Search

EP-3823021-B1 - ELECTRONIC SYSTEM AND INTERPOSER HAVING AN EMBEDDED POWER DEVICE MODULE

EP3823021B1EP 3823021 B1EP3823021 B1EP 3823021B1EP-3823021-B1

Inventors

  • CLAVETTE, DANNY
  • Galipeau, Darryl

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20201015

Claims (13)

  1. A processor interposer, comprising: an electrically insulating material (112) having a first main side (114) and a second main side (116) opposite the first main side (114); a plurality of electrically conductive structures embedded in the electrically insulating material (112) and configured to provide an electrical interface for a processor substrate (108) at the first main side (114) of the electrically insulating material (112) and to provide electrical connections from the electrical interface to the second main side (116) of the electrically insulating material (112); and a power device module (124) embedded in the electrically insulating material (112) and configured to convert a voltage provided at the second main side (116) of the electrically insulating material (112) to a lower voltage at the first main side (114) of the electrically insulating material (112), wherein the power device module (124) comprises: at least one power switch embedded in the electrically insulating material (112); a driver circuit embedded in the electrically insulating material (112) and configured to drive the at least one power switch; and an inductor embedded in the electrically insulating material (112), wherein the power device module (124), in a vertical direction, extends from the first main side (114) to the second main side (116), and wherein a current path through the power device module (124) is a vertical current path.
  2. The processor interposer of claim 1, wherein the power device module further comprises a controller embedded in the electrically insulating material (112) and configured to control the driver circuit so as to implement a voltage regulator.
  3. The processor interposer of claim 2, wherein the voltage regulator is a multi-phase voltage regulator, and wherein a pair of power switches coupled in a half-bridge configuration is embedded in the electrically insulating material (112) for each phase of the multi-phase voltage regulator.
  4. The processor interposer of claim 3, wherein the power device module further comprises one or more capacitors for each phase of the multi-phase voltage regulator embedded in the electrically insulating material (112).
  5. The processor interposer of claim 4, wherein the inductor for each phase of the multi-phase voltage regulator is a separate winding wound on a common core embedded in the electrically insulating material (112).
  6. The processor interposer of claim 5, wherein the driver circuit of the power device module (124) is configured to be controlled by a processor (106) attached to the processor substrate (108) so as to implement a voltage regulator.
  7. The processor interposer of claim 6, wherein the electrical interface includes a first terminal configured to receive a switching control signal from the processor (106) attached to the processor substrate (108) for controlling the driver circuit included in the power device module (124), and one or more second terminals configured to provide telemetry data from the power device module (124) to the processor (106) attached to the processor substrate (108).
  8. The processor interposer of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein one or more capacitors and one or more inductors electrically connected to the power device module (124) are attached to the first main side of the electrically insulating material (112) outside a footprint allocated for the processor substrate (108).
  9. The processor interposer of claim 8, wherein the power device module (124) at least partially vertically overlaps with the one or more capacitors and/or the one or more inductors.
  10. The processor interposer of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the electrically insulating material (112) comprises a first layer in which the power device module (124) is embedded and at least one additional layer formed on the first layer, wherein the power device module has at least one contact configured to receive the voltage provided at the second main side of the electrically insulating material, and wherein the plurality of electrically conductive structures embedded in the electrically insulating material includes distribution circuitry configured to carry the lower voltage provided by the power device module (124) to the first main side of the electrically insulating material.
  11. An electronic system, comprising: a board (102); a power converter (104) attached to the board (102) and configured to convert an input voltage (Vin) applied to the board to an intermediate voltage (V_int); a processor (106) attached to a substrate (108); and a processor interposer (110) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 through which the processor (106) attached to the substrate (108) is in electrical communication with the board (102).
  12. The electronic system of claim 11, wherein the voltage regulator is configured to convert the intermediate voltage (V_int) to a voltage that is within the operating range of the processor (106).
  13. The electronic system of claim 11 or 12, wherein the power device module (124) is vertically aligned with the processer (106), and wherein a primary current path between the board (102), the interposer (110), the substrate (108) and the processor (106) is a vertical path which includes the power device module (124).

Description

Many types of electronic systems include one or more processors attached to a circuit board such as a printed circuit board (PCB), memory which can be volatile and/or nonvolatile, and a power converter for converting a high input voltage applied to the board to one or more lower voltages suitable for powering the processor and memory. Processors include but are not limited to central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), image processors, network or packet processors, coprocessors, multi-core processors, front-end processors, baseband processors, etc. Ideally, power is conveyed across the circuit board of the electronic system from the power converter to the processor and memory with as high a voltage as possible to minimize current and therefore reduce I2R power losses. However, processors are typically placed on a separate substrate through which connections between the processor and the circuit board are achieved. Many types of processor substrates are designed with minimum capacitance between layers to enable high performance, e.g., in the GHz range. Processor substrates constructed from low dielectric constant materials have a low breakdown voltage. As such, many types of conventional processor substrates cannot tolerate relatively high voltages. For example, some conventional processor substrates have a maximum breakdown voltage of 2.5 V or even lower, whereas the input voltage to the circuit board of an electronic system is much higher, e.g., typically 48 V. US 2019 / 0273073 A1 discloses a service module for a System in a Package (SiP) device. The service module includes a first substrate and a second substrate that are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction, wherein the first substrate is configured to have a processor mounted on a first surface. The service module further includes service components mounted on a second surface of the first substrate, wherein the second surface is opposite the first surface; a mold compound embedding the service components and partially filling a space between the first and second substrates; and conduits configured to transfer signals and power between the first and second substrates. US 2016 / 0 351 478 A1 discloses a power module with a substrate, a first sub-module and a second sub-module. Each of the first sub-module and the second sub-module includes a semiconductor switch and a diode. The first sub-module is formed as a high-voltage-side switching element. The second sub-module is formed as a low-voltage-side switching element. Electrodes of the high-voltage-side switching element and the electrodes of the low-voltage-side switching element are electrically connected with conducting terminals of the corresponding semiconductor switches and the corresponding diodes. The high-voltage-side switching element is disposed on the substrate and electrically connected with the corresponding conducting parts of the substrate. The low-voltage-side switching element is disposed on the high-voltage-side switching element and electrically connected with the corresponding conducting parts of the substrate through the high-voltage-side switching element. There is a need for an improved power distribution interface for a processor substrate which can withstand higher voltages so that power may be conveyed across a circuit board of an electronic system with a higher voltage and lower current to reduce I2R power losses. One embodiment relates to a processor interposer according to claim 1. Another embodiment relates to an electronic system according to claim 11. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description, and upon viewing the accompanying drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. Like reference numerals designate corresponding similar parts. The features of the various illustrated embodiments can be combined unless they exclude each other. Embodiments are depicted in the drawings and are detailed in the description which follows. Figure 1 illustrates a side perspective view of an embodiment of an electronic system that includes a system board, a power converter attached to the system board, a processor attached to a substrate, and a processor interposer with at least one embedded power device module.Figure 2 illustrates a side perspective view of another embodiment of an electronic system that includes a system board, a power converter attached to the system board, a processor attached to a substrate, and a processor interposer with at least one embedded power device module.Figure 3 illustrates a side perspective view of another embodiment of an electronic system that includes a system board, a power converter attached to the system board, a processor attached to a substrate, and a processor interposer with at least one embedded power device module.Figure 4 illustr