Traditional fabrication processes used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices employ microlithography to pattern integrated circuits onto a circular wafer formed of a semiconductor such as silicon, or the like. Typically, the patterned wafers are segmented into individual integrated circuit chips or dies to separate the integrated circuits from one another. The individual integrated circuit chips are assembled or packaged using a variety of packaging technologies to form semiconductor devices that may be mounted to a printed circuit board.
Over the years, packaging technologies have evolved to develop smaller, cheaper, more reliable, and more environmentally-friendly packages. For example, chip-scale packaging technologies have been developed that employ direct surface mountable packages having a surface area that is no greater than 1.2 times the area of the integrated circuit chip. Wafer-level packaging is an emerging chip-scale packaging technology that encompasses a variety of techniques whereby integrated circuit chips are packaged at wafer level, prior to segmentation. Wafer-level packaging extends the wafer fabrication processes to include device interconnection and device protection processes. Consequently, wafer-level packaging streamlines the manufacturing process by allowing for the integration of wafer fabrication, packaging, testing, and burn-in processes at the wafer level.
A wafer-level packaged device is described. In an implementation, the device includes one or more self-assembled resilient leads disposed on an integrated circuit chip. Each of the resilient leads are configured to move from a first position wherein the resilient lead is held adjacent to the chip and a second position wherein the resilient lead is extended away from the chip to interconnect the chip to a printed circuit board. A guard is provided to protect the resilient leads when the resilient leads are in the first position. In one or more embodiments, attachment bumps may also be furnished on the integrated circuit chip to facilitate attachment of the device to the printed circuit board.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. The use of the same reference numbers in different instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.
Overview
Wafer-level packaging facilitates the production of semiconductor devices that are lower in cost, have smaller form factors, and provide lower parasitic effects than devices manufactured utilizing many other packaging technologies. However, the application of wafer-level packaging techniques has heretofore been limited to use in the production of devices using small integrated circuit chips (e.g., devices with dies having a surface area of less than about 25 mm2) For devices employing larger chips, the mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the chip and the printed circuit board (FR4) to which the device is mounted becomes significant. During thermal cycling tests, this mismatch can cause high stress and cracks in bumps (solder balls) used to mount the device to the printed circuit board. In addition, during drop tests, the relatively high stiffness of solder may cause stress to occur at the interface between the solder ball and the inter-metallic compounds of the bump.
Accordingly, techniques are described for fabricating wafer-level packaged semiconductor devices having resilient leads configured to absorb stresses caused by CTE mismatch during thermal cycling tests and/or dynamic deformation during drop tests. The resilient leads facilitate the fabrication of wafer-level packaged devices that employ large integrated circuit chips (e.g., devices that employ dies having a surface area of greater than about 25 mm2) In one or more implementations, the resilient leads are further configured to be self-assembled. More specifically, during high temperature assembly reflow, the resilient leads are configured to move from a first position wherein the resilient leads are held adjacent to (e.g., generally parallel with) the face of the integrated circuit chip and a second position wherein ends of the resilient leads are extended away from the chip to electrically interconnect the chip to a printed circuit board. A guard disposed on the integrated circuit chip protects the resilient leads when the resilient leads are in the first position, such as during fabrication (e.g., during wafer backgrinding and segmentation) and/or during assembly of the device to the printed circuit board. The guard may also provide for mechanical attachment of the device to the printed circuit board during and/or after assembly. Tape support and protection (e.g., backgrind tape) may be applied to the guard to form a pocket that encloses the resilient leads to further protect the resilient leads during fabrication (e.g., during wafer backgrinding and segmentation). In one or more embodiments, attachment bumps may be furnished to provide additional mechanical and/or electrical attachment of the device to the printed circuit board.
Example Implementations
In accordance with the present disclosure, one or more resilient leads 112 are formed on the integrated circuit chip 102. The resilient leads 112 are configured to furnish electrical interconnection between the bonding pads 110 of the integrated circuit 106 and corresponding pads 114 formed on the surface 116 of a printed circuit board 118. As shown, each of the resilient leads 112 includes a lead member 120 formed as a thin, elongated plate that is configured to flex without breaking to absorb stresses that may result from CTE mismatch and dynamic deformation. The lead member 120 is fabricated using conductive materials to provide low resistance electrical interconnection between the bonding pad 110 of the integrated circuit 106 to which it is attached and a corresponding pad 114 of the printed circuit board 118. Example materials that may be used for fabrication of the lead members 120 include metals (e.g., aluminum), metalized polymers, laminate materials including one or more metal or metalized layers, and on.
A first end 122 of the lead member 120 is coupled to a bonding pad 110 of the integrated circuit chip 102 by a first μbump 124. A second μbump 126 is provided at the second end 128 of the lead member 120 on the outer surface of the lead member 120. In one or more embodiments, the μbumps 124,126 may be formed of solder. However, it is contemplated that the μbumps 124,126 may be formed of other conductive substances such as metals (e.g., aluminum) that will melt and flow at temperatures encountered during a high temperature reflow process at assembly (e.g., approximately 220 C). The first and second μbumps 124, 126 may include under bump metallization (UBM) 132 to provide a reliable interconnect interface. In one or more embodiments, the under bump metallization (UBM) 132 may be configured (e.g., shaped) to compensate for the cantilever (e.g., pivoting) action of the lead member 120. Example processes that may be used to form the resilient leads 112 using wafer-level packaging techniques are described in more detail below.
The lead member 120 may pivot about a micro-hinge assembly 130 encapsulated within the first μbump 124. Prior to assembly, the lead member 120 is held adjacent to the integrated circuit chip 102 by the first μbump 124. In the implementations illustrated, the first μbump 124 is shown as being configured to hold the lead member 120 in a cantilevered position, generally parallel to, but spaced apart from the face 134 of the integrated circuit chip 102 so that the second μbump 126 faces away from integrated circuit chip 102. However, other configurations are possible.
A guard 136 is provided on the face 134 of the integrated circuit chip 102 to shield the resilient leads 112 against damage during fabrication of the device 100 (e.g., during wafer backgrinding and segmentation) and/or during assembly of the device 100 to the printed circuit board 118. As shown, the guard 136 encircles the resilient leads 112, providing a wall structure 138 having pockets 142 in which the resilient leads 112 are contained. In embodiments, the height (HG) of the wall structure 138 above the face 134 of the integrated circuit chip 102 is greater than the height of the resilient leads 112 (HL1) in the first (unassembled) position shown in
The guard 136 may be fabricated of a thick polymer 140 applied to the face 134 of the integrated circuit chip 102 as described in more detail below. For instance, in one embodiment, the polymer 140 may have a thickness of about 100 μm, so that the height HG of the wall structure 138 is on the order of 100 μm, while the first and second μbumps 124, 126 may have a diameter of about 50 μm, so that the height of the resilient leads HL1 is on the order of about 50 μm in the unassembled position. In this embodiment, the lead member 120 may have a length greater than 100 μm so that the resilient lead 112 may extend beyond the guard 136 in the second (assembled) position. Example processes that may be used to form the guard 136 using wafer-level packaging techniques are described in more detail below.
Tape support and protection may be applied to the guard 136, as described herein below, to enclose the resilient leads 112 within the pockets 142. The tape support and protection prevents contaminants such as water, harsh chemicals, debris, and the like, from entering the pocket 142 during fabrication of the device 100 (e.g., during backgrinding and/or singulation). In embodiments, the tape support and protection may comprise a backgrind tape. However, it is contemplated that other tapes may be applied.
During assembly, a high temperature reflow process is applied to the device 100 and printed circuit board 118. This assembly reflow process heats the device 100 and causes the first and second μbumps 124, 126 of the resilient leads 112 to melt. When the first μbump 124 melts, surface tension is generated within the surface of the μbump 124. This surface tension applies torque to the lead member 120, causing the second end 128 of the lead member 120 to pivot about the first end 122, away from the face 134 of the integrated circuit chip 102, toward the printed circuit board 118. In some implementations, the weight of the second μbump 126 and lead member 120 may apply additional torque to the lead member 120. This torque may act in conjunction with the torque applied by surface tension in the first μbump 124 to cause rotation of the lead member 120.
In the second (assembled) position, shown in
In the implementation shown in
In the implementation shown in
The attachment bumps 146 are configured to furnish primary mechanical attachment of the device 100 to the printed circuit board 118, while the resilient leads 112 provide primary electrical connection. However, in some instances, the attachment bumps 146 may also furnish electrical connection between the device 100 and the printed circuit board 118, such as to provide power or ground to the device 100, and so on. In such embodiments, the attachment bumps 146 may be interconnected with respective bonding pads 110 of the integrated circuit 106 either directly or via a redistribution structure. The attachment bumps 146 may include under bump metallization (UBM) 148 to provide a reliable interconnect interface. Example procedures for forming the attachment bumps 146 using wafer-level packaging techniques are described in more detail below.
Resilient leads 112 may be arranged on the surface 108 of the integrated circuit chip 102 in a variety of ways. The resilient leads 112 are positioned and oriented to align the lead members 120, so that the lead members 120 can flex to absorb stresses caused by CTE mismatch and dynamic deformation. Thus, it is contemplated that the positioning and orientation of the resilient leads 112 (and attachment bumps 146) may vary due to factors such as the size and shape of the integrated circuit chip 102, the design of the integrated circuit 106 formed on the chip 102, thermal cycling and drop testing requirements, and so on.
Example Fabrication Processes
Self-assembled resilient leads are then fabricated on the wafer (Block 204) in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in
Next, regions of sacrificial material are formed over the first isolation layer (Block 208). As shown in
A redistribution layer is then applied over the regions of sacrificial material (Block 210) to provide a redistribution structure on the surface of the wafer.
The redistribution layer 324 is formed of a conductive material using an appropriate application process. For example, materials that may be used to form the redistribution layer 324 include polysilicon, which may be deposited using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), metals such as aluminum or copper, applied using metallization techniques, and so on. Other materials and/or processes may also be used.
Next, a second isolation layer is applied over the redistribution layer and the first isolation layer (Block 212).
Under bump metallization (UBM) is then provided over the redistribution layer (Block 214). As shown in
In one or more embodiments, the under bump metallization 334 may include multiple layers of different metals that function as an adhesion layer, a diffusion barrier layer, a solderable layer, an oxidation barrier layer, and so forth. The under bump metallization layers may be vacuum deposited by evaporation or sputtering, or may be chemically plated.
Next, μbumps are formed (Block 216).
Attachment bumps may further be dropped (Blocks 204, 216) on the wafer. For example,
The μbumps (and attachment bumps) are then reflowed (Block 218) to strengthen the attachment between the μbumps (and bumps) and the underlying under bump metallization.
The regions of sacrificial material may now be removed (Block 220) to form the completed resilient leads.
A guard is applied to the wafer (Block 222) to protect the resilient leads 342. As shown in
Tape support and protection may be applied to the guard (Block 226), enclosing the resilient leads within the guard 346, so that the wafer may then be thinned using a backgrinding process (Block 228) and segmented (e.g., diced) to separate the individual wafer-level packaged devices (Block 228).
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or process operations, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
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