Semiconductor device manufacturing: process – Packaging or treatment of packaged semiconductor – Making plural separate devices
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-21
2003-06-10
Chaudhuri, Olik (Department: 2823)
Semiconductor device manufacturing: process
Packaging or treatment of packaged semiconductor
Making plural separate devices
C438S107000, C438S122000, C438S127000, C257S787000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06576496
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the molding and encapsulation of semiconductor devices. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method and mold apparatus for encapsulating a multi-chip substrate array.
2. State of the Art
Integrated circuit semiconductor dice, sometimes referred to as chips, are manufactured from a semiconductor material such as silicon, germanium or gallium arsenide, and contain microscopic circuits which are formed on each chip by photolithographic techniques. The “active surface” of a semiconductor die is further formed with a plurality of external connections, typically referred to as bond pads, which are designed for soldering wire bonds and thus enable the semiconductor die to be electrically interconnected to an external electrical device, substrate or apparatus.
Present methods used in the fabrication of semiconductor die packages involve the process steps of die bonding, wire bonding, molding, deflashing, and singulation. In the die bonding process, semiconductor dice are bonded or soldered to a lead frame strip, printed wiring board, or other conductive substrate by various well-known techniques usually involving a conductive adhesive. During wire bonding, conductive wires usually formed of gold or aluminum are attached, one at a time, from bond pads on the active surface of a semiconductor die to corresponding electrode pads on the conductive substrate. Following die attach and wire bonding, a mold assembly for transfer molding is typically used for component encapsulation of individual semiconductor dice mounted on the conductive substrate, including encapsulation of the wire bond interconnections formed between the semiconductor dice and conductive substrate. In the deflashing process, resin bleed formed by mold compound that may have escaped from minute gaps between the mold assembly and the conductive substrate is removed from leads or bond pads on the conductive substrate. In the singulation process, an encapsulated semiconductor die mounted on a conductive substrate containing multiple semiconductor dice is typically isolated from other encapsulated semiconductor dice by cutting or segmenting the conductive substrate such that the electronic components comprising an individual semiconductor device package are separated from other individual semiconductor device packages.
It is well known in the art that a critical step in the semiconductor device fabrication process is the encapsulation of semiconductor dice and their interconnections. The encapsulation or “sealing” of a semiconductor die and its wire bond interconnections within a “package” of plastic or other moldable material serves to protect their materials and components from physical and environmental stresses such as dust, heat, moisture, static electricity, and mechanical shocks.
In a typical encapsulation process for surface-mounted semiconductor dice, a conductive substrate strip, with mounted and wire bonded semiconductor dice placed along the length of the strip, is placed in the lower mold plate of a “split cavity” mold comprising an upper and lower member. The upper and lower members of the mold are frequently referred to as “platens” or “halves.” With the upper mold platen raised, the conductive substrate strip is positioned on the lower mold platen such that the component portions to be encapsulated are in registration with multiple mold cavities formed in the lower mold platen. The mold is closed when the upper platen is lowered onto the lower platen. When the mold is closed, a peripheral portion of the conductive substrate strip is typically compressed between the upper and lower platens to seal the mold cavities in order to prevent leakage of liquified plastic molding compound. The force required to compress the platens together is generally of the order of tons, even for molding machines having only a few mold cavities.
Depending upon the type of semiconductor die and substrate to be encapsulated, the upper platen may also contain mold cavities in registration with component portions of the conductive substrate strip to be encapsulated. In other devices, such as those having a heat sink attached to a semiconductor die, or in certain semiconductor dice having a ball grid array (BGA) or similar array on a circuit board, the molding process is conducted so that the outer surface of the heat sink or circuit board forms an exterior surface of the package which rests against a mold cavity or platen surface. With these semiconductor devices, the molding process may be conducted such that the exterior surface is free from coverage by the plastic encapsulant material.
Liquified encapsulant is fed to the cavities of the mold by “runners” (i.e., channels) that extend the length of the conductive substrate strip. The runners, in turn, are fed from a “transfer pot” or reservoir which pressurizes, heats and holds the encapsulant molding compound until delivery. In some package applications, a single runner may be sufficient to supply encapsulant to feed more than one conductive substrate strip. For larger packages, however, the consumption of greater amounts of molding compound dictates that the larger package be supplied with its own dedicated runner. Usually, constricted channels known as “gates” are located at the entrance to each mold cavity to limit the flow rate and injection velocity of liquified encapsulant into the cavity. Gates may be located in either the top half or bottom half of the mold, or both. If a gate is located in only one half of a mold with upper and lower cavities, a conductive substrate can be designed with an aperture extending through opposing surfaces of the conductive substrate so that the encapsulant has the ability to flow from one cavity side to the other.
Typically, preheated powdered or pelletized plastic, e.g., thermosetting resin, is placed in the transfer pot and compressed by a transfer cylinder, or ram. The heated, pressurized plastic becomes liquified and flows through the runners and gates where it eventually fills each mold cavity, thereby flowing over the semiconductor die, conductive substrate, and wire bonding areas to be encapsulated. The transfer pressures employed to push the liquified plastic through the runners, gates and into the mold cavities typically range from 200-1200 psi. This results in relatively high velocity flows out of the gates which diminish somewhat as the plastic moves into the cavity and assumes a plug-type flow configuration. Lower transfer pressures are undesirable because of the potential for polymerization or gelling of the plastic mold compound prior to completely filling the mold cavities. After the cavities are filled, the encapsulant is maintained at a specified pressure until cure.
The molding compound is then allowed a curing period, where it subsequently hardens to encapsulate the conductive substrate and the devices attached to it. Air is expelled from each cavity through one or more runners or vents as the plastic melt fills the mold cavities. Following hardening by partial cure of the thermoset plastic, the mold plates are separated along the parting line and the encapsulated semiconductor devices are removed and trimmed of excess plastic which has solidified in the runners and gates. Additional thermal treatment may complete the curing of the plastic package. The shape of the mold cavities and the configuration of the conductive substrate determine the final shape of the semiconductor package.
The molding process is then repeated with a new batch of mounted conductive substrate strips. The molding process described herein is known in the art to be subject to automation, as well as manual operation, at each phase of the molding process.
Exemplary patents describing various apparatus and methods for encapsulating surface-mount electronic packages are described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,908 to Nishida, U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,156 to Matumoto, U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,889 to Weber, U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,512 to Arai, U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,501 to Tung et al., U.
Bolken Todd O.
Peters David L.
Chaudhuri Olik
Toledo Fernando
TraskBritt
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