The present teachings relate to the field of alignment methods and structures for electrical and optoelectronic component assemblies such as semiconductor devices, optoelectronic devices, and the like.
With advancements in semiconductor device technology, semiconductor devices which require accurate alignment at the sub-micron level in three dimensions are becoming increasingly common. Methods of assembling such devices can rely on various mechanical positioning features which provide an accuracy on a scale which is greater than one micron. In other methods, optical alignment schemes using a transparent wafer carrier or a front side to back side wafer alignment process can be used. These approaches can suffer from poor alignment resulting from the inherent inaccuracy of mechanical templates as well as movement of semiconductor chips in the process of bonding the chips to a substrate such as a wafer, wafer section, another semiconductor chip, or another support member.
An inexpensive method and structure which provides accurate alignment and placement techniques for bonding multiple semiconductor chips to a support member would be desirable.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of one or more embodiments of the present teachings. This summary is not an extensive overview, nor is it intended to identify key or critical elements of the present teachings nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure. Rather, its primary purpose is merely to present one or more concepts in simplified form as a prelude to the detailed description presented later.
An embodiment of the present teachings can include a method used to form a semiconductor device, the method including forming at least one mechanical alignment groove within a first layer of a first device using optical photolithography, forming at least one mechanical alignment pedestal within a second layer of a second device using optical photolithography, aligning the at least one mechanical alignment groove with the at least one mechanical alignment pedestal, and placing the at least one mechanical alignment pedestal into the at least one mechanical alignment groove, such that a feature on the first device is aligned with a feature on the second device at a sub-micron tolerance.
Another embodiment of the present teachings can include a semiconductor device including a layer of a first device comprising at least one mechanical alignment groove therein, at least one mechanical alignment pedestal of a second device, wherein the mechanical alignment pedestal of the second device is within the mechanical alignment groove, and the mechanical alignment groove and the mechanical alignment pedestal align a feature on the first device with a feature on the second device at a sub-micron tolerance.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present teachings and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. In the figures:
It should be noted that some details of the FIGS. may have been simplified and drawn to facilitate understanding of the present teachings rather than to maintain strict structural accuracy, detail, and scale.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the present teachings, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
The present teachings are directed to self-alignment methods and structures for locating and bonding one or more semiconductor chips upon a semiconductor wafer, a portion of a semiconductor wafer, another semiconductor chip, or other support member. The self-alignment technique can provide good alignment precision and accuracy, good reliability, improved manufacturing yields, and decreased device rework at a relatively low cost. The method can employ semiconductor wafer processing techniques such as optical photolithography, dry and/or wet etching, and thin film deposition to provide matching alignment features (i.e., pedestals and grooves) on the support member and one or more semiconductor chips. Metal pads and solder bumps can be deposited on the support member, the one or more semiconductor chips, or both. The semiconductor chip can be mounted onto the support member using flip chip bonding, where the matching pedestals and grooves provide self-alignment of the chip to the support member. Thermal bonding of metal solder can be used to electrically couple the one or more semiconductor chips to the support member. Multiple chips can be similarly mounted to the support member to provide a multi-chip module. The method can use semiconductor wafer processing techniques to achieve sub-micron accuracy for mechanical alignment positioning features. Such techniques can result in improved alignment precision, for example more than ten times better alignment precision, than that of the prior alignment techniques. The present teachings can be used to align a variety of different devices, such as ball grid array (BGA) semiconductor devices and optical input/output (I/O) devices. Optical devices using the optical transfer of data such as optically enabled application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), fiber optic devices, photonic integrated circuits (PIC), etc., require precise alignment to ensure the proper transfer of electrical and/or optical signals.
An embodiment of the present teachings is depicted in
Next, a patterned mask layer 20 can formed over the surface of the semiconductor device 10 as depicted in
After forming the
As depicted in
Next, a patterned mask layer 70 is formed over the pedestal layer 60 as depicted in
Subsequently, the pedestal layer 60 is etched using the patterned mask layer 70 as a pattern to transfer the pattern into the pedestal layer 60, and to result in a structure similar to that depicted in
After forming the mechanical alignment grooves 40 on the semiconductor device 10 and the mechanical alignment pedestals 60 on the support member 50, additional processing on either device can be performed prior to attaching the two devices 10, 50. This can include the formation of a conductive layer 100, such as a metal solder or a conductive paste, as depicted in
Various embodiments of the present teachings are contemplated.
In this embodiment, the mechanical alignment grooves 126 and the mechanical alignment pedestals 132 are formed such that they align to properly and accurately align the bond pads 128 to the posts 134. Using optical photolithography, the alignment can be accurate at the sub-micron level. The mechanical alignment pedestals 132 are placed into the mechanical alignment grooves 126 such that each bond pad 128 contacts the conductor 136 on the surface of a BGA post 134. The conductor is reflowed using heat then cooled (if solder conductor is used) or otherwise cured (if conductive paste is used) to physically and conductively attach the semiconductor device 120 to the support member 122 as depicted in
While the embodiments of
Additionally, the embodiments described above depict the use of anisotropic (vertical) etches which form mechanical alignment grooves and mechanical alignment pedestals having substantially vertical sidewalls (i.e., sidewalls having an angle of about 90°). It will be understood that isotropic etches can be used to etch the mechanical alignment grooves, or the mechanical alignment pedestals, or both. Using an isotropic etch to form the grooves and/or pedestals forms grooves and/or pedestals having a sloped profile (i.e., sidewalls having an angle of between about 30° and about 60°, for example about 45°). A sloped profile can allow for some horizontal misalignment of the devices relative to each other during attachment of the semiconductor device to the support member, with the resulting device having no decrease in alignment tolerance.
In another embodiment, both the mechanical alignment grooves and the mechanical alignment pedestals can have sloped profiles. This may allow for increased lateral misalignment of the devices during assembly, with a completed multi-chip device having properly aligned components.
While the mechanical alignment grooves have been described as being formed within a layer such as a semiconductor substrate of a semiconductor device, it will be understood that the grooves can be formed within a layer overlying a semiconductor substrate, such as a conductor or dielectric layer, or within a layer such as a ceramic substrate or a printed circuit board. Similarly, the mechanical alignment pedestals can be form within or over a semiconductor substrate, a ceramic layer, a printed circuit board, a dielectric layer, or a conductive layer.
Embodiments of the present teachings therefore provide a self-alignment mechanism for multiple chip assembly. The alignment accuracy can be in sub-micron scale. The mechanical alignment features can be formed using semiconductor wafer processing techniques, and can be manufactured using high volume and high accuracy production techniques. Embodiments can include the alignment of microelectronic components such as semiconductor chips, microelectronic chips, and optoelectronic chips, as well as combinations thereof. In an embodiment, use of the present teachings can align an electrical connector on the first device with an electrical connector on the second device, and/or an optical connector on the first device with an optical connector on the second device. In another embodiment, use of the present teachings can physically align a first device to a second device, without any electrical connection between the first device and the second device in the completed assembly.
While the present teachings have been illustrated with respect to one or more implementations, alterations and/or modifications can be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosure may have been described with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular function.
Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the present teachings are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements. Moreover, all ranges disclosed herein are to be understood to encompass any and all sub-ranges subsumed therein. For example, a range of “less than 10” can include any and all sub-ranges between (and including) the minimum value of zero and the maximum value of 10, that is, any and all sub-ranges having a minimum value of equal to or greater than zero and a maximum value of equal to or less than 10, e.g., 1 to 5. In certain cases, the numerical values as stated for the parameter can take on negative values. In this case, the example value of range stated as “less than 10” can assume negative values, e.g. −1, −2, −3, −10, −20, −30, etc.
To the extent that the terms “including,” “includes,” “having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” The term “at least one of” is used to mean one or more of the listed items can be selected. Further, in the discussion and claims herein, the term “on” used with respect to two materials, one “on” the other, means at least some contact between the materials, while “over” means the materials are in proximity, but possibly with one or more additional intervening materials such that contact is possible but not required. Neither “on” nor “over” implies any directionality as used herein. The term “conformal” describes a coating material in which angles of the underlying material are preserved by the conformal material. The term “about” indicates that the value listed may be somewhat altered, as long as the alteration does not result in nonconformance of the process or structure to the illustrated embodiment. Finally, “exemplary” indicates the description is used as an example, rather than implying that it is an ideal. Other embodiments of the present teachings will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the present teachings being indicated by the following claims.
Terms of relative position as used in this application are defined based on a plane parallel to the conventional plane or working surface of a wafer or substrate, regardless of the orientation of the wafer or substrate. The term “horizontal” or “lateral” as used in this application is defined as a plane parallel to the conventional plane or working surface of a wafer or substrate, regardless of the orientation of the wafer or substrate. The term “vertical” refers to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal. Terms such as “on,” “side” (as in “sidewall”), “higher,” “lower,” “over,” “top,” and “under” are defined with respect to the conventional plane or working surface being on the top surface of the wafer or substrate, regardless of the orientation of the wafer or substrate.