, laptops, and medical devices where UX and technical development priorities dictate size reduction, increased battery life and adding new features.
On the other hand, the technology enables the development of power converters with superior thermal performance, which is a main demand in applications with harsh environments and stricter standards.
Silicon has a high thermal conductivity compared to the FR4 material used as a substrate in normal Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), enabling a better thermal performance than the current state-of-the-art.
Silicon is a CMOS-compatible material, allowing for the integration of the power converter active components on the substrate.
The routing density achievable through a semiconductor process is much higher than through current alternatives. That allows for embedding components (inductors, capacitors, etc.) on the silicon substrate and providing the needed connections between them on more than one layer of interconnects.
Possibility for heterogeneous integration of passive devices into the silicon substrate using integrated passive devices (IPDs) technologies for creating inductors and capacitors in silicon.
Lotus Microsystems’ patented Power Interposer Technology is a semiconductor process with a range of features that allows for effectively “3D printing” of silicon structures with interconnects. The technology offers the best-in-class interconnects feature sizes with precise etching capabilities and is CMOS compatible. The process features high-aspect-ratio through-silicon vias (TSVs), which enables 3D integration through the connection between the top and bottom sides of the substrate.