Windowed package for electronic circuitry

Details Windowed package for electronic circuitry Windowed package for electronic circuitry

2000-09-29

2003-02-25

Martin, David (Department: 2841)

Electricity: electrical systems and devices

Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...

For electronic systems and devices

C361S764000, C361S767000, C361S803000, C385S132000, C385S134000, C385S135000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06525944

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to an apparatus and method for communicating optical signals to an electronic device enclosed within a flip-chip package.
ART BACKGROUND
Commonly available electronic devices exist in the form of a thin sheet of semiconductor material, or die, with electronic circuitry disposed thereon by way of various photolithographic processes. To protect the circuitry from damage, the die is often enclosed in a package designed to facilitate the attachment of the electronic device to a printed circuit board of a computer system or other electronic system.
Within some electronic devices are components meant to produce optical signals to be transmitted outside of the package, or to receive optical signals to be received from outside of the package. Packages have been used that provide a window through which such signals may pass. The window of such packages typically faces outwardly from the package in a direction that is generally meant to face away from the printed circuit board to which the electronic device is to be attached. One of the most common examples of such electronic devices enclosed within such a package is an ultaviolet-eraseable programmable read-only memory or UV-EPROM.
FIG. 1
is a cross-sectional view of a prior art package of the dual inline pin (DIP) type. The exterior or package
100
is comprised of window
110
and shell
112
. Die attach
114
attaches die
130
to an inner surface of shell
112
, thereby securing die
130
to the interior of package
100
. Bonding wires
120
provide part of the electrical connections between die
130
and solder balls
122
. Die
130
is positioned within package
100
such that the surface on which electronic circuitry (not shown) has been disposed is caused to face window
110
to allow the transmission or receipt of optical signal
132
. Pins
122
are used to attach package
100
to printed circuit board
140
through which are holes to receive the pins, and as a result, window
110
faces away from printed circuit board
140
.
The use of such packages, however, is based on a long-standing practice of having the surface of the die on which electronic circuitry is disposed facing away from the printed circuit board to which the electronic device is attached, thereby making this surface of the die accessible to optical signals passing through the window of the package. More recently, however, flexibility in power consumption and die size, as well as improvements in electrical signal characteristics, have been realized through the use of packages, such as the “flip-chip” or the “controlled collapsed chip connection” (C4) package, in which the surface of the die on which electronic circuitry is disposed now faces towards the printed circuit board to which the electronic device is to be attached.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5200631 (1993-04-01), Austin et al.
patent: 5923796 (1999-07-01), Feldman et al.
patent: 5949655 (1999-09-01), Glenn

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