A 2.5D integrated voltage regulator using coupled-magnetic-core inductors on silicon interposer delivering 10.8A/mm2

Energy consumption is a dominant constraint on the performance of modern microprocessors and systems-on-chip. Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) is a promising technique for performing “on-the-fly” energy-performance optimization in the presence of workload variability. Effective implementation of DVFS requires voltage regulators that can provide many independent power supplies and can transition power supply levels on nanosecond timescales, which is not possible with modern board-level voltage regulator modules (VRMs) [1]. Switched-inductor integrated voltage regulators (IVRs) can enable effective implementation of DVFS, eliminating the need for separate VRMs and reducing power distribution network (PDN) impedance requirements by performing dc-dc conversion close to the load while supporting high peak current densities [2-3]. The primary obstacle facing development of IVRs is integration of suitable power inductors. This work presents an early prototype switched-inductor IVR using 2.5D chip stacking for inductor integration.