Patent Grant
7423331
The present invention relates generally to a stiffener for substrates used in semiconductor fabrication processes, and more particularly to a stiffener molded onto thin substrates, such as lead frames, used during the production of die assemblies and packages.
A stiffener device has been used with lead frames for die assembly and package production to provide support for flexible, and even flimsy, substrates. The stiffener can assist in preventing or reducing damage to the substrate and associated electrical components. Stiffeners are typically attached to lead frames by applying a strip of adhesive tape or a layer of adhesive paste to the stiffener and/or the surface of the lead frame.
Referring to
The package illustrated in
In some situations, the stiffener comprises a metal or metal alloy. Unfortunately, metal stiffeners are difficult to cut with conventional, diamond-tipped saws. As such, metal stiffeners are burdensome to segment before and during package production. Likewise, the produced packages that incorporate metal stiffeners are also difficult to cut. As a result, it is laborious to separate packages from one another. Additionally, metal stiffeners are expensive and therefore contribute to added expense of the package.
Plastic stiffeners have also been used to support a lead frame. Typically, in those cases where a plastic stiffener is used, a thermoplastic or thermosetting polymeric material is heated and introduced into a mold and, upon cooling, the mold is opened and a plastic stiffener is produced. Thereafter, the plastic stiffener is secured to the lead frame using an adhesive tape or paste.
Plastic stiffeners offer several advantages over metal stiffeners. For one, plastic stiffeners can be more easily cut. This allows the plastic stiffeners to be segmented and packages separated from one another. Also, plastic stiffeners are less expensive than metal stiffeners. As such, the cost of semiconductor processing can be reduced. However, plastic stiffeners, like their metal counterparts, have associated disadvantages.
For example, a supply of adhesive must be procured in order to attach the stiffeners to lead frames. Purchasing, inventorying, and storing the adhesive can add to the cost of die assembly and package processing. Further, attaching a stiffener requires an attachment step be performed during processing, which can require additional processing apparatus, add to processing time, and provide an opportunity for error. Therefore, an improved stiffener and method of applying the same to a substrate is desirable.
In one aspect, the invention provides a semiconductor device comprising a substrate and a stiffener molded to the substrate.
The stiffener can be molded to the substrate by various techniques such as transfer molding, injection molding, or spray molding. The stiffener can also be molded to the substrate with an encapsulating material. Advantageously, the molded stiffener can provide stiffening to the substrate, or increase the rigidity to the substrate.
The molded stiffener can comprise a thermoplastic or a thermosetting polymeric material. In addition, the thermal coefficient of expansion of the molded stiffener and the substrate can correspond such that heating expands both the molded stiffener and the substrate approximately equally. The molded stiffener can be sized to correspond to a length and/or a width of the substrate, or the substrate can be sized to correspond to a length and/or a width of the molded stiffener.
Further, the molded stiffener can include at least one cross member and be in the form of a grid, a lattice, a grille, or a web. In one embodiment, the molded stiffener can protrude from the surface of the substrate and, as a result, form an enclosure for receiving an encapsulating material. In another embodiment, a first surface of the substrate can include a recess formed in the substrate such that the stiffener can be molded to the substrate within the recess. Therefore, the molded stiffener can be flush with the first surface of the substrate.
The substrate can have a first stiffener molded to a first surface of the substrate and a second stiffener molded to a second surface of the substrate. In such an embodiment, the first stiffener and the second stiffener can comprise different configurations and/or dimensions. For example, the first stiffener can protrude from the first surface of the substrate and the second stiffener can be disposed within a recess in the second surface of the substrate.
Another aspect of the invention provides a semiconductor assembly. The semiconductor assembly can comprise a die disposed on a first surface of a substrate as well as a stiffener molded to the first surface of the substrate. In one embodiment, the semiconductor assembly can have a second stiffener molded to a second surface of the substrate and a second die disposed on the second surface of the substrate.
A further aspect of the invention provides a semiconductor die package. The die package can comprise a substrate having a die disposed on the substrate, a stiffener molded to the substrate, and an encapsulating material covering the die. The encapsulating material can be at least partially bounded by the molded stiffener. In one embodiment, the die package can include a second stiffener molded to a second surface of the substrate. The die package can be formed by a technique such as transfer molding.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of securing a stiffener to a substrate. The method can comprise the steps of providing a stiffener material and a substrate, molding the stiffener material to the substrate, and permitting the stiffener material to harden to form a molded stiffener secured to the substrate. The step of molding can comprise transfer molding, injection molding, spray molding, or molding by applying an encapsulating material to the substrate. The stiffener material can harden by heating the stiffener material, permitting the stiffener material to cool, curing the stiffener material with a catalyst, or curing the stiffener material with exposure to radiation.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of molding a stiffener to a lead frame assembly. The method can comprise the steps of providing a lead frame assembly, which includes a substrate and two or more die disposed on the substrate, providing a stiffener material, molding the stiffener material to the substrate to form a molded stiffener, and singulating the lead frame assembly, with the molded stiffener thereon, to separate the two or more die.
In one embodiment, prior to the singulation step, the method can comprise the step of encapsulating the two or more die disposed on the lead frame assembly. The encapsulating material can be dispensed onto the die such that the molded stiffener provides a boundary for containing the encapsulating material therein.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of forming a semiconductor die package. The method can comprise the steps of securing a die to a substrate, molding a stiffener material to the substrate to form a molded stiffener thereon, and encapsulating the die and the molded stiffener with an encapsulating material to form the semiconductor die package. In one embodiment, the step of encapsulating can comprise inserting the substrate, with the die and the molded stiffener disposed thereon, into an opening between two mold plates. After the encapsulating material has hardened, newly formed package can be removed from the mold plates.
In another embodiment, the method of forming the die package can comprise the steps of mounting a die on a lead frame, molding a stiffener to the lead frame, applying an encapsulating material to the die and the stiffener, and permitting the encapsulating material to harden to produce the die package.
Embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and are for illustrative purposes only. The invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction or the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in other various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the terminology and phraseology employed herein is for the purpose of description and illustration and should not be regarded as limiting. Like reference numerals are used to indicate like components.
The invention will be described generally with reference to the drawings for the purpose of illustrating the present preferred embodiments only and not for purposes of limiting the same.
While the term “lead frame” is used as a preferred substrate in the several embodiments and figures to describe the invention, other substrates known in the microelectronics or semiconductor industry are contemplated for use with the invention. A non-exhaustive list of such substrates that can be used in the context of the invention includes a flexible laminated polymer or polyimide layer, a non-flexible material such as a bismaleimide triazine (BT) resin, an FR4 laminate, an FR5 laminate, a CEM1 laminate, a CEM3 laminate, a ceramic metal frame, among others. Further, the substrate used in the invention comprises a “thin” substrate which, as used herein, is defined as a substrate having a thickness of less than about seventy-five microns (75 μm).
Turning to
Molded stiffener 26 comprises a stiffener length 42, a stiffener width 44, and a thickness 46. In preferred embodiments, thickness 46 of molded stiffener 26 is less than about one hundred microns (100 μm). In another preferred embodiment, thickness 46 is less than about seventy-five microns (75 μm). In yet another preferred embodiment, thickness 46 is less than about fifty microns (50 μm). Molded stiffener 26 can comprise a thermoplastic or thermosetting polymeric material such as epoxy.
Instead of molded stiffener 26 being secured to lead frame 6 using an adhesive element 12 (e.g., a strip of adhesive tape or a layer of adhesive paste) as used with prior art stiffeners, molded stiffener 26 can be molded directly to the lead frame. In one embodiment, molded stiffener 26 is molded to first surface 28 of lead frame 6 such that the molded stiffener extends or protrudes from the first surface as illustrated in
In one embodiment of the invention, molded stiffener 26 is molded to lead frame 6 by injection molding as illustrated in
Besides injection molding, molded stiffener 26 can also be fabricated by spray molding stiffener material 50 onto lead frame 6, as illustrated in
In another embodiment of the method of the invention, as illustrated in
Referring back to
As shown in
In each of the above embodiments, one benefit that molded stiffener 26 provides to lead frame 6 is rigidity and structural integrity, while still permitting flexibility. Further, in preferred embodiments, molded stiffener 26 and lead frame 6 have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is approximately equal. When the coefficient of thermal expansion for both molded stiffener 26 and lead frame 6 correspond, uneven expansion during the variety of heating, and cooling procedures involved in the fabrication of lead frames 6, die assemblies 24, packages 2, and other semiconductor or microelectronics, is avoided or reduced. Thus, stress at locations where molded stiffener 26 and lead frame 6 are molded together can be kept at a level sufficient to deter disengagement between the two components.
Turning to
After desired components have been assembled to construct lead frame assembly 24, the lead frame assembly can be processed into semiconductor die packages 66, wherein lead frame assembly 24, or a portion thereof, is covered with encapsulating material 16. As previously stated, encapsulating material is typically used to protect die 10, lead frame 6, die assembly 24, integrated circuits, and other components from damage.
In one embodiment, as illustrated in
In one embodiment, die package 66 can be fabricated from a lead frame assembly 24 that comprises two molded stiffeners 26, 26a on opposing surfaces (e.g., first surface 28 and second surface 30) of lead frame 6, as illustrated in
In another embodiment, as illustrated in
In yet another embodiment, lead frame 6 can be configured to receive molded stiffener 26 thereon when the lead frame is in reel form (as opposed to being in strips). In these embodiments, a portion of the reel comprising lead frame 6 can be cut, truncated, singulated, separated, or otherwise partitioned into segments (not shown) before or after the molded stiffener has been molded onto the lead frame. In such embodiments, segments can be provided in order to ease or assist processing, provide one component (i.e., molded stiffener or lead frame) with dimensions that correspond to the dimensions of the other component. Segments can also be provided to separate components (e.g., die) disposed on die assembly 24 from each other. Unlike prior art stiffeners made of metal, molded stiffener 26 can be cut using conventional saw technology (e.g., diamond-tipped saw). Molded stiffener 26 can be cut separately, can be cut while disposed on lead frame 6, can be cut as a component of lead frame assembly 24, or can be cut as a component of package 66.
Despite the above methods being outlined in a step-by-step sequence, the completion of the acts or steps in a particular chronological order is not mandatory. Further, elimination, modification, rearrangement, combination, reordering, or the like, of the acts or steps is contemplated and considered within the scope of the description and claims.
While the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiment, it is recognized that equivalents, alternatives, and modifications, aside from those expressly stated, are possible and within the scope of the appending claims.
In compliance with applicable statutes, the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural and methodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown and described, since the means herein disclosed comprise preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/077,554, filed Feb. 15, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050029549 A1 | Feb 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10077554 | Feb 2002 | US |
| Child | 10932940 | US |
