# Patent

## Title
Microelectronics package with integrated sensors

## Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a microelectronics package with optical sensors and/or thermal sensors. The disclosed microelectronics package includes a module substrate, a thinned flip-chip die with an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion, and a first mold compound component. The thinned flip-chip die is attached to the module substrate and includes a device layer with sensor structure integrated at a top portion of the device layer. Herein, the sensor structure is below the first surface portion and not below the second surface portion. The first mold compound component is formed over the second surface portion to define a first cavity over the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die. The first mold compound component is not over the first surface portion, and the first surface portion is exposed at the bottom of the first cavity.

## Background
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/280,186, filed Jan. 19, 2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.


FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present disclosure relates to a microelectronics package and more particularly to a microelectronics package with optical sensors and/or thermal sensors.
BACKGROUND
Flip-chip assembly technology is widely utilized in semiconductor packaging due to its preferable interconnects between flip-chip dies and laminate, which eliminates the space needed for wire bonding and die surface area of a package and essentially reduces the overall size of the package. In addition, the elimination of wire connections and implementation of shorter electrical paths from the flip-chip dies to the laminate reduce undesired inductance and capacitance.
In recent decades, silicon on insulator (SOI) substrates have been widely used in forming flip-chip dies due to the low cost of silicon materials, large scale capacity of wafer production, well-established semiconductor design tools, and well-established semiconductor manufacturing techniques. However, a thick silicon handle layer in the SOI substrates severely limits the SOI's usage in optical/thermal detecting applications. By using SOI substrates in optical/thermal applications, the thick silicon handle layer will attenuate or obstruct light/thermal signals passing towards optical/thermal sensors, which are integrated in a device layer underlying the thick silicon handle layer. Such attenuation or obstruction of the light/thermal signals causes a slow response and low efficiency of the optical/thermal sensors.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved microelectronics package designs that improve the response speed and efficiency of the optical/thermal sensors and utilize the advantages of flip-chip assembly. In addition, there is also a need to enhance the performance of the microelectronics package without increasing the package size.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure relates to a microelectronics package with optical sensors and/or thermal sensors. The disclosed microelectronics package includes a module substrate, a thinned flip-chip die with an upper surface that includes a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion, and a first mold compound component. The thinned flip-chip die includes a device layer with a sensor structure integrated at a top portion of the device layer, a dielectric layer over an upper surface of the device layer, and a number of interconnects extending from a lower surface of the device layer and coupled to the module substrate. Herein, the sensor structure is below the first surface portion and not below the second surface portion. The first mold compound component is formed over the second surface portion to define a first cavity over the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die. The first mold compound component is not over the first surface portion, and the first surface portion is exposed at the bottom of the first cavity.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
FIGS. 1A-1B show an exemplary microelectronics package with an integrated sensor structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 2A-2D show an exemplary thinned flip-chip die within the exemplary microelectronics package shown in FIG. 1A.
FIG. 3 shows an exemplary microelectronics package with an integrated sensor structure according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 shows an exemplary thinned flip-chip die within the exemplary microelectronics package shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 shows an exemplary microelectronics package with multiple integrated sensor structures according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.



It will be understood that for clear illustrations, FIGS. 1A-5 may not be drawn to scale.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or extending “onto” another element, it can be directly on or extend directly onto the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” or extending “directly onto” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Likewise, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, region, or substrate is referred to as being “over” or extending “over” another element, it can be directly over or extend directly over the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly over” or extending “directly over” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.
Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element, layer, or region to another element, layer, or region as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
The present disclosure relates to a microelectronics package with optical sensors and/or thermal sensors. FIGS. 1A and 1B provide an exemplary microelectronics package 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1A shows a cross-sectional view of the exemplary microelectronics package 10, and FIG. 1B shows a top view of the exemplary microelectronics package 10. For the purpose of this illustration, the microelectronics package 10 includes a module substrate 12, a thinned flip-chip die 14, an underfilling layer 16, a first mold compound component 18, and a second mold compound component 20. In different applications, the microelectronics package 10 may include multiple thinned flip-chip dies 14.
In detail, the module substrate 12 may be formed from a laminate, a wafer level fan out (WLFO) carrier, a lead frame, a ceramic carrier, or the like. The thinned flip-chip die 14 includes a device layer 22, a number of interconnects 24 extending from a lower surface of the device layer 22 and coupled to an upper surface of the module substrate 12, a dielectric layer 26 over an upper surface of the device layer 22, and essentially no silicon handle layer (not shown) over the dielectric layer 26. Herein, essentially no silicon handle layer over the dielectric layer 26 refers to at most 2 μm silicon handle layer over the dielectric layer 26. The thinned flip-chip die 14 has an upper surface including a first surface portion SP1 and a second surface portion SP2 surrounding the first surface portion SP1. In some applications, the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die 14 is an upper surface of the dielectric layer 26. For other cases, the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die 14 is an upper surface of the thin silicon handle layer (not shown). The device layer 22 may be formed of silicon oxide or the like, and the dielectric layer 26 may be formed of silicon oxide or the like, which may serve as an etch stop in a process to remove the silicon handle layer (further details may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/287,202, which is incorporated herein by reference). Within the device layer 22, a sensor structure 28 is integrated at a top portion of the device layer 22. The sensor structure 28 is below the first surface portion SP1 of the thinned flip-chip die 14 and not below the second surface portion SP2 of the thinned flip-chip die 14.
The underfilling layer 16 resides over the upper surface of the module substrate 12, such that the underfilling layer 16 encapsulates the interconnects 24 and underfills the thinned flip chip die 14 between the lower surface of the device layer 22 and the upper surface of the module substrate 12. The underfilling layer 16 may be formed from conventional polymeric compounds, which serve to mitigate the stress effects caused by Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) mismatch between the thinned flip chip die 14 and the substrate 12.
The first mold compound component 18 is formed over the second surface portion SP2 of the thinned flip-chip die 14 to define a cavity 30 over the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die 14. Herein, the first mold compound component 18 is not over the first surface portion SP1 of the thinned flip-chip die 14, and the first surface portion SP1 of the thinned flip-chip die 14 is exposed at the bottom of the cavity 30. Because there is no mold compound component or silicon handle layer over the first surface portion SP1 of the thinned flip-chip die 14 and because the dielectric layer 26 is rather thin, between 10 nm and 2 μm, the dielectric layer 26 is transparent and the sensor structure 28 below the first surface portion SP1 of the thinned flip-chip die 14 will detect light/thermal signals through the cavity 30 with a superior efficiency.
The first mold compound component 18 may be a high thermal conductivity mold compound component and may be formed from a thermoset or thermoplastic material. Compared to a normal mold compound component having 0.8 w/m·k thermal conductivity, the high thermal conductivity mold compound component may have 2.5 w/m·k ̃50 w/m·k or greater thermal conductivity, such as Hitachi Chemical Electronic Materials GE-506HT. The higher the thermal conductivity, the better the heat dissipation performance of the microelectronics package 10.
The second mold compound component 20 resides over the underfilling layer 16, and encapsulates at least the sides of the first mold compound component 18, the sides of the device layer 22, and the sides of the dielectric layer 26. Herein, the second mold compound component 20 may be formed from a same or different material as the underfilling layer 16. When the second mold compound component 20 and the underfilling layer 16 are formed from a same material, the second mold compound component 20 and the underfilling layer 16 may be formed at a same step. In addition, the second mold compound component 20 may be formed from a same or different material as the first mold compound component 18. However, unlike the first mold compound component 18, the second mold compound component 20 does not have a thermal conductivity requirement in higher performing embodiments. One exemplary material used to form the second mold compound component 20 is an organic epoxy resin system.
FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate details of the thinned flip-chip die 14 within the microelectronics package 10 shown in FIG. 1A. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the device layer 22 also includes a multi-layer metal structure 32 below the sensor structure 28, which may be utilized to connect the sensor structure 28 to the interconnects 24. The multi-layer metal structure 32 includes four metal layers (M1, M2, M3, and M4) and ten vias (VIA). In different applications, the multi-layer metal structure 32 may include fewer or more metal layers/vias and each metal layer/via may have a different size. In this embodiment, the sensor structure 28 includes multiple optical sensors 34 directly below the dielectric layer 26 to detect light signals. Since the multi-layer metal structure 32 is below the optical sensors 34, each optical sensor 34 will be efficiently illuminated from the first surface portion SP1 of the thinned flip-chip die 14 without having an impact from the multi-layer metal structure 32. Each optical sensor 34 may be formed from a lateral PIN diode, which has a low-doped insulating region laterally formed between a p-type region and an n-type region. The low-doped insulating region used for light detection will result in a fast response of the optical sensors 34. Each optical sensor 34 may laterally reside in a same plane directly below the dielectric layer 26 and may be separated from one another.
In order to improve the efficiency of capturing light by the optical sensors 34, the multi-layer metal structure 32 may further include an integrated metal grating 36 below the sensor structure 28 to reflect received light passing through the dielectric layer 26 back toward the optical sensors 34 as shown in FIG. 2B. In this embodiment, the integrated metal grating 36 may be formed from the metal layer M3. For simplification and clear illustration, only the metal layer M3 of the multi-layer metal structure 32 is shown in FIG. 2B. Herein, the integrated metal grating 36 is on a first plane and the optical sensors 34 are on a second plane, which is above and separated from the first plane by at least 200 nm. The integrated metal grating 36 may be formed in a stripe pattern or an array pattern.
With the integrated metal grating 36, the sensor structure 28 may be configured to detect the received light in different spectrums. As shown in FIG. 2C, each optical sensor 34 includes a first senor portion 34-1 and a second sensor portion 34-2, which may be laterally and directly adjacent to the first sensor portion 34-1. The first sensor portion 34-1 and the second sensor portion 34-2 may be formed from lateral PIN diodes. Because light in different spectrums has different reflectivity, the integrated metal grating 36 may be configured to separate and reflect the received light passing through the dielectric layer 26 back toward the first sensor portion 34-1 and the second sensor portion 34-2. In this embodiment, light in a first spectrum of the received light is predominantly directed toward the first sensor portion 34-1 and light in a second spectrum of the received light is predominantly directed toward the second sensor portion 34-2. As such, the integrated metal grating may be configured to separate and reflect different colors (light in different spectrums has different colors) for the first sensor portion 34-1 and the second sensor portion 34-2.
It will be clear to those skilled in the art that it is also possible that the sensor structure 28 includes a thermal sensor 38, such as a thermistor or a bolometer, as shown in FIG. 2D. The thermal sensor 38 may be formed from multiple end-to-end lateral semiconductor resistors (ie: n-doped region|insulating region|n-doped region strings), or multiple end-to-end lateral PIN diodes (not shown). The multi-layer metal structure 32 may include a thermal metal layer Mx, which is used to reflect thermal signals back towards the thermal sensor 38. A differential temperature detection may be realized by changing the thermal conductivity of the thermal sensor 38 and/or the thermal conductivity of the thermal metal layer Mx. In addition, the differential temperature detection may be realized by detecting the electrothermal voltage created when two different metal interfaces of adjacent semiconductor resistors/PIN diodes (in the thermal sensor 38) touch each other. For simplification and clear illustration, only the thermal metal layer Mx of the multi-layer metal structure 32 is shown in FIG. 2D.
In some applications, a transparent material may be applied in the cavity 30 and may reside over the first surface portion SP1. FIG. 3 provides an exemplary microelectronics package 10′ with a transparent material 40. The transparent material 40 resides over the first surface portion SP1 and within the cavity 30, and is surrounded by the first mold compound component 18. Herein, the transparent material 40 may be configured to filter at least a portion of ambient light that passes through the transparent material 40, configured to direct or focus at least a portion of the ambient light that passes through the transparent material 40 toward a specific area of the first surface portion SP1 of the thinned flip-chip die 14, or configured to function as a protecting lens for the sensor structure 28. The transparent material 40 may be formed from polymide.
FIG. 4 provides details of the thinned flip-chip die 14 within the microelectronics package 10′ shown in FIG. 3. For simplification and clear illustration, only a portion of the thinned flip-chip die 14 within the dashed section of FIG. 3 is illustrated. In this embodiment, the sensor structure 28 includes an optical sensor array 42 directly below the dielectric layer 26 to detect light signals. For the purpose of this illustration, the optical sensor array 42 includes a first array portion 42-1, a second array portion 42-2, and a third array portion 42-3. Each array portion includes multiple optical sensors 44. In different applications, the optical sensor array 42 may include fewer or more array portions directly below the dielectric layer 26; and the first array portion 42-1, the second array portion 42-2, and the third array portion 42-3 may include a same or different number of optical sensors 44. The first array portion 42-1 is below a first area A1 of the first surface portion SP1, the second array portion 42-2 is below a second area A2 of the first surface portion SP1, and the third array portion 42-3 is below a third area A3 of the first surface portion SP1.
In this embodiment, the multi-layer metal structure 32 may further include a first integrated metal grating 46-1, a second integrated metal grating 46-2, and a third integrated metal grating 46-3 below the first array portion 42-1, the second array portion 42-2, and the third array portion 42-3, respectively. The first integrated metal grating 46-1, the second integrated metal grating 46-2, and the third integrated metal grating 46-3 are formed from the metal layer M3. For simplification and clear illustration, only the metal layer M3 of the multi-layer metal structure 32 is shown in FIG. 4.
Herein, the transparent material 40 may have different utilizations for the optical sensor array 42. The transparent material 40 may be configured to filter at least a portion of the ambient light that passes through the transparent material 40. Alternatively, a first portion of the transparent material 40, which is above the first area A1 of the first surface portion SP1, may direct or focus a first portion of the ambient light that passes through the transparent material 40 toward the first area A1 of the first surface portion SP1. As such, the first portion of the ambient light will be reflected by the first integrated metal grating 46-1 and back toward the first array portion 42-1. Similarly, a second portion and a third portion of the ambient light will be reflected by the second integrated metal grating 46-2 and the third integrated metal grating 46-3, and back toward the second array portion 42-2 and the third array portion 42-3, respectively. Consequently, the ambient light that passes through the transparent material 40 may be separated and detected by different array portions. The transparent material 40 may have an upper surface with a shape according to a Fresnel lens and/or standard lens profile. The transparent material 40 may also use diffractive patterns to generate needed optical functions, i.e. focusing and/or wave length selection of the ambient light.
In another embodiment, the device layer 22 may include multiple sensor structures. For the purpose of this illustration, three sensor structures, a first sensor structure 28-1, a second sensor structure 28-2, and a third sensor structure 28-3 are integrated in a same plane at the top portion of the device layer 22, as shown in FIG. 5. In different applications, the device layer 22 may include fewer or more sensor structures in a linear layout or in an array layout.
Herein, the thinned flip-chip die 14 has an upper surface including a first surface portion SP1, a second surface portion SP2, a third surface portion SP3, and a fourth surface portion SP4. The second surface portion SP2 is surrounding the first surface portion SP1, the third surface portion SP3, and the fourth surface portion SP4. And the first surface portion SP1, the third surface portion SP3, and the fourth surface portion SP4 are separated from each other by the second surface portion SP2. A first sensor structure 28-1 is below the first surface portion SP1 and not below the second surface portion SP2. A second sensor structure 28-2 is below the third surface portion SP3 and not below the second surface portion SP2. A third sensor structure 28-3 is below the fourth surface portion SP4 and not below the second surface portion SP2. The first mold compound component 18 is formed directly over the second surface portion SP2 of the thinned flip-chip die 14 and not over the first surface portion SP1, the third surface portion SP3, or the fourth surface portion SP4 of the thinned flip-chip die 14. In different applications, the first sensor structure 28-1, the second sensor structure 28-2, and the third sensor structure 28-3 may be formed from a same sensor structure or different sensor structures.
Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.

## Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:
a module substrate;
a thinned flip-chip die, which has an upper surface including a first surface portion and a second surface portion surrounding the first surface portion, comprising:
a device layer including a first sensor structure integrated at a top portion of the device layer, wherein the first sensor structure is below the first surface portion and is not below the second surface portion;
a dielectric layer over an upper surface of the device layer; and
a plurality of interconnects extending from a lower surface of the device layer and coupled to the module substrate; and

a first mold compound component formed over the second surface portion to define a first cavity over the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die, wherein the first mold compound component is not over the first surface portion, and the first surface portion is exposed at the bottom of the first cavity.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second mold compound component that resides over an upper surface of the module substrate and surrounds the thinned flip-chip die and the first mold compound component.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising an underfilling layer residing between the thinned flip-chip die and the upper surface of the module substrate.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the underfilling layer encapsulates the plurality of interconnects and further resides between the second mold compound component and the upper surface of the module substrate.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the underfilling layer is formed from a same material as the second mold compound component.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the underfilling layer is formed from a different material from the second mold compound component.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first mold compound component and the second mold compound component are formed from a same material.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first mold compound component and the second mold compound component are formed from different materials.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a transparent material in the first cavity and residing over the first surface portion, wherein the first mold compound component is surrounding the transparent material.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the transparent material is formed from polymide.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the transparent material is configured to filter at least a portion of ambient light that passes through the transparent material.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the transparent material is configured to direct at least a portion of ambient light that passes through the transparent material toward a first area of the first surface portion.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising an integrated metal grating and the first sensor structure comprising at least one optical sensor below the first area of the first surface position, wherein the integrated metal grating is below the at least one optical sensor.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die further includes a third surface portion surrounded by the second surface portion;
the device layer further comprises a second sensor structure integrated at the top portion of the device layer, wherein the second sensor structure is below the third surface portion and not below the second surface portion; and
the first mold compound component over the second surface portion forms a second cavity over the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die, wherein the third surface portion is exposed at the bottom of the second cavity.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the first sensor structure is the same as the second sensor structure.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the first sensor structure is different from the second sensor structure.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the upper surface of the thinned flip-chip die is an upper surface of the dielectric layer.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the device layer further comprises a multi-layer metal structure.

19. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first sensor structure comprises a thermistor sensor or a bolometer sensor.

20. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first sensor structure comprises at least one optical sensor.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the at least one optical sensor is formed from at least one PIN diode.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the device layer further comprises an integrated metal grating below the at least one optical sensor, wherein the integrated metal grating is configured to reflect received light passing through the dielectric layer back toward the at least one optical sensor.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the integrated metal grating is formed from a metal layer within the device layer.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the integrated metal grating is on a first plane and the optical sensor is on a second plane, which is above and separated from the first plane by at least 2 μm.

25. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the device layer further comprises an integrated metal grating on a first plane and the at least one optical sensor comprises a first sensor portion and a second sensor portion on a second plane, which is above the first plane, wherein the integrated metal grating is configured to separate and reflect colors for the first sensor portion and the second sensor portion.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the integrated metal grating is configured to separate and reflect received light passing through the dielectric layer back toward the first sensor portion and the second sensor portion such that light in a first spectrum of the received light is predominantly directed toward the first sensor portion and light in a second spectrum of the received light is predominantly directed toward the second sensor portion.

27. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first sensor structure comprises an optical sensor array.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 further comprising a transparent material in the first cavity and residing over the first surface portion, wherein the first mold compound component is surrounding the transparent material.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the transparent material is configured to filter at least a portion of ambient light that passes through the transparent material.

30. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the transparent material is configured to direct at least a portion of ambient light that passes through the transparent material toward a first area of the first surface portion.

31. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first sensor structure comprises a first optical sensor and a second optical sensor, wherein;
the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor are below the first surface portion; and
the first optical sensor is laterally adjacent to the second optical sensor.