An inductor bridge is provided with a flexible flat plate-shaped element body, a first connector, and a second connector. The element body includes therein an inductor portion. The inductor portion is configured by a spiral conductor pattern. The first connector is provided on the element body and is connected to a first circuit. The second connector is provided on the element body and is connected to a second circuit.

A method for forming an out of plane structure includes depositing a layer of an elastic material on a substrate wherein the elastic material has an intrinsic stress profile. The layer of elastic material is photolithographically patterned into at least two spaced-apart elastic members. An electrically non-conductive tether layer joins the elastic members. A portion of the substrate is etched under the elastic members to release a free end of each elastic member, while leaving an anchor portion of each elastic member fixed to the substrate. The stress profile of the elastic members biases the free ends of the elastic members away from the substrate forming loops. The structure is electroplated by applying a voltage having a first polarity between an anode and the structure while the structure is in an electroplating bath. Subsequent to the electroplating, the polarity of the voltage between the anode and the structure is reversed.

Techniques and mechanisms for providing a flexible inductor. In an embodiment, the flexible inductor comprises a metal foil or other planar conductor, and inductive bodies disposed on opposite respective sides of the planar conductor. The inductive bodies each comprise a respective flexible suspension media and ferromagnetic particles disposed therein. A thickness of the planar conductor is in a range of 0.1 millimeters (mm) to 0.3 mm. In another embodiment, different layers of one inductive body vary from one another with respect to a thickness, a ferromagnetic material, a suspension media, an average size of ferromagnetic particles or a volume fraction of ferromagnetic particles.

This invention is a systematic and repeatable method of building an inductor/transformer with well controlled electrical properties, lower weight and volume, at a reduced cost. It provides a novel way of creating a compact isolating transformer on a flexible substrate, which folds on itself like an accordion. The structure can be extended on either end of the flex substrate to allow the seamless addition of electronic circuits to create subsystem application functions. A highly miniaturized package is produced following these techniques of design layout and interconnection, yielding final products which are all surface mountable with land-grid array (LGA) or other desirable high volume manufacturing formats.

A position sensor includes a flexible substrate formed into a three-dimensional (3D) shape. At least first and second field-sensing coils are formed in first and second respective layers of the flexible substrate, such that in the 3D shape the first and second field-sensing coils have first and second respective axes that are not parallel to one another.

A flexible inductor includes a coil substrate having a first spiral conductor formed in or on a bottom surface, a first magnetic sheet laminated on a top surface of the coil substrate, and a second magnetic sheet laminated on the bottom surface of the coil substrate. The flexible inductor includes a plurality of outer electrodes including a first outer electrode and a second outer electrode that are disposed in a peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the coil substrate, and cutout portions each formed in an area between the first spiral conductor and each of the outer electrodes so as to penetrate through the coil substrate. The first outer electrode is electrically connected to an outermost end portion of the first spiral conductor. The second outer electrode is electrically connected to an innermost end portion of the first spiral conductor.

A method for forming an out of plane structure includes depositing a layer of an elastic material on a substrate wherein the elastic material has an intrinsic stress profile. The layer of elastic material is photolithographically patterned into at least two spaced-apart elastic members. An electrically non-conductive tether layer joins the elastic members. A portion of the substrate is etched under the elastic members to release a free end of each elastic member, while leaving an anchor portion of each elastic member fixed to the substrate. The stress profile of the elastic members biases the free ends of the elastic members away from the substrate forming loops. The structure is electroplated by applying a voltage having a first polarity between an anode and the structure while the structure is in an electroplating bath. Subsequent to the electroplating, the polarity of the voltage between the anode and the structure is reversed.

A planar transformer for power transmission, having vertical and horizontal extents, includes a circuit board having a sandwich-type structure with at least three layers to form electrical conductors. First and second layers of these layers form outer layers of the circuit board, and each additional one of these layers forms an inner layer of the circuit board. An insulation material with a minimum thickness is arranged between all of these layers, with a number of at least three mutually galvanically isolated circuits. A first circuit forms a primary circuit and each additional circuit forms an equally entitled secondary circuit, having a magnetic core assembled from two interconnected magnetic core parts. A first core part with a central part and two outer legs forms a U shape. The circuit board has two recesses, and the two outer legs of the first core part are inserted into these recesses and connected to the second core part at their ends remote from the central part. A conductor is formed on at least one of the outer layers for exactly one single circuit of the at least three circuits, and a conductor of at least one circuit of the at least three circuits is wound around a first outer leg, and conductors of at least two additional circuits of the at least three circuits are wound around the second outer leg.

A flexible inductor mounted on a flexible substrate can be deformed while following deflection of the flexible substrate over time, and has high resistance to drop impact. The flexible inductor includes a coil substrate having a spiral conductor on at least one of upper and lower surfaces, and first and second magnetic sheets laminated on the upper and lower surfaces, respectively. First and second outer electrodes are provided in a peripheral edge portion of the lower surface. The first and second electrodes make direct contact with the lower surface, and are electrically connected to outermost and innermost end portions, respectively, of the spiral conductor. The second magnetic sheet is laminated on the lower surface other than portions corresponding to the first and second outer electrodes. Thicknesses of the first and second outer electrodes are equal to or larger than a thickness of the second magnetic sheet.

An inductor bridge is provided with a flexible flat plate-shaped element body, a first connector, and a second connector. The element body includes therein an inductor portion. The inductor portion is configured by a spiral conductor pattern. The first connector is provided on the element body and is connected to a first circuit. The second connector is provided on the element body and is connected to a second circuit.