Apparatus and Method for a Low Loss Coupling Capacitor

Abstract

Embodiments are provided herein for low loss coupling capacitor structures. The embodiments include a n-type varactor (NVAR) configuration and p-type varactor (PVAR) configuration. The structure in the NVAR configuration comprises a p-doped semiconductor substrate (Psub), a deep n-doped semiconductor well (DNW) in the Psub, and a p-doped semiconductor well (P well) in the DNW. The circuit structure further comprises a source terminal of a p-doped semiconductor material within P well, and a drain terminal of the p-doped semiconductor material within the P well. Additionally, the circuit structure comprises an insulated gate on the surface of the P well, a metal pattern comprising a plurality of layers of metal lines, and a plurality of vias through the metal lines. The vias are contacts connecting the metal lines to the gate, the source terminal, and the drain terminal.

Claims

1. A circuit structure for a coupling capacitor comprising: a p-doped semiconductor substrate (Psub); a deep n-doped semiconductor well (DNW) in the Psub; a p-doped semiconductor well (P well) in the DNW; a first block of a p-doped semiconductor material extending from a surface of the P well into the P well, wherein the first block is a source terminal; a second block of the p-doped semiconductor material extending from the surface of the P well into the P well, wherein the second block is a drain terminal; an insulator block on P well between the source terminal and the drain terminal; a conductor material on the insulator block between the source terminal and the drain terminal, wherein the conductor material is a gate; and a metal pattern comprising a plurality of layers of metal lines approximately parallel to the surface, and a plurality of vias through the metal lines and vertical to the metal lines, wherein the vias (contacts) connect the metal lines to the gate, the source terminal, and the drain terminal.

2. The circuit structure of claim 1 further comprising: at least one second P well in the DNW; another block of the p-doped semiconductor material that serves as a second source terminal, the second source terminal extending from the surface of the second P well into the second P well; another block of the p-doped semiconductor material that serves as a second drain terminal, the second drain terminal extending from the surface of the second P well into the second P well; and another block of the conductor material that serves as a second gate, the second gate positioned on the surface of the second P well between the second source terminal and the second drain terminal, wherein the vias further connect the metal lines to the second gate, the second source terminal, and the second drain terminal.

3. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein the metal lines are oriented approximately perpendicular to each other in consecutive layers of the metal pattern.

4. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein the metal lines in each layer of the metal pattern are approximately parallel.

5. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein the metal lines in each layer include alternating first lines and second lines, wherein the first lines are connected by the vias to the gate, and wherein the second lines are connected by the vias to the source terminal and the drain terminal.

6. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein the DNW is more heavily doped than the P well.

7. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein opposite end sidewalls of the gate are adjacent to sidewalls of the source terminal and the drain terminal.

8. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein the metal lines in different layers of the metal pattern have different dimensions including at least one of different spacing, different width, different depth, and different length.

9. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein the metal lines in higher layers of the metal pattern from the surface have greater width and larger spacing than the metal lines in lower metal layers.

10. The circuit structure of claim 1, wherein the gate and the source terminal and drain terminals are connected to direct current (DC) biases, the Psub is grounded, and the DNW is connected to a power supply through a resistor.

11. A circuit structure for a coupling capacitor comprising: a p-doped semiconductor substrate (Psub); a n-doped semiconductor well (N well) in the Psub; a first block of a n-doped semiconductor material extending from a surface of the N well into the N well, wherein the first block serves is a source terminal; a second block of the n-doped semiconductor material extending from the surface of the N well into the N well, wherein the second block is a drain terminal; an insulator block on N well between the source terminal and the drain terminal; a conductor material on the insulator block between the source terminal and the drain terminal, wherein the conductor material is a gate; and a metal pattern comprising a plurality of layers of metal lines approximately parallel to the surface, and a plurality of vias through the metal lines and vertical to the metal lines, wherein the vias connect the metal lines to the gate, the source terminal, and the drain terminal.

12. The circuit structure of claim 11 further comprising: at least one second N well in the Psub; another block of the n-doped semiconductor material that serves as a second source terminal, the second source terminal extending from the surface of the second N well into the second N well; another block of the N-doped semiconductor material that serves as a second drain terminal, the second drain terminal extending from the surface of the second N well into the second N well; and another block of the conductor material that serves as a second gate, the second gate positioned on the surface of the second N well between the second source terminal and the second drain terminal, wherein the vias further connect the metal lines to the second gate, the second source terminal, and the second drain terminal.

13. The circuit structure of claim 11, wherein the metal lines are oriented approximately perpendicular to each other in consecutive layers of the metal pattern.

14. The circuit structure of claim 11, wherein the metal lines in each layer of the metal pattern are approximately parallel.

15. The circuit structure of claim 11, wherein the metal lines in each layer include alternating first lines and second lines, wherein the first lines are connected by the vias to the gate, and wherein the second lines are connected by the vias to the source terminal and the drain terminal.

16. The circuit structure of claim 11, wherein the metal lines in different layers of the metal pattern have different dimensions including at least one of different spacing, different width, different depth, and different length.

17. The circuit structure of claim 11, wherein the metal lines in higher layers of the metal pattern from the surface have greater width and larger spacing than the metal lines in lower metal layers.

18. The circuit structure of claim 11, wherein the gate, and the source and drain terminals are connected to direct current (DC) biases, and wherein the Psub is grounded.

19. A method for making a coupling capacitor structure in a n-type varactor (NVAR) configuration, the method comprising: forming a deep n-doped well (DNW) in a p-doped semiconductor substrate (Psub); forming a p-doped semiconductor well (P well) in the DNW; placing an insulator on a surface of the P well; placing a metal gate on the insulator; forming, within the P well, a p-doped semiconductor source terminal on one side of the insulator and the metal gate, and a p-doped semiconductor drain terminal on the opposite side of the insulator and the metal gate; overlaying a plurality of layers of metal lines over the metal gate; and inserting vias vertical to the layers and connecting the metal lines with contacts to the metal gate, the p-doped semiconductor source terminal, and the p-doped semiconductor drain terminal.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising: forming at least one second P well in the DNW; placing a second insulator on a surface of the second P well; placing a second metal gate on the second insulator; forming, within the second P well, a second p-doped semiconductor source terminal on one side of the second insulator and the second metal gate, and a second p-doped semiconductor drain terminal on an opposite side of the second insulator and the second metal gate; and connecting, by the vias and contacts, the metal lines in the layers to the second metal gate, the second p-doped semiconductor source terminal, and the second p-doped semiconductor drain terminal.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising: overlaying additional layers of metal lines over the gate, the p-doped semiconductor source terminal, and the p-doped semiconductor drain terminal; and inserting additional vias vertical to the layers and connecting the additional metal lines to the metal lines.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising: connecting the metal gate and the p-doped semiconductor source and drain terminals to direct current (DC) biases; connecting the Psub to ground; and connecting the DNW to a power supply through a resistor placed in series between the power supply and the DNW.

23. A method for making a coupling capacitor structure in a p-type varactor (PVAR) configuration, the method comprising: forming a n-doped well (N well) in a p-doped semiconductor substrate (Psub); placing an insulator on a surface of the N well; placing a metal gate on the insulator; forming, within the N well, a n-doped semiconductor source terminal on one side of the insulator and the metal gate, and a n-doped semiconductor drain terminal on an opposite side of the insulator and the metal gate; overlaying a plurality of layers of metal lines over the metal gate; and inserting vias vertical to the layers and connecting the metal lines with contacts to the metal gate, the n-doped semiconductor source terminal, and the n-doped semiconductor drain terminal.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising: forming at least one second N well in the Psub; placing a second insulator on a the second N well; placing a second metal gate on the second insulator; forming, within the second N well, an second n-doped semiconductor source terminal on one side of the second insulator and the second metal gate, and a second n-doped semiconductor drain terminal on an opposite side of the second insulator and the second metal gate; and connecting, by the vias and contacts, the metal lines in the layers to the second metal gate, the second n-doped semiconductor source terminal, and the second n-doped semiconductor second drain terminal.

25. The method of claim 23 further comprising: overlaying additional layers of metal lines over the gate, the n-doped semiconductor source terminal, and the n-doped semiconductor drain terminal; and inserting additional vias vertical to the layers and connecting the additional metal lines to the metal lines.

26. The method of claim 23 further comprising: connecting the metal gate to a direct current (DC) bias; and connecting the n-doped semiconductor source and drain terminals to a second DC bias; and connecting the Psub to a ground.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a capacitor structure in a n-type varactor (NVAR) configuration;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a capacitor structure in a p-type varactor (PVAR) configuration;

[0012] FIG. 3 shows a top view of an embodiment of a metal pattern for gate connection and source/drain connection;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a top view of an embodiment of a capacitor array layout;

[0014] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a metal pattern for gate and source/drain connection;

[0015] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a method for making a low loss coupling capacitor structure in a NVAR configuration; and

[0016] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a method for making a low loss coupling capacitor structure in a PVAR configuration.

[0017] Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0018] The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.

[0019] Embodiments are provided herein for low loss coupling capacitor structures, which can be constructed using metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology or other suitable integrated circuit manufacturing processes. The embodiments include a n-type varactor (NVAR) configuration and p-type varactor (PVAR) configuration. The choice of the configuration depends on the circuit conditions and the application of interest. A varactor is a type of diode of which capacitance varies as a function of the voltage applied across its terminals. Varactors can be used as voltage-controlled capacitors, such as in voltage-controlled oscillators, parametric amplifiers, and frequency multipliers, which can be used in radio transmitters or signal modulators, for example. In the NVAR and PVAR configurations, multiple gate and source/drain connections are realized using stacked layers of interleaved metal patterns for the gate and source/drain connections, respectively. The structures designs can reduce resistance and parasitic capacitance, which lower losses in the capacitors. The parasitic capacitance can be reduced by reverse biasing the structure well capacitance. Further, the metal pattern is designed to enhance wanted capacitance and reduce parasitic capacitance. The structures also allow the integration of multiple coupling capacitors, e.g., in an array, on a chip with compact dimensions, thus achieving high capacitance per area. Such structures can be used for radio frequency (RF) or wireless signal applications, for instance, to provide low loss RF differential signal paths. The differential signals can be accommodated by placing the capacitors in isolated wells.

[0020] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a capacitor structure (circuit) in a NVAR configuration 100. The NVAR configuration 100 comprises a suitable p-type semiconductor (P) block that acts as a drain 101 (P+ drain) and another P block that acts as a source 102 (P+ source) for the capacitor. For instance, the drain 101 and source 102 are p-doped silicon or other suitable semiconductor material. Both the drain 101 and the source 102 are placed in a p-type well 104 (P well), for instance in p-doped Si. The P well 104 is formed within the semiconductor substrate 106, e.g., a Si substrate. Specifically, the substrate 106 (Psub) is p-doped. For example, the substrate 106 is p-dope Si. The P well 104 extends from the top of the surface to a suitable determined depth in the DNW 105. An insulating layer 119 is formed on the surface of P well 104, and a conductor block is formed on the top surface of the insulating layer 119 which is positioned approximately at the middle of the P well 104 beneath it. The conductor block acts as a gate 103 for the capacitor structure, and can be made of poly-Si or other suitable metal/conductor material. In other embodiments, semiconductor materials other than Si or poly-Si can be used to form the components above. Examples of such materials include silicon carbide (SiC), gallium arsenide (GaAs), and gallium nitride (GaN). Further, the P well 104 is placed in a deep n-type well 105 (DNW) within the substrate. The DNW 105 is formed within the Psub 106. The DNW 105 extends from the top of the surface to a suitable determined depth in the substrate 106. The DNW 105 is relatively heavily doped and is deeper and larger than the P well 104 and surrounds the P well 104, as shown. The DNW 105 is more heavily doped than the P well 104.

[0021] As shown, the source 102 and drain 101 are positioned in the P well 104, within the substrate 106, at opposite ends of the gate 103, which is placed over the surface of the substrate 106 with an insulating layer between the gate and P well. The gate forms one terminal of the capacitor. The source 102 and drain 101, form the second terminal, the source 102 and drain 101 are electrically connected through the P well and externally through metal connections as described below. This arrangement of the gate and source 102/drain 101 and insulator forms the coupling capacitor, where the capacitance is generated between the gate 103 and the source 102/drain 101 connection.

[0022] The cross-section side view of the structure in FIG. 1 shows one pair of source 102/drain 101 and corresponding gate 103 in the P well 104. However, the NVAR configuration 100 can comprise multiple capacitor elements configured as such, by distributing and overlaying source/drain and corresponding gate blocks across corresponding wells similar to the Psub 106. The capacitor elements can be interconnected, e.g., in parallel, to increase the coupling capacitance by stacking and interleaving metal lines (or wires) in layers on the surface and interconnecting the resulting metal pattern 107 using metal/conductor vias 108 to the corresponding gate and source/drain terminals at the surface level. The metal pattern 107 is overlaid over the surface, and the vias 108 are vertical vias that connect the corresponding metal lines to the corresponding gate and source/drain terminals. The metal pattern 107 comprises lines or wires that connect the gates, and further lines that connect the source/drain terminals. In an embodiment, the metal lines connecting the source/drain sides can be positioned next to and under the metal lines connecting the gate sides, as illustrated in FIG. 1. Examples of metal pattern design that can be used for interconnecting the capacitor elements are described below.

[0023] In the NVAR configuration 100, the capacitor structure separates two circuit blocks that are applied different DC bias (different DC voltages). The DC bias of one circuit block is connected to the source 102/drain 101, and the DC bias for the other circuit block is connected to the gate 103. As such, the two DC voltages bias the capacitor structure resulting in higher capacitance than the case where the source 102/drain 101 and gate 103 were not biased. For an NVAR, the gate is at a lower potential than the source 102/drain 101. The voltage supply 109 connected to the resistor 111 is set to a different voltage than that applied to the source 102/drain 101 or gate 103. The purpose of the different voltage of the supply 109 is to reverse bias both the P well 104/DNW 105 junction and the DNW 105/Psub 106 junction. Reverse biasing these junctions as such reduces unwanted parasitic capacitance.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a capacitor structure (circuit) in a PVAR configuration 200. The PVAR configuration 200 comprises a suitable n-type semiconductor (N) block that acts as a drain 201 (N+ drain) and another N block that acts as a source 202 (N+ source) for the capacitor. The drain 201 and source 202 are n-doped silicon or other suitable semiconductor material. Both the drain 201 and the source 202 can be placed in a n-type well 210 (N well), for instance in n-doped Si. The N well 210 is less heavily doped than the DNW 105 in the NVAR configuration 100. In the PVAR configuration 200, the N well 210 is formed within semiconductor substrate 206, e.g., a Si substrate. Specifically, the substrate 206 (Psub) is p-doped. For example, the substrate 206 is p-dope Si. The N well 210 extends from the top of the surface to a suitable determined depth in Psub 206. An insulating layer 219 is formed on the surface of the N well 210 followed by a conductor block positioned approximately at the middle of the N well 210 beneath it. The conductor block acts as a gate 203 for the capacitor structure, and can be made of poly-Si or other suitable metal/conductor material. In other embodiments, doped semiconductor materials other than Si or poly-Si, e.g., SiC, GaAs or Gan, can be used to form the components above.

[0025] As shown, the source 202 and drain 201 are positioned within the N well 210 at opposite ends of the insulator 219/gate 203, which is placed over the surface of P sub 206. The gate 203 forms one terminal of the PVAR capacitor and the source 202/drain 201 forms the second terminal of the PVAR capacitor. The source 202 and drain 201 are connected electrically by the N well 210 and externally by metal lines as described below.

[0026] Similar to the NVAR configuration 100, the cross-section side view of the PVAR configuration 200 in FIG. 2 shows one pair of source 202/drain 201 and corresponding gate 203 in the N well 210. However, the NVAR configuration 200 can comprise multiple capacitor elements configured as such, by distributing and overlaying source/drain and corresponding gate blocks across wells similar to the N well 210. The capacitor elements can be interconnected, e.g., in parallel, to increase the coupling capacitance by stacking and interleaving metal lines (or wires) in layers on the surface and interconnecting the resulting metal pattern 207 using metal/conductor vias 208 to the corresponding gate and source/drain terminals at the surface level. The metal pattern 207 is overlaid over the surface, and the vias 208 are vertical vias that connect the corresponding metal lines to the corresponding gate and source/drain terminals. The metal pattern 207 is similar to the metal pattern 107 and comprises lines that connect the gates, and further lines that connect the source/drain terminals. Similar to an NVAR, the PVAR separates two blocks biased with different DC biases. The DC bias of one block is connected to the gate 203 and the other DC bias is connected to the source 202/drain 201. In contrast to the NVAR, the gate bias is higher than the source/drain bias.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a top view of an embodiment of a metal pattern 300 for gate connection and source/drain connection. For example, the metal pattern may correspond to the metal pattern 107 in the NVAR configuration 100 and similarly the metal pattern 207 in the PVAR configuration 200. The metal pattern 300 connects multiple source/drain terminals to other source/drain terminal blocks. The same or a similar metal arrangement connects multiple gate terminals to other gate terminal blocks on the capacitor structure (NVAR or PVAR structure), thus forming a combined capacitor with the desired increased capacitance and lower loss (e.g., due to lower parasitic capacitance and other parasitic parameters). The gate terminal forms one input of the capacitor, and the source/drain terminals form the second input of the capacitor. The source/drain terminals and gate blocks may be distributed, for example, in a two-dimensional array pattern in corresponding wells (P wells in NVAR or N wells in PVAR) in the structure substrate. The metal pattern 300 comprises stacked and interleaved conductor/metal lines or wires in the horizontal direction with respect to the structure substrate and vertical vias that connect the lines to their corresponding source/drain and gate blocks. The interleaved lines in any layer are adjacent lines that have alternating connections (using vias) to gate blocks and source/drain terminals. The pattern 300 is partially shown and shows a top view of multiple layers of lines (stacked vertically with respect to the substrate). In the actual structure, the metals lines extend to fill a given area on the substrate. In this example, the pattern 300 includes three layers for the gate connections and further three layers for the source/drain connections. The metal lines can be placed and aligned over the gate because capacitance between the gate and source/drain is desirable. However, the metal lines are not placed over the DNW or substrate because coupling to those areas results in undesirable parasitic capacitance. Reducing the parasitic capacitance as such reduces losses in the capacitor structure. The metal lines in each layer may be similar, and the metal lines in different layers may have different dimensions, such as different width, thickness, and or length.

[0028] FIG. 4 is an isometric view of an embodiment of a metal pattern for gate and source/drain (S/D) connections, which may be used in the NVAR and similarly the PVAR configurations. The metal pattern comprises a plurality of layers, for instance, four layers (M1 to M4) in this example, of metal line connections to the gate elements and the source/drain elements. The lines in each layer are parallel and the lines of adjacent stacked layers are perpendicular. Each layer comprises alternating lines between gate connection lines and source/drain connection lines. The gate connection lines in the layers are connected to each other using vertical vias to the layers. Similarly, the source/drain connection lines in the layers are connected to each other using a separate set of vias.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a top view of an embodiment of a capacitor array layout. The capacitor array can be arranged as such on the NVAR configuration 100 and similarly the PVAR configuration 200. The array comprises a plurality of similar cells, as shown. A first top metal layer (Metal Layer 1) comprises vertical parallel metal lines with contacts (by vias) to the source, drain and gate material below the metal layers at the substrate surface. A second metal layer (Metal Layer 2) above the first metal layer comprises horizontal parallel metal lines also with vias to the first metal layer. In each metal layer above the first layer, vias connect to adjacent metal layers. In the first metal layer contacts connect to the gate and source/drain and vias connect to the layers above metal layer 1. Some of the metal lines or layers may not be directly connected to the gate and source/drain, but are connected by vias to other metal lines that are directly connected, by other vias, to the gate and source/drain. The layout can comprise additional layers of metal lines. The higher level metal layers (towards the top of the substrate) may have greater width and larger spacing than the lower metal layers. Stacking the metal connections in layers as such increases the effective capacitance of the overall structure and reduces loss due to the lower parasitic capacitance.

[0030] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a method 600 for making a low loss coupling capacitor structure (circuit) with a NVAR configuration. The steps of the method 600 can be implemented using any suitable semiconductor processes and circuit fabrication technologies (e.g., lithographic and integrated chip fabrication processes). At step 610, A deep n-type well (DNW) such as n-dope Si is formed, e.g., via doping, in a p-doped semiconductor substrate (P sub), e.g., p-type Si. At step 620, an array of p-type wells (P wells) such as p-doped Si is formed in the DNW. At step 625, an array of insulating layer blocks are formed on the array of P wells. At step 630, an array of gate and source/drain blocks is formed on the array of P wells, at the surface of the p-doped substrate. The source and drain material is p-doped, e.g., p-type silicon, and the gate material is a conductor/metal. The source and drain blocks are placed, within the P wells, on opposite sides of the insulating layer blocks. The gate is positioned between the source and the drain blocks and on top of the insulating layer blocks. At step 640, a metal pattern comprising multiple layers of metal lines are formed on the substrate over the array of gate and source/drain material. At step 645, the stacked metal lines are connected with vertical vias (referred to as contacts) to the gate and source/drain array beneath the metal layers. At step 650, the coupling capacitor structure is biased by connecting a DC bias to the gate connections (e.g., metal lines) and the S/D connections. The DNW/P well junction and DNW/Psub junction are reversed biased by grounding the Psub and connecting a DC voltage supply through a resistor to the DNW portion of the structure (e.g., a resistor is inserted) in series between the supply and the DNW portion of the structure.

[0031] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a method 700 for making a low loss coupling capacitor structure (circuit) with a PVAR configuration. The steps of the method 600 can be implemented using any suitable semiconductor processes and circuit fabrication technologies (e.g., lithographic and integrated chip fabrication processes). At step 710, an array of n-type wells (N wells) such as n-dope Si is formed, e.g., via doping, in a p-doped substrate (Psub), e.g., p-type Si. At step 715, an array of insulating layer blocks are formed on the array of N wells. At step 720, an array of gate and source/drain blocks is formed on the array of N wells, at the surface of the p-doped substrate. The source and drain material is n-doped, e.g., n-type silicon, and the gate material is a conductor/metal. The source and drain blocks are placed, within the N wells, on opposite sides of the insulating layer blocks. The gate is positioned between the source and the drain blocks and on top of the insulating layer blocks. At step 730, a metal pattern comprising multiple layers of metal lines are formed on the substrate over the array of gate and source/drain material. At step 735, the stacked metal lines are connected with vertical vias (contacts) to the gate and source/drain array beneath the metal layers. At step 740, the coupling capacitor structure is biased by connecting a DC bias to the gate, a second DC bias to the S/D connections (e.g., metal lines), and by grounding the Psub.

[0032] While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods might be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein. For example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

[0033] In addition, techniques, systems, subsystems, and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly coupled or communicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicating through some interface, device, or intermediate component whether electrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.