/Patent Tracker
AppleGranted patentChips & hardwareInterest 6/10

Apple patents chip package that uses filters as heaters for self-tests

Apple describes a semiconductor package design where electrical filters, known as chokes, serve a dual purpose. Normally, these components block high-frequency radio interference to protect sensitive sensors inside the chip. During a self-test, the system reroutes these filters to act as heaters, warming the package to check how sensors react to temperature changes.

Why it mattersThis approach simplifies chip design by reusing existing parts for testing, potentially making quality checks faster and more efficient without adding extra heating elements.

In the filing’s own words

A semiconductor component package includes circuitry that can be used both for mitigating radio-frequency interference of signals in the package and for performing self-test procedures of components in the package. The circuitry includes chokes between the I/O pads of the package and a sensor module in the package to attenuate high-frequency RF interference in the package and protect sensors in the package. Each I/O pad may have a corresponding choke. During a self-test procedure, such as a test of a sensor's temperature coefficient of offset, the chokes can be decoupled from the I/O pads and the sensor module and coupled between a current source and a ground. A current can be supplied to the choke to raise the temperature of the package. The chokes may use high-resistance windings to increase heat generation during the self-test procedure.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device, comprising: a sensor module comprising a sensing device; a processor couplable to the sensor module using one or more routing traces; one or more chokes, each choke of the one or more chokes associated with a respective routing trace of the one or more routing traces; switching circuitry, wherein the switching circuitry is configured to: in a first mode of operation, couple the one or more chokes between the sensor module and the processor in a path of the one or more routing traces, and in a second mode of operation, couple a set of chokes of the one or more chokes between a current source and a ground; and one or more input/output (I/O) pads, wherein the processor is configured to: in the second mode of operation, after the switching circuitry couples the set of chokes between the current source and the ground, determine that one or more criteria are satisfied, and in accordance with the determination that the one or more criteria are satisfied, cause the electronic device to enter the first mode of operation by causing the switching circuitry to uncouple the set of chokes from the current source and the ground and coupling the set of chokes between the sensor module and respective I/O pads of the one or more I/O pads.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Packages and processes for radio frequency mitigation and self-test
Patent number
US12743133B2
Application number
18359298
Filed
Jul 26, 2023
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
17

Classified under

G06F 1/1656 Physics & computingG01R 31/2827 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

More from Apple in Chips & hardware

Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.