Fractal capacitors

A linear capacitor structure using fractal geometries is described. This ca pacitor exploits both lateral and vertical electric fields to increase the capacitance per unit area. Compared to standard parallel-plate capacitors, the parasitic bottom-plate capacitance is reduced. Unlike conventional meta l-to-metal capacitors, the capacitance density increases with technology sc aling. A classic fractal structure is implemented with 0.6-mu m metal spaci ng, and a factor of 2.3 increase in the capacitance per unit area is observ ed. It is shown that capacitance boost factors in excess of ten may be poss ible as technology continues to scale, A computer-aided-design tool to auto matically generate and analyze custom fractal layouts has been developed.