Radio-Frequency Planar Integrated Inductor With Permalloy-SiO Granular Films

We have designed and fabricated a radio-frequency (RF) planar integrated inductor using Permalloy-SiO granular film as the magnetic core. By controlling the composition and microstructure, we produced a granular film with excellent soft magnetic properties and high electrical resistivity. The inductance of the inductor with granular Permalloy-SiO magnetic film increased 6% to 15%, compared to that of an air-core inductor, and the quality factor value was high, approaching 10 in the frequency range of 2–3 GHz. The controllable anisotropy of the granular film generated in deposition process gives the magnetic inductor a very high self-resonance frequency peak—over 6 GHz.