This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-060828, filed Mar. 24, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a semiconductor device.
A solid state drive (SSD) in which a controller and a nonvolatile memory are mounted on a board is known. The controller and the nonvolatile memory are bonded to the board by, for example, solder bumps.
Embodiments provide a semiconductor device with excellent mounting reliability.
In general, according to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a board having a first surface and a solder resist layer on the first surface. The solder resist layer has a first opening and a second opening. A first electrode is on the first surface and has a side surface exposed in the first opening. The first electrode is electrically connected to the board. A second electrode, having an outer perimeter, is on the first surface. At least a portion of the second electrode is exposed through the second opening. The second electrode is electrically connected to the board, and at least a portion of the outer perimeter of the second electrode is covered by the solder resist layer. A first solder bump is on the first electrode. The first solder bump covers the side surface of the first electrode. A second solder bump is on the second electrode, and a semiconductor chip has a second surface facing the first surface. The second surface has a first region and a second region. A third electrode located in the first region of the semiconductor chip is electrically connected to the first solder bump, and a fourth electrode is located in the second region of the semiconductor chip and is electrically connected to the second solder bump.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
A semiconductor device according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
The nonvolatile memory 92 is, for example, a NAND type flash memory (hereinafter, referred to as a NAND memory). In the following description, although the nonvolatile memory 92 will be described as “NAND memory 92”, the nonvolatile memory is not limited thereto, and may be another type of nonvolatile memory such as a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM).
The volatile memory 94 is, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In the following description, although the volatile memory 94 will be described as “DRAM 94”, the volatile memory 94 is not limited thereto, and may be another type of volatile memory.
The NAND memory 92, the controller 93, and the power supply circuit 97 according to the present embodiment are each a semiconductor package which is an electronic component. For example, the semiconductor package of the NAND memory 92 is a system in package (SiP) type module, and a plurality of semiconductor chips are sealed within one package. On the other hand, the power supply circuit 97 is a chip size package (CSP) type module, and includes one semiconductor chip.
The mounting board 91 is a substantially rectangular circuit board that is made of, for example, a material such as glass epoxy resin, and the size thereof dictates the external dimensions of the semiconductor device 100. The mounting board 91 has a first surface 91a and a second surface 91b positioned on the opposite side of the mounting board 91 from the first surface 91a. In this disclosure, the surfaces other than the first surface 91a and the second surface 91b among the surfaces that configure the mounting board 91 are defined as “side surfaces”. In the semiconductor device 100, the first surface 91a and the second surface 91b are component mounting surfaces on which the NAND memory 92, the controller 93, the DRAM 94, the oscillator 95, the EEPROM 96, the power supply circuit 97, the temperature sensor 98, and other electronic components such as a resistor and a capacitor are mounted.
As illustrated in
The interface unit 201 is an interface that is based on, for example, the PCI-express (PCIe) standard. That is, high-speed signals (high-speed differential signals) based on the PCIe standard are transmitted and received between the interface unit 201 and the host 200. The semiconductor device 100 is supplied with power via the interface unit 201 from the host 200.
The interface unit 201 may be based on another standard such as the serial attached SCSI (SAS) standard, the serial ATA (SATA) standard, the non-volatile memory express (NVMe) standard, or the like.
The power supply circuit 97 is, for example, a DC-DC converter, and it generates a predetermined voltage for operating the NAND memory 92, the controller 93, and the like using the power supplied from the host 200. Preferably, the power supply circuit 97 is installed in the vicinity of the interface unit 201 in order to prevent loss of the power supplied from the host 200.
The controller 93 controls operations of the NAND memory 92. That is, the controller 93 controls writing, reading, and deleting of data to and from the NAND memory 92.
As described above, the DRAM 94 is an example of a volatile memory, and is used for storing management information of the NAND memory 92, caching data of the NAND memory 92, or the like. The oscillator 95 supplies an operation signal having a predetermined frequency to the controller 93. The EEPROM 96 stores control programs and the like as fixed information.
The temperature sensor 98 monitors the temperature of the controller 93, for example. Although the temperature sensor 98 is mounted, for example, in the vicinity of the controller 93 on the mounting board 91, the position of the temperature sensor 98 is not limited thereto. The temperature sensor 98 is not necessarily provided on the mounting board 91, and may be provided as a function of the controller 93.
In the present embodiment, the number of the NAND memories 92, the mounting positions of the NAND memories 92, and the like are not limited to the drawings. In the present embodiment, although an example in which two NAND memories 92 (92a and 92b) are mounted on the first surface 91a of the mounting board 91 and two NAND memories 92 (92c and 92d) are mounted on the second surface 91b of the mounting board 91 is illustrated, the number of the NAND memories 92 is not limited thereto. For example, all components to be mounted on the mounting board 91, including NAND memories 92, may be mounted only on the first surface 91a.
Next, a connection portion between the power supply circuit 97 and the mounting board 91 will be described.
Next, the configuration of the power supply circuit 97 will be described. The power supply circuit 97 includes a semiconductor chip 10, for example, having a package structure known as a chip size package (CSP).
As illustrated in
The semiconductor substrate 1 has, for example, a rectangular shape with four corners (
As illustrated in
On the other hand, on the first surface 91a of the mounting board 91, a plurality of lands 5 as electrodes, and a solder resist layer 6 that has openings at the positions of the plurality of lands 5 and covers the first surface 91a, are provided. The lands 5 are electrically connected to a wiring layer (not illustrated) in the mounting board 91. A plurality of solder bumps 4 are positioned between the lands 5 and the polyimide layer 3 of the semiconductor chip 10. That is, the semiconductor chip 10 is electrically connected to the mounting board 91 by the solder bumps 4. The lands 5 are formed using, for example, a material containing copper (Cu) or an alloy of copper (Cu).
Next, the arrangement of the solder bumps 4 on the first surface 91a when mounting the semiconductor chip 10 on the first surface 91a of the mounting board 91 will be described with reference to
The semiconductor chip 10 according to the present embodiment is mounted on the first surface 91a of the mounting board 91, for example, by 8×8 (64) solder bumps 4 arranged in a lattice pattern. Here, the lattice pattern means that the solder bumps 4 and the adjacent solder bumps 4 are regularly arranged along substantially straight lines. As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the solder bumps 4 of the semiconductor chip 10 have solder structures including a solder mask defined (SMD) structure and a non-SMD structure. The solder bump 4 with the SMD structure is referred to as “SMD”, the solder bump 4 with the NSMD structure is referred to as “NSMD”, and the same is true of the following description. All the solder bumps 4 of the NAND memory 92, the controller 93, or the like include, for example, the NSMDs.
Hereinafter, cross-sectional views of the SMD and the NSMD used in the present embodiment and characteristics of the SMD and the NSMD will be described.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In practice, the land 5 has a substantially circular shape in a plan view, and it is connected to the wiring provided on the mounting board 91. In the SMD, the outer circumferential edge portions of the land 5 are covered with the solder resist layer 6 formed on the entire first surface 91a of the mounting board 91, and in the NSMD, the circumferential wall of the openings of the solder resist layer 6 are formed at a distance from the land 5. That is, the openings of the solder resist layer 6 have a substantially circular shape.
Although not illustrated, electrical wiring is connected to each of the lands 5, and the lands 5 are electrically connected to connectors (not illustrated) of the mounting board 91 and other electronic components, other electronic devices, or the like mounted on the mounting board 91 by the electrical wiring.
In the SMD, the cross-sectional area (particularly, the maximum cross-sectional area) of the solder bump 4 in the cross-section (cross-section B-B′ in
On the other hand, in the NSMD, since the diameter of the solder bump 4 in the cross-section in the direction parallel to the mounting board 91 is large, the bridge is more likely to occur. In contrast, since the bonding between the solder bump 4 and the land 5 on the mounting board 91 is strong and the diameter of the solder bump 4 is large, there is an advantage that the solder bump 4 is strong against shear stress.
In the plan view of
Since the SMDs and the NSMDs are arranged as illustrated in
The number of the solder bumps 4a and 4b configured as NSMDs is not limited. For example, NSMDs are formed at positions outside the range of an arbitrary distance R from the center of the mounting region D of the first surface 91a of the mounting board 91. In the present embodiment, the arbitrary distance R is approximately 1.70 mm. The distance R can be appropriately selected depending on the number of the solder bumps 4 in the mounting region D or the pitch width. The solder bumps 4a and 4b that are positioned at positions outside the range of an arbitrary distance R from the center of the mounting region D may be expressed as being positioned at the corner portions of the mounting board 91.
Next, a method of forming the solder bumps 4 of the semiconductor chip 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.
As illustrated in
Next, a metal mask (not illustrated) having openings at the regions corresponding to the lands 5 is formed on the solder resist 6, and paste solder 4c is applied in the openings. The openings of the metal mask are formed such that the diameters of the openings around the NSMD are larger than the diameters of the openings over the SMD. Therefore, the amount of the paste solder 4c applied to the NSMD is greater than the amount of the paste solder 4c applied to the SMD. After applying the paste solder 4c, the metal mask is removed.
Next, positioning is performed such that the solder balls 4d formed on the lower surface of the semiconductor chip 10 are positioned on the applied paste solder 4c locations, and the solder balls 4d are respectively bonded to the paste solder 4c locations. The solder balls 4d are formed in advance such that the sizes and the heights thereof are all substantially uniform. The paste solder 4c and the respective solder balls 4d are melted and cooled by heating, and thus the paste solders 4c and the solder balls 4d are fused together, thereby forming the solder bumps 4. As described above, the solder bumps 4 according to the present embodiment are formed.
The reason why the amount of the paste solders 4c in the NSMD is increased will be described below.
According to the semiconductor device 100 of the present embodiment, both SMDs and NSMDs are used for the solder bumps 4, and thus the combination of solder bumps 4 are strong against the shear stress compared to the case where SMDs are used for all the solder bumps 4. Further, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the bonding force between the NSMD and the mounting board 91 becomes weak, by increasing the amount of the paste solder 4c in the NSMD.
Furthermore, in the component having a narrow pitch width on the mounting board 91, among the solder bumps 4 in the mounting region, NSMDs are used for the solder bumps 4 at the four corners and the solder bumps 4 adjacent thereto, and SMDs are used for the other solder bumps 4. Thus, it is possible to provide a semiconductor device that can have a strong tolerance to shear stress and reduced occurrence of a solder bridge.
Next, the semiconductor device 100 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to
The NSMD has such a shape, and thus it is possible to reduce the risk of occurrence of a crack in the solder bump 4 due to the contact of the solder resist layer 6 to the solder bump 4, without enlarging the size of the opening of the solder resist layer 6.
The shape of the wall of the opening in the solder resist layer 6 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the NSMD, and can be applied to the SMD. Even in the SMD, the same effect as that of the NSMD can be obtained.
According to the semiconductor device 100 of the present embodiment, the side surface of the opening of the solder resist layer 6 is an inclined surface, and thus it is possible to reduce the possibility of occurrence of a crack in the solder bump 4.
Next, the semiconductor device 100 according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Further, in the SMD according to the present embodiment, since the width of the opening in a direction parallel to the mounting board 91 is smaller than that of the opening for an NSMD, the frequency of occurrence of a bridge is lower than that in the NSMD.
According to the semiconductor device 100 of the present embodiment, the openings in the solder resist layer 6 at the four corners of the semiconductor chip 10 on the mounting board 91 have a rectangular shape, and thus it is possible to provide a semiconductor device that can maintain tolerance to shear stress and also reduce the frequency of occurrence of a solder bridge.
The structure illustrated in the third embodiment is not limited to the four corners of the mounting region, and can be used for all the solder bumps 4 in the mounting region.
Although an example in which the semiconductor device 100 illustrated in the first to third embodiments is applied to the SSD is described, the semiconductor device 100 can also be applied to other mounting structures.
In the semiconductor device 100 illustrated in the first to third embodiments, the electronic components and the like mounted on the mounting board 91 have the structure illustrated in the first to third embodiments, and thus it is possible to adjust the heat quantity radiated from the SSD. This is because, for example, when the structure illustrated in the first to third embodiments is used in the mounting of the electronic components, the cross-sectional area of the solder bump 4 in a direction parallel to the first surface of the mounting board 91 can be increased, compared to the case where all the solder bumps 4 are SMDs. When the cross-sectional area of the solder bump 4 is increased, the heat conductivity of the solder bump increases. Further, in the semiconductor device 100 according to the present embodiment, heat is released from the ground patterns of the electronic components and the like to the ground pattern of the semiconductor device 100. The ground terminal of the power supply circuit is designed to have a wide pattern area, and is suitable as a path for dissipating heat. Therefore, the NSMD or the solder bump that is set as the ground terminal among the solder bumps according to the third embodiment has a high heat conductivity, and other solder bumps have a low heat conductivity. As a result, it is possible to adjust the heat quantity radiated from the SSD.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. For example, in the above description, although an example in which the semiconductor chip 10 is applied to the power supply circuit 97 is described, the semiconductor chip 10 may be applied to a CSP other than the power supply circuit 97. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2016-060828 | Mar 2016 | JP | national |