Patent Application
20080057677
These and other features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the invention, in which:
It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements between the drawings.
In one embodiment, chip location identifier 104 may include at least one start indicator dummy solder bead 118 for providing an indication of direction for chip location identifier 104. As indicated, a start indicator dummy solder bead 118 may have a different shape, e.g., oval, rectangular, or another shape, compared to other solder beads 106, 110 for easier identification.
Chip location identifier 104 may employ any manner of communicating using dots, i.e., dummy solder beads 110. In the example shown in
Chip location identifier 104 may be determined using a number of different mechanisms. In one embodiment, chip location identifier 104 is determined by x-raying IC chip 102 (or a chip package 130 (
In operation, IC chip 102 is provided including chip location identifier 104 having at least one dummy solder bead 110 thereon, which representing a unique location of IC chip 104 in wafer 120 prior to dicing. A location of IC chip 102 in wafer 120 prior to dicing can then be determined based on chip location identifier 104. The determining may include obtaining chip location identifier 104, e.g., by electrically using package tester 140 or via x-raying. A start indicator dummy solder bead 118 may be used to identify a direction in which chip location identifier 104 should be read.
The method and structure as described above are used in the fabrication of IC chips. The resulting IC chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form. In the latter case, the IC chip is mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multi-chip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any case the chip is then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.
The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations are possible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to a person skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.
