Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of semiconductors, and specifically, to a semiconductor package, a package forming method, and a power supply module comprising the semiconductor package.
With the development of high density and miniaturization of electronic products, there is a growing tendency for high integration, thinness, and miniaturization. In order to meet the design requirements of miniaturization and high integration of modern electronic products, printed circuit boards are typically designed to be small in size. However, with popularization of high-power semiconductor chips, how to shrink the package volume of the semiconductor chip as much as possible while maintaining a stable heat dissipation performance is the current problem to be solved. The trade-off between the thermal performance and miniaturization restricts the development of power devices towards higher integration and higher power density.
In the legacy heat dissipation solution, a single or a dual side heat dissipation solution is commonly employed, where power semiconductor chip(s) is placed on an insulating substrate having a thermally conductive property (e.g., DBC, AMB, IMS, and the like) to directly transfer heat generated by the power semiconductor chip(s) out of the package surface, thus implementing heat dissipation for the power semiconductor chips. However, the legacy heat dissipation solution still has the disadvantages of a low chip density, a high thermal resistance, uneven thermal conduction paths, a complicated assembling process, and the like.
According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a new dual side heat dissipation solution.
In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a semiconductor package. The semiconductor package may include a first chip comprising a first surface, and a second surface opposite the first surface. The semiconductor package may also include a chip interconnect component located on the second surface of the first chip. In addition, the semiconductor package may include a second chip located on the chip interconnect component, comprising a third surface in contact with the chip interconnect component, and a fourth surface opposite the third surface. The chip interconnect component comprises an electrically conductive frame, one side of the electrically conductive frame is electrically connected to the second surface of the first chip, and the other side of the electrically conductive frame is electrically connected to the third surface of the second chip. The chip interconnect component further comprises an insulating material for filling a gap of the electrically conductive frame between the first chip and the second chip.
In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a package forming method. The method may include: forming a first chip on a first substrate component, the first chip comprising a first surface in contact with the first substrate component, and a second surface opposite the first surface; forming a chip interconnect component on the first substrate component and the second surface of the first chip; forming a second chip on the chip interconnect component, the second chip comprising a third surface in contact with the chip interconnect component, and a fourth surface opposite the third surface; and forming a second substrate component on the fourth surface of the second chip, wherein the chip interconnect component is preformed to comprise: an electrically conductive frame, one side of the electrically conductive frame being electrically connected to the second surface of the first chip, and the other side of the electrically conductive frame being electrically connected to the third surface of the second chip; and an insulating material for filling a gap of the electrically conductive frame between the first chip and the second chip.
In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a power supply module, comprising: at least two semiconductor packages as described in the first aspect of the present disclosure.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. It would be appreciated that this Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the present disclosure as described herein, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become evident through the following description.
The above and other features, advantages, and aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent, through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference symbols refer to the same or similar components, wherein:
Reference now will be made to the drawings to describe in detail embodiments of the present disclosure. Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are depicted in the drawings, it would be appreciated that the present disclosure could be implemented in various forms, and should not be construed as being limited to those embodiments described herein. Rather, those embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand the present disclosure more thoroughly and completely. It is to be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are only provided exemplarily, without suggesting any limitation to the protection scope of the present disclosure.
In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the term “includes” and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to.” The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on.” The term “an embodiment” or “the embodiment” is to be read as “at least one embodiment.” The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, may refer to different or the same objects. Other definitions, explicit or implicit, may be covered hereinafter.
The directional terms (e.g., “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “rear,” “head,” “tail,” “above,” “under,” and the like) may be used with reference to directions of the drawings and/or elements described herein. As positioning can be implemented in various directions in the embodiments, the directional terms are used for illustration, without limitation. In some embodiments, as long as general directional relationships between elements and general purposes thereof are retained, the directional terms can be replaced by equivalents thereof based on the orientations of the embodiments.
As used herein, the expressions with serial numbers (e.g., “first,” “second,” and the like) may be used to modify various elements. However, those elements are not restricted to those expressions. For example, the expressions do not define a sequence and/or importance of elements. Those expressions are only used to differentiate one element from a further one.
It would be appreciated that, when an element is described as being “connected” or “coupled” to a further element, it may be connected or coupled to the further element directly, or there may be a middle element. In turn, when an element is described as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to a further element, there is no middle element. Other expressions for describing relationships between elements are to be read likewise (e.g., “between” and “directly between,” “adjacent” and “directly adjacent,” and the like).
In the embodiments described herein or shown in the drawings, any direct electrical connection or coupling (i.e., any connection or coupling, without an additional middle element) can be implemented through indirect connection or coupling (i.e., connection or coupling to one or more additional middle elements), or vice versa, as long as the general purpose of substantially maintaining the connection or coupling is accomplished.
As described above, with the development of semiconductor technology, the design of electronic devices shows a trend of miniaturization. How to integrate more chips per unit of area or volume, and how to provide an efficient and balanced cooling performance are prerequisites to ensure high integration and high stability of miniaturized electronic devices.
The heat dissipation solution is typically divided into a single side heat dissipation solution and a dual side heat dissipation solution. As the dual side heat dissipation solution generally exhibits a better heat dissipation performance, the power semiconductor chip package design based on dual side heat dissipation solution is preferably employed.
In addition, the semiconductor package 100 introduces a polyimide layer 150, a copper layer 160, and a thermal interface material layer 170 onto upper surfaces of the chips 131, 132, to further optimize thermal conductivity and provide design-based electrical connections. Further, the insulating substrate 120 is arranged above the semiconductor package 100. The insulating substrate 120 may be DBC (Direct Bounding Copper), which may include a copper layer 121, a ceramic layer 122, and a copper layer 123. In this way, the heat generated by operation of the chips 131, 132 may be transferred to the upper part of the semiconductor package 100, for convenience of dissipation to the external or other component.
However, the legacy dual side heat dissipation solution has the following problems. First, as the legacy dual side heat dissipation solution only provides the possibility of single side chip heat dissipation, the multi-chip package has the disadvantages of low density, too large volume, and the like. Second, since the copper layer 160 and the heat interface material layer 170 are arranged at the upper side of the chips 131, 132, the thermal resistance of the upward thermal conduction path of the chips 131, 132 is not balanced with the thermal resistance of the downward thermal conduction path of the chips 131, 132. In addition, the entire structure and the forming process of the semiconductor package 100 become more complicated due to a large number of assembled components that cause a difficulty in controlling the package flatness and prolong the assembling process. In the case, there is a need for improving the legacy dual side heat dissipation solution, to overcome or at least mitigate at least one of the deficiencies mentioned above.
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a package forming solution. By providing a chip interconnect component with thermal and electrical conductivity properties and arranging at least two chips respectively on two sides of the chip interconnect component, the solution can solve the above-mentioned problem and/or other potential problems. Hereinafter, reference will be made to the above example scenario to describe in detail the respective embodiments of the present disclosure. It would be appreciated that the description thereon is provided only for illustration, without suggesting any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure.
As shown in
In addition, the semiconductor package 200 may further include a chip interconnect component 220. As shown in
It is to be understood that, in an application scenario such as a power transistor, the first chip 210 may be a first power transistor, the second chip 230 may be a second power transistor, and the gate of the first power transistor (i.e., the right portion of the first chip 210 in
Moreover, the chip interconnect component 220 may further include an insulating material 222. The insulating material 222 is arranged to fill the gap of the electrically conductive frame 221 between the first chip 210 and the second chip 230. It would be appreciated that the chip interconnect assembly 220 may be preformed or premolded. For example, the copper material may be patterned to be the electrically conductive frame 221, and the patterned electrically conductive frame 221 may be placed in a mold having a predetermined shape for receiving the insulating material 222, for example, polyimide in a liquid state. After the insulating material 222 is solidified, the chip interconnect component 220 can be formed.
It is to be understood that the laminated chip arrangement as shown in
In some embodiments, the electrically conductive frame 221 may include at least one of copper, silver, aluminum, solder, and the like.
In some embodiments, the insulating material 221 may be at least one of polyimide, polymethacrylimide, epoxy resin, and the like.
In some embodiments, the semiconductor package 200 may include a plurality of pairs of chips, for example, 2N chips located on both sides of the chip interconnect component, where N is a natural number. Alternatively or additionally, the semiconductor package 200 may further include 2N+1 chips as required particularly. At this time, a third chip not paired with other chips may be electrically connected to the electrically conductive frame 221 of the chip interconnect component 220, and located on the same side as the first chip 210 or the second chip 230. It is to be understood that the third chip may be subject to the same packaging method and the same heat conduction method as the first chip 210 or the second chip 230.
In some embodiments, the insulating material 222 may be formed to include recesses each having a predetermined dimension for limiting the positions of the first chip 210 and the second chip 230, and may be formed to include one or more positioning members, so as to limit the position of the substrate component for further heat dissipation.
In some embodiments, the sintering process as mentioned above may be a wet sintering process. By way of example, the wet sintering process includes: applying a sintering paste of a Bingham fluid at a connection position, to form a sintering paste layer having a uniform thickness, for example, various Bingham-fluid sintering pastes containing gold, silver or copper particles with good thermal and electrical conductivity properties. In addition, the wet sintering process further includes: positioning a connection position such that the connection between the chip and the chip interconnect component is supported by the sintering paste; heating it to a first temperature for a set time, to evaporate additives in the sintering paste layer; and heating it to a second temperature for a set time, such that metal particles in the sintering paste layer are bounded to form a sintered layer at the interconnect position. It would be appreciated that, since the sintering paste of Bingham-fluid is used, the shear force it receives will not cause shear deformation when is does not reach the critical shear stress. Thus, the sintering paste layer coated with the sintering paste of Bingham-fluid with a selected proper mechanical property may generate an effective support between the chip and the chip interconnect component. The shape of the sintering paste layer is controllable, which will not be deformed as being subject to a force less than its extreme shear force.
In addition, as stated above, the insulating material 222 may be formed to include one or more positioning members, for example, positioning members 330, to position the substrate component to be packaged thereafter. It is to be understood that the shape of the positioning member 330 is not limited to a semicircular protrusion as shown in
In some embodiments, the first substrate component 410 and the second substrate component 420 each may be an AMB (Active Metal Brazing) plate. As shown in
In some embodiments, the copper layer 413 in the first substrate component 410 may include two positioning members which match the pre-formed positioning members 330 on the insulating material 222, so as to implement accurate positioning. In addition, the copper layer 423 in the second substrate component 420 may similarly include two positioning members which match the pre-formed positioning members on the insulating material 222.
The technical solution described above is provided only as an example, without limiting the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the whole semiconductor package may be arranged in other methods and according to other connection relationships. In order to make the principle of the above solution more clearly, reference will be made to
At block 502, a first chip 210 is formed on a first substrate component 410, where the first chip 210 may include a first surface in contact with the first substrate component 410, and a second surface opposite the first surface. As shown in
At block 504, a chip interconnect component 220 is formed on the first substrate component 410 and the second surface of the first chip 210. As shown in
At block 506, a second chip 230 is formed on the chip interconnect component 220, where the second ship 230 includes a third surface in contact with the chip interconnect component 220, and a fourth surface opposite the third surface. As shown in
At block 508, a second substrate component 420 is formed on the fourth surface of the second chip 230. As shown in
As mentioned in the foregoing, the chip interconnect component 220 may be preformed to include an electrically conductive frame 221 and an insulating material 222. One side of the electrically conductive frame 221 is electrically connected to the second surface of the first chip 210, and the other side of the electrically conductive frame 221 is electrically connected to the third surface of the second chip 230. In addition, the insulating material 222 is used to fill a gap of the electrically conductive frame 221 between the first chip 210 and the second chip 230.
It would be appreciated that, the process of manufacturing the chip interconnect component 220, and the process of manufacturing the first substrate component 410 and the second substrate component 420 may be completed at suppliers, and the processes, as stated above, may be implemented in any reasonable sequence or in parallel.
In some embodiments, the first substrate component 410 is used to transfer heat from the first surface of the first chip, the second substrate component 420 is used to transfer heat from the fourth surface of the second chip 230, and the electrically conductive frame 221 is used to transfer heat from the second surface of the first chip 210 and heat from the third surface of the second chip 230.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the first chip 210 is a first power transistor, the second chip 230 is a second power transistor, and the gate of the first power transistor (i.e., the right portion of the first chip 210 in
In some embodiments, when the first chip 210 or the second chip 230 is formed, a third chip may further be formed. The third chip may be electrically connected to the electrically conductive frame 221 of the chip interconnect component 220. It would be appreciated that the third chip is subject to the same packaging method and the same heat conduction method as the first chip 210 or the second chip 230.
It would be appreciated that, as shown in
It is to be understood that the semiconductor package manufactured with the above process can be applied to power supply modules that require power chips, for example, electronic control units in a vehicle system. In some embodiments, the power supply module may include at least two, or even hundreds of, semiconductor packages as described above in multiple embodiments and combinations thereof.
In view of the above, by arranging at least two chips on both sides of the preformed chip interconnect component, the present disclosure may achieve a high-density chip layout for a 3D structure. Moreover, since the chips and the heat dissipation components are arranged on both sides of the chip interconnect component, the heat dissipation paths upwards and downwards from the chips are substantially balanced in heat. In addition, as the positioning members are preformed on the chip connection component and the heat dissipation component, the present disclosure may improve the packaging accuracy while simplifying the packaging process. The dual side heat dissipation solution according to the present disclosure may reduce the number of components and thus simplify the combination process.
Without prejudice to the underlying principles, the details and embodiments may vary, even significantly, with respect to what has been disclosed by way of example only, without departing from the extent of protection.
The claims form an integral part of the technical teaching provided herein in relation to the various embodiments.
The extent of protection is defined by the claims appended hereinafter.
A semiconductor package, may be summarized as including: a first chip including a first surface, and a second surface opposite the first surface; a chip interconnect component located on the second surface of the first chip; and a second chip located on the chip interconnect component, including a third surface in contact with the chip interconnect component, and a fourth surface opposite the third surface, wherein the chip interconnect component includes an electrically conductive frame, one side of the electrically conductive frame is electrically connected to the second surface of the first chip, and an other side of the electrically conductive frame is electrically connected to the third surface of the second chip, and wherein the chip interconnect component further includes an insulating material for filling a gap of the electrically conductive frame between the first chip and the second chip.
The semiconductor package may further include: a first substrate component in contact with the first surface of the first chip, for transferring heat from the first surface; and a second substrate component in contact with the fourth surface of the second chip, for transferring heat from the fourth surface, wherein the electrically conductive frame may be used to transfer heat from the second surface of the first chip and transfer heat from the third surface of the second chip.
The first substrate component may include at least a first positioning member that matches a second positioning member preformed on the insulating material.
The second substrate component may include at least a third positioning member that matches a fourth positioning member preformed on the insulation material.
The semiconductor package may further include: a first sintered layer located between the first chip and the electrically conductive frame, for causing the first chip to be in electrical contact with the electrically conductive frame; and a second sintered layer located between the second chip and the electrically conductive frame, for causing the second chip to be in electrical contact with the electrically conductive frame.
The first chip may be a first power transistor, the second chip may be a second power transistor, and a gate of the first power transistor and a gate of the second power transistor may be electrically connected via a first electrically conductive pillar of the electrically conductive frame.
A source of the first power transistor and a source of the second power transistor may be electrically connected via at least one second electrically conductive pillar of the electrically conductive frame.
The electrically conductive frame may include at least one of the following material: copper; silver; aluminum; or solder.
The insulating material may be at least one of the following: polyimide; polymethacrylimide; or epoxy resin.
The semiconductor package may further include: a third chip electrically connected to the electrically conductive frame of the chip interconnect component, located on a same side as the first chip or the second chip, wherein the first substrate component or the second substrate component may be in contact with the third chip for conducting heat from the third chip.
A package forming method, may be summarized as including: forming a first chip on a first substrate component, the first chip including a first surface in contact with the first substrate component, and a second surface opposite the first surface; forming a chip interconnect component on the first substrate component and the second surface of the first chip; forming a second chip on the chip interconnect component, the second chip including a third surface in contact with the chip interconnect component, and a fourth surface opposite the third surface; and forming a second substrate component on the fourth surface of the second chip, wherein the chip interconnect component is preformed to include: an electrically conductive frame, one side of the electrically conductive frame being electrically connected to the second surface of the first chip, and an other side of the electrically conductive frame being electrically connected to the third surface of the second chip; and an insulating material for filling a gap of the electrically conductive frame between the first chip and the second chip.
The first substrate component may be used to transfer heat from the first surface, the second substrate component may be used to transfer heat from the fourth surface, and the electrically conductive frame may be used to transfer heat from the second surface of the first chip and heat from the third surface of the second chip.
The first substrate component may be formed to include at least a first positioning member that matches a second positioning member preformed on the insulating material.
The second substrate component may be formed to include at least a third positioning member that matches a fourth positioning member preformed on the insulating material.
Forming the chip interconnect component on the second surface may include: causing the first chip to be in electrical contact with the electrically conductive frame through a wet sintering process.
Forming the second chip on the chip interconnect component may include: causing the second chip to be in electrical contact with the electrically conductive frame through a wet sintering process.
The first chip may be a first power transistor, the second chip may be a second power transistor, and a gate of the first power transistor and a gate of the second power transistor may be electrically connected via a first electrically conductive pillar of the electrically conductive frame.
A source of the first power transistor and a source of the second power transistor may be electrically connected via at least one second electrically conductive pillar of the electrically conductive frame.
The package forming method may further include: when forming the first chip or forming the second chip, further forming a third chip, the third chip being electrically connected to the electrically conductive frame of the chip interconnect component.
A power supply module, may be summarized as including: at least two semiconductor packages, wherein one of the at least two semiconductor packages may include a first chip including a first surface, and a second surface opposite the first surface; a chip interconnect component located on the second surface of the first chip; and a second chip located on the chip interconnect component, including a third surface in contact with the chip interconnect component, and a fourth surface opposite the third surface, wherein the chip interconnect component includes an electrically conductive frame, one side of the electrically conductive frame is electrically connected to the second surface of the first chip, and an other side of the electrically conductive frame is electrically connected to the third surface of the second chip, and wherein the chip interconnect component further includes an insulating material for filing a gap of the electrically conductive frame between the first chip and the second chip.
The semiconductor package may further include: a first substrate component in contact with the first surface of the first chip, for transferring heat from the first surface, and a second substrate component in contact with the fourth surface of the second chip, for transferring heat from the fourth surface, wherein the electrically conductive frame may be used to transfer heat from the second surface of the first chip and transfer heat from the third surface of the second chip.
The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.
These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
202211615626.4 | Dec 2022 | CN | national |