The present invention relates to package modules, and, more particularly, to a system in package (SiP) module and a method of fabricating the same.
In today's technology industry, Electromagnetic Compatibility (referred to as “EMC”) has been a very important research topic in electromagnetic fields, and how to avoid electromagnetic interference is one of the important issues faced by manufacturers of package modules.
In traditional manufacturing technology for package modules, after a package module is manufactured, a shielding lid is commonly added to the periphery of the package module in order to prevent electromagnetic radiation interference from affecting the package module. However, a package module with a shielding lid requires more space, and the space for circuit patterning is thus reduced.
In addition, in the manufacturing process of system in package (SiP) modules, some manufacturers require molding of the package modules so that the package modules will have the appearance of integrated circuits (IC). However, after molding of the package modules, shielding lids cannot be installed on the package modules and thus electromagnetic radiation interference cannot be prevented.
Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, some manufacturers design a groove corresponding to the package module on the system after the package module is manufactured, wherein the groove corresponds to the location of the package module, thereby preventing the package module from the interference of electromagnetic radiation.
Although the above approach addresses the electromagnetic radiation interference problem with regard to the package modules, the systems need to be designed with additional components, thereby increasing design complexity and manufacturing costs. In addition, the groove corresponds to the location of the package module, so the location of the groove and the location of the package module are constrained by each other, compromising the overall design flexibility.
Moreover, some manufacturers attempt to eliminate the interference of electromagnetic radiation by providing a component on the substrate of the package module, but this takes up too much space on the substrate, and compromises the available space for other electronic elements.
In light of the foregoing drawbacks, an objective of the present invention is to provide a system in package module and a method of fabricating the same, which shields the system in package module from interference of the electromagnetic radiation.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a system in package module and a method of fabricating the same, which occupies less space at the top and bottom of the substrate, releasing more space in which other electronic elements can be placed.
In accordance with the above and other objectives, the present invention thus provides a system in package module, comprising: a substrate including at least one circuit layer, at least one solder pad formed on the circuit layer, and at least one dielectric layer, cutting lines being formed on the substrate, at least one grounded buried via being formed in one of the at least one dielectric layer and the circuit layer adjacent to the dielectric layer corresponding to the cutting lines, the solder pad being in proximity to the grounded buried via; an electronic element and an encapsulant disposed on the substrate, wherein the encapsulant encapsulates the electronic element; and a shielding layer enclosing the encapsulant and sidewalls of the substrate.
Moreover, the present invention provides a method of fabricating a system in package module, comprising the following steps: (1) preparing a substrate including at least one circuit layer, at least one solder pad formed on the circuit layer, and at least one dielectric layer, cutting lines being formed on the substrate, at least one grounded buried via being formed in one of the at least one dielectric layer and the circuit layer adjacent to the dielectric layer corresponding to the cutting lines, the solder pad being in proximity to the grounded buried via; (2) providing at least one electronic element on the substrate; (3) encapsulating the electronic element with an encapsulant on the substrate; (4) cutting the substrate along the cutting lines to expose the grounded buried via; and (5) forming a shielding layer enclosing the encapsulant and sidewalls of the substrate to obtain the system in package module.
Therefore, by forming the shielding layer on the sidewalls of the substrate, electromagnetic radiation is grounded through the shielding layer to eliminate interference of the electromagnetic radiation, thus completely replacing the shielding lid used in the prior art. Also, the system in package module provided by the present invention occupies less space on the top and bottom of the substrate, releasing more space in which other electronic elements can be placed.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present invention is described by the following specific embodiments. Those with ordinary skills in the arts can readily understand the other advantages and functions of the present invention after reading the disclosure of this specification. The present invention can also be implemented with different embodiments. Various details described in this specification can be modified based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the scope of the present invention.
It should be noted that in this application, various elements in the drawings may be exaggerated to facilitate description, and to also assist in reading and identifying elements in the drawing. They are by no means used to limit the present invention.
Referring to
Referring to
It should be noted that although four circuit layers 112 are shown in
As shown in
Referring back to
Moreover, the encapsulant 15 is formed on the substrate 11 and encapsulates all the side faces and the top face of the electronic element 12. The shielding layer 14 further encapsulates the encapsulant 15 and the sidewalls 118 of the substrate 11. The shielding layer 14 is a metal layer sputtered or plated to cover all the side faces and the top face of the encapsulant 15 and the sidewalls 118 of the substrate 11 to prevent electromagnetic radiation interference generated by external electronic elements (i.e. increase electromagnetic susceptibility), meanwhile preventing the electronic element 12 from generating electromagnetic interference unfavorable to other systems during operation of any supposed functions. It should be noted that any material with metal characteristics, such as silver or copper, can be used as the shielding layer 14 for encapsulating the encapsulant 15 and the sidewalls 118 of the substrate 11, but it is not limited thereto.
It is known from the above descriptions that at least one solder pad 13 is disposed on the top surface 131 of each of the circuit layers 112, and the solder pad 13 on the top surface 131 of each of the circuit layers 112 aligns with each other, and is disposed in proximity of a corresponding grounded buried via 16. The grounded buried vias 16 is formed only in the dielectric layer and the adjacent circuit layers between the topmost and the bottommost dielectric layers.
Refer to
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In more details, further discussions of the process for preparing the substrate are given below with reference to
First, as shown in
Then, as shown in
It should also be noted that the manufacturing process for each circuit layer 112 is the same, so in this application, only one circuit layer 112 is used for descriptions. The locations of the cutting areas 132 reserved in each circuit layer 112 is also the same, so the solder pads 13 disposed on each circuit layer 112 will be aligned with each other. Moreover, the cutting lines 117 on the top face of the substrate 11 also correspond to the cutting areas 132 of each circuit layer 112, so the solder pads disposed in the cutting areas 132 will also correspond to the cutting lines 117.
Furthermore, it should also be noted that, in practice, the cutting areas 132 reserved on the circuit layers 112 are not shown by any particular indications. In
As shown in
Referring to
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Referring to
It should be noted that the shielding layer 14 is a metal layer that is sputtered or plated onto the encapsulant 15 and the sidewalls 118 of the substrate 11. Owing to the metal characteristics of the shielding layer 14, the system in package module will have good electromagnetic compatibility.
In summary, the system in package module provided in the present invention not only shields the electronic element from the interference of the electromagnetic radiation, but also occupies less space on the top and bottom of the substrate, freeing up more space in which other electronic elements can be placed.
The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the principles of the present invention, and they should not be construed as to limit the present invention in any way. The above embodiments can be modified by those with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the following appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100143278 | Nov 2011 | TW | national |