The present subject matter relates to semiconductor wafer devices. More particularly, the present subject matter relates to single devices formed at a wafer level, which may be capable of being folded or otherwise formed into a three-dimensional, non-planar configuration.
Traditional semiconductor processes employ crystalline semiconductors, such as silicon, gallium, arsenide, germanium, etc. Such materials are processed into wafers 10, as in
Each chip 12 is a proportion of the cost of the wafer 10, which is determined primarily by area. For example, if the wafer 10 costs $2,000 to manufacture and includes two hundred chips 12, each chip 12 costs $10. These traditional materials and processes are expensive, considering the fact that a single chip 12 requires additional supporting structures (e.g., a printed circuit board).
There are several aspects of the present subject matter which may be embodied separately or together in the devices and systems described and claimed below. These aspects may be employed alone or in combination with other aspects of the subject matter described herein, and the description of these aspects together is not intended to preclude the use of these aspects separately or the claiming of such aspects separately or in different combinations as may be set forth in the claims appended hereto.
In one aspect, a semiconductor wafer device comprises a wafer or a portion of a wafer, with a plurality of functional blocks on said wafer or portion of a wafer. One of the functional blocks comprises an energy source, while another one of the functional blocks is not an energy source. The plurality of functional blocks combine to provide an operational system having a plurality of functions. The wafer or portion of a wafer is formed of an amorphous material.
In another aspect, a semiconductor wafer device comprises a wafer or a portion of a wafer, with a plurality of functional blocks on said wafer or portion of a wafer. One of the functional blocks comprises an energy source, while another one of the functional blocks is not an energy source. The plurality of functional blocks combine to provide an operational system having a plurality of functions. The wafer or portion of a wafer is formed of an amorphous material, and the wafer or portion of a wafer includes at least one fold line at which said wafer or portion of a wafer is configured to be folded.
In a further aspect, a semiconductor wafer device comprises a wafer or a portion of a wafer, with a plurality of functional blocks on said wafer or portion of a wafer. One of the functional blocks comprises an energy source, while another one of the functional blocks is not an energy source. The plurality of functional blocks combine to provide an operational system having a plurality of functions. The wafer or wafer portion defines a three-dimensional, non-planar structure.
In an added aspect, a semiconductor wafer device comprises a wafer or a portion of a wafer, with a plurality of functional blocks on said wafer or portion of a wafer. One of the functional blocks comprises an energy source, while another one of the functional blocks is not an energy source. The plurality of functional blocks combine to provide an operational system having a plurality of functions. The wafer or wafer portion defines a three-dimensional, non-planar structure, and the wafer or portion of a wafer includes at least one fold line at which said wafer or portion of a wafer is configured to be folded.
In yet another aspect, a method is provided for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer device. The method includes providing a wafer formed of an amorphous material and applying a plurality of functional blocks to a portion of the wafer. One of the functional blocks comprises an energy source, while another one of the functional blocks is not an energy source. The plurality of functional blocks combine to provide an operational system having a plurality of functions.
According to another aspect, a method is provided for manufacturing a plurality of semiconductor wafer devices. The method includes providing a wafer formed of an amorphous material and applying a plurality of functional blocks to first and second portions of the wafer. One of the functional blocks comprises an energy source, while another one of the functional blocks is not an energy source. The plurality of functional blocks combine to provide an operational system having a plurality of functions. This aspect further includes forming the portions of the wafer into three-dimensional, non-planar structures after removing the first portion and the second portion of the wafer from the remainder of the wafer.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriate manner.
The semiconductor wafer device 16 comprises a wafer 18, which is substantially planar and shown as having a circular perimeter, although wafers according to the present disclosure may have differently shaped perimeters. The wafer 18 may be formed of a conventional, crystalline semiconductor material (e.g., silicon, gallium, arsenide, germanium, etc.), but is more preferably formed of an alternative, lower cost semiconductor material. In particular, it may be advantageous for the wafer 18 to be formed of a relatively low cost, amorphous material that may be folded or otherwise formed from an initial, substantially planar configuration to a three-dimensional, non-planar configuration.
A plurality of functional blocks are present on the wafer 18. As can be seen in
A functional block may be formed during processing of the wafer 18 or may comprise a post-processing component that is associated to the wafer 18 after processing of the wafer 18 if the function/structure of the functional block is not compatible with the wafer processing. Examples of post-processing components include, but are not limited to, a printed antenna, an antenna made of a foil material, a photovoltaic element, a battery, a display film (such as an electrophoretic material), and combinations including one or more of these types of components.
The functional blocks illustrated are merely exemplary, and components providing other functions may be incorporated into a semiconductor wafer device, depending on the desired functionality of the semiconductor wafer device. For example,
The semiconductor wafer device 42 of
It should be understood that the three-dimensional, non-planar configuration of
In the embodiment of
The wafer portion 72 of the semiconductor wafer device 62 includes a plurality of fold lines 76 at which the wafer portion 72 may be folded to move it from its substantially planar configuration of
The reconfigured semiconductor wafer device 62 may form a box or other package for an associated product. Providing such a semiconductor wafer device 62 with functional blocks comprising displays 66 and/or audio outputs 68 helps to make the product more attractive to a consumer.
It will be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative of some of the applications of the principles of the present subject matter. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter, including those combinations of features that are individually disclosed or claimed herein. For these reasons, the scope hereof is not limited to the above description but is as set forth in the following claims, and it is understood that claims may be directed to the features hereof, including as combinations of features that are individually disclosed or claimed herein.
The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Utility Pat. Application No. 62/753,331 filed Oct. 31, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4658264 | Baker | Apr 1987 | A |
6107920 | Eberhardt et al. | Aug 2000 | A |
6206292 | Robertz et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6262692 | Babb | Jul 2001 | B1 |
7301460 | Coste | Nov 2007 | B2 |
7460085 | Ishii | Dec 2008 | B2 |
20060237544 | Matsuura et al. | Oct 2006 | A1 |
20070029385 | Kovac et al. | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20070182559 | Lawrence et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20080292856 | Garner et al. | Nov 2008 | A1 |
20120032286 | Trusov et al. | Feb 2012 | A1 |
20170294698 | Cho et al. | Oct 2017 | A1 |
20170371452 | Endo et al. | Dec 2017 | A1 |
20180294230 | Dabral et al. | Oct 2018 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
4428732 | Jan 1996 | DE |
10233927 | Feb 2004 | DE |
1291818 | Mar 2003 | EP |
1559653 | Aug 2005 | EP |
2902294 | Aug 2015 | EP |
2007111417 | Oct 2007 | WO |
2010081137 | Jul 2010 | WO |
2015094259 | Jun 2015 | WO |
2018096454 | May 2018 | WO |
2019123152 | Jun 2019 | WO |
Entry |
---|
International Preliminary Report on Patentability dated Apr. 27, 2021 issued in corresponding IA No. PCT/US2019/059020 filed Oct. 31, 2019. |
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Mar. 12, 2020 issued in corresponding IA No. PCT/US2019/059020 filed Oct. 31, 2019. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62753331 | Oct 2018 | US |