Abstract:
Flip-chip bonding structures using an MCM-D substrate are disclosed. A flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate includes: a silicon substrate, a Si-bump disposed at a predetermined position of the silicon substrate, wherein a material of the Si-bump is the same as the silicon substrate, a dielectric layer disposed on the silicon substrate and a transmission line formed on the Si-bump to connect to a circuit formed on the dielectric layer.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a flip-chip technology; and, more particularly, to sa flip-chip bonding structure incorporating therein an MCM-D (Multi Chip Module-Deposited) substrate.  
         [0003]     2. Background of the Related Art  
         [0004]     As a consequence of the recent rapid increase in demand for more band-width, mm-wave applications such as a short-range broad-band wireless communication are currently attracting a great interest and a investment. In order, however, for these applications to be commercially viable, a commercial package technology capable of imparting compact and high-performance mm-wave modules with low manufacturing cost is a must. MCM-D technology is one of the best candidates for realizing this objective, because, as well as allowing system-on-package (SOP) approach as it is based on thin-film dielectric layers, it is capable of providing high resolution patterns, an absolute necessity for accommodating mm-wave frequency having very short wavelength. In addition, the flip-chip interconnection has a number of advantages over the wire-bonding interconnection. To mention a few, they include: (1) lower parasitic elements due to the shorter interconnection length; (2) lower assembly cost; and (3) higher reproducibility. Accordingly, by mounting active components such as a monolithic mm-wave integrated circuit (MMIC) or an active device on the MCM-D substrate by means of the flip-chip technology, the objective described above can be achieved.  
         [0005]     There are some technical issues which must resolved, however, if the flip-chip technology is to be used as the interconnection between the active components and the MCM-D substrate in mm-wave applications, the issues, mainly relating to the inherent properties of the MCM-D substrate, such as the CTE (Coefficient of the Thermal Expansion), the thermal conductivity, the dielectric constant, and the suppression of package-related parasitic modes, all of which are critical to the over-all performance of the module. The above mentioned properties are critical in that: (1) the CTE of the MCM-D substrate has to be similar to that of the active components mounted on the MCM-D substrate to improve the thermo-mechanical reliability of the flip-chip structure; (2) the MCM-D substrate must have a high thermal conductivity to effectively dissipate the heat generated by the active components; (3) the MCM-D substrate should have a low dielectric constant to reduce the proximity effect between the active components and the MCM-D substrate; and (4) the MCM-D substrate must have a lossy property or support shorting via holes to suppress package-related parasitic modes caused by conducting backside.  
         [0006]     Currently, the most widely used flip-chip substrates are based on alumina. The alumina substrate is an insulator substrate, and could be used to make a transmission line having good transmitting characteristics. Also, the CTE of alumina substrate, 6 ppm/° C., similar to that of the chip components, 7 ppm/° C., ensures a reliable flip-chip structure.  
         [0007]     However, the high dielectric constant of the alumina substrate, about 9.8, can result in high proximity effects between the active components and the alumina substrate, and the relatively low thermal conductivity of the alumina substrate, 30 W/(m·K), in a poor dissipation of the heat generated by the active components.  
         [0008]     To suppress the package-related parasitic modes, silicon substrates have been used as a substitute for the alumina substrates. However, the silicon substrate is saddled with a poor transmissibility. Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a prior art flip-chip bonding structure including a Si-substrate  101 , a dielectric layer  102 , a transmission line  103 , a flip-chip bump  104  and an active component  105 . In the prior art, to solve the above-described shortcoming of the silicon substrate  101 , a dielectric layer  102  having a low dielectric loss and a low dielectric constant, such as BCB (BenzoCyloButene), is coated on the entire surface thereof, making it possible to form a transmission line  103  with good transmitting characteristics. Further, the low dielectric constant of the dielectric layer  102  reduces the proximity effects between the silicon substrate  101  and the active component  105 . However, in case of BCB, a relatively high CTE thereof, around 56 ppm/° C., compared to that of the active component  105 , causes a mismatch of the CTEs between the silicon substrate  101  and the active component  105 , which, in turn, causes cracks to form in the flip-chip bonding bump  104 , thereby lowering the reliability of the flip-chip bonding structure. Also, the low thermal conductivity of BCB, around 0.02 W/(m·K), results in a poor dissipation of the heat generated by the active component.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a flip-chip bonding structure having an improved reliability and a heat dissipation factor.  
         [0010]     In accordance with the present invention, there is a flip-chip bonding structure incorporating therein MCM-D(Multi Chip Module-Deposited) technology, the structure comprising: a silicon substrate; a Si-bump disposed at a predetermined position of the silicon substrate, wherein a material of the Si-bump is the same as the silicon substrate; a dielectric layer with a circuit formed thereon, the layer disposed on the silicon substrate; and a transmission line formed on the Si-bump to connect to the circuit formed on the dielectric layer.  
         [0011]     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates a flip-chip bonding structure according to a prior art;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  presents a cross section of a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIGS. 3   a  to  3   f  represent a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIGS. 4   a  to  4   g  depict a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate in accordance with yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIGS. 5   a  to  5   f  show a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate in accordance with further embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0018]      FIGS. 6   a  to  6   g  illustrate a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate in accordance with the final embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]     Herein, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. First, as for the references added to elements in the drawings, it is noted that like elements are preferably configured to have like references even though those are illustrated on different drawings. Further, as for description of the present invention, the detailed description may be omitted if it is apprehended that the gist of the present invention is obscured by the detailed description on the related prior construction or function.  
         [0020]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a cross section of a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate is illustrated according to one embodiment of the present invention, including a silicon substrate  201  with a Si-bump  202  formed thereon, a dielectric layer  203 , a transmission line  204 , a flip-chip bonding bump  205  and an active component  206 , wherein the active component  206  is directly mounted on the Si-bump  202  of the silicon substrate  201  through the flip-chip bonding bump  205 , as opposed to having the dielectric layer  102  disposed between the flip-chip bonding bump  104  and the substrate  101  in the prior art flip-chip bonding structure. Further, since the silicon substrate  201  and Si-bump  202  respectively have a CTE that matches the CTE of the active component  206 , when the package is thermally cycled, the active component  206  and the Si-bump  202  expand at the same rate, which, in turn, reduces the stresses on the flip-chip bonding bump  205 , distinguishing the present invention from the prior art flip-chip bonding structure. Also, since silicon has a higher thermal conductivity than a dielectric material, the Si-bump  202  of the present invention provides a more efficient thermal path through which the heat generated by the active component  206  can be dissipated, improving the over-all reliability of the flip-chip bonding structure.  
         [0021]     Detailed explanations of the present invention are given referring to  FIGS. 3   a  to  3   f ,  FIGS. 4   a  to  4   g ,  FIGS. 5   a  to  5   f , and  FIGS. 6   a  to  6   g.    
       Example 1  
       [0022]      FIGS. 3   a  to  3   f  illustrate a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]     Referring to  FIG. 3   a , a photoresist pattern  302  is formed on a silicon substrate  301  to define an area on which a Si-bump is formed.  
         [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 3   b , a Si-bump  303  is formed on the silicon substrate  301  by removing some portion of the silicon substrate  301  using the photoresist pattern  302  as an etching mask, wherein the Si-bump  303  has a height ranging from 10 μm to 100 μm and a diameter ranging from 30 μm to 200 μm. The Si-bump  303  is preferably cylindrical but may be formed in any other shapes.  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 3   c , a dielectric layer  304  is deposited over the silicon substrate  301  and the Si-bump  303  so as to fill up a region where the silicon substrate  301  has been etched off. To achieve a good topology, the dielectric layer  304  can be slightly over-deposited on the top of the Si-bump  303 . The dielectric layer  304  is preferably a single layer or multi-layer, which is formed of a material capable of being deposited by a spin-coating process, for example, BCB or polyimide. The spin-coating process can form a uniform and relatively flat dielectric layer because the Si-bump  303  has a very small size. Subsequently, a planarization process is performed. Here, if the dielectric layer  304  is formed of BCB, an additional planarization process such as etch-back can be omitted since the BCB has a high degree of planarization property.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 3   d , a mask pattern is formed on the photoresist (not shown) over the dielectric layer  304 . The dielectric layer  304  on the Si-bump  303  is removed by an etching process using the photoresist pattern as an etching mask.  
         [0027]     Referring to  FIG. 3   e , a transmission line  305  is formed over the Si-bump  303  and the dielectric layer  304 . The transmission line  305  transmits a signal from an active component to adjacent circuits (not shown) formed on the dielectric layer  304 .  
         [0028]     Finally, referring to  FIG. 3   f , a flip-chip bonding bump  306  is formed on the transmission line  305  above the Si-bump  303 . Then, an active component  307  is mounted on the flip-chip bonding bump  306 . The flip-chip bonding bump  306  is made of a conventional solder bump material.  
       Example 2  
       [0029]      FIGS. 4   a  to  4   g  illustrate a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]     Referring to  FIG. 4   a , a lossy silicon substrate  401  is prepared. Due to an inherent property of lossy silicon, a DC leakage current occurs through the lossy silicon substrate  401 . To prevent a DC leakage current from flowing through the silicon substrate  401 , an insulating layer  402  is deposited on the lossy silicon substrate  401 . The insulating layer  402  is formed of an oxide or a nitride. A thickness of the insulating layer  402  preferably ranges from 100 Å to 10000 Å.  
         [0031]     Referring to  FIG. 4   b , a photoresist pattern  403  is formed on the insulating layer  402  to define an area on which a Si-bump is formed.  
         [0032]     Referring to  FIG. 4   c , a Si-bump  404  is formed on the silicon substrate  401  by removing some portion of the insulating layer  402  and the silicon substrate  401  using the photoresist pattern as an etching mask. The Si-bump  404  has a height ranging from 10 μm to 100 cm and a diameter ranged from 30 μm to 200 μm. The Si-bump  404  is basically cylindrical but may be formed in any other shapes.  
         [0033]     Referring to  FIG. 4   d , a dielectric layer  405  is deposited over the resulting structure so as to fill up a region where the silicon substrate  401  has been etched off. To achieve a good topology, the dielectric layer  405  is slightly over-deposited on the top of the Si-bump  404 . The dielectric layer is preferably a single layer or multi-layer, which is formed of a material capable of being deposited by a spin-coating process, for example, BCB or polyimide. The spin-coating process can form a uniform and relatively flat dielectric layer because the Si-bump  404  has a very small size. Subsequently, a planarization process is performed. Here, if the dielectric layer  405  is formed of BCB, an additional planarization process such as etch-back can be omitted since the BCB has a high degree of planarization property.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 4   e , a mask pattern is formed on the photoresist (not shown) over the dielectric layer  405 . The dielectric layer  405  over the Si-bump  404  is removed by an etching process using the photoresist pattern as an etching mask.  
         [0035]     Referring to  FIG. 4   f , a transmission line  406  is formed on the insulating layer  402  and the dielectric layer  405 . The transmission line  406  transmits a signal from an active component to adjacent circuits (not shown) formed on the dielectric layer  405 .  
         [0036]     Finally, referring to  FIG. 4   g , a flip-chip bonding bump  407  is formed on the transmission line  406  above the Si-bump  404 . Then, an active component  408  is mounted on the flip-chip bonding bump  407 . The flip-chip bonding bump  407  is made of a conventional solder bump material.  
       Example 3  
       [0037]      FIGS. 5   a  to  5   f  illustrate a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate according to further embodiment in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0038]     Referring to  FIG. 5   a , a silicon substrate  501  is prepared. A passivation layer  502  is deposited on the silicon substrate  501  and patterned to define a Si-bump region. The passivation layer  502  is needed to protect a Si-bump during a following etching process using a fluorine group material as an etchant. The passivation layer  502  is also used as an etching mask to form a Si-bump. Any metal which can not be etched by a fluorine group etchant, for example, Al, Au, or Ti/Au, can be used as the passivation layer  502 . A thickness of the passivation layer  502  ranges from 500 Å to 10000 Å.  
         [0039]     Referring to  FIG. 5   b , a Si-bump  503  is formed by removing some portion of the silicon substrate  501  using the passivation layer  502  as an etching mask. The Si-bump  503  has a height ranging from 10 μm to 100 μm and a diameter ranging from 30 μm to 200 μm. The Si-bump  503  is basically cylindrical in shape but may be formed in any other shapes.  
         [0040]     Referring to  FIG. 5   c , a dielectric layer  504  is deposited over the resulting structure so as to fill up a region where the silicon substrate  501  has been etched off. The dielectric layer  504  is formed of a BCB film by using a spin-coating process. The spin-coating process can form a uniform and flat dielectric layer because the Si-bump  503  has a very small size. The BCB, which is commonly used as a dielectric layer for mm-wave module, has a very low dielectric loss wherein the loss tangent is 0.0005, and a low dielectric constant, 2.65. The BCB film does not require a planarization process because of its good planarization property. The BCB film may be a single layer or multi-layer. To achieve a good topology, the dielectric layer  504  is slightly over-deposited on the top of the passivation layer  502 . For example, if the height of the Si-bump  503  including the passivation layer  502  is around 20 μm, the BCB film is spin-coated and cured in a vacuum oven so as to attain a height of about 21 μm. In case of a multi-layer deposition, a first BCB film of 16 μm is formed to be followed by a second BCB film of 5 μm.  
         [0041]     Referring to  FIG. 5   d , a mask pattern is formed on the photoresist (not shown) over the BCB film  504 . The BCB film  504  over the passivation layer  502  can be removed by an etching process using the photoresist pattern as an etching mask and SF 6 /O 2  or CF 4 /O 2  as an etching gas. Here, the fluorine group etchant may etch not only the BCB film  504  but also the Si-bump  503 . In the present invention, since the passivation layer  502 , which is not etched with the fluorine group gas, is disposed on the Si-bump  503 , thus protecting the Si-bump  503  from damages due to the fluorine group gas during the etching process.  
         [0042]     Referring to  FIG. 5   e , a transmission line  505  is formed on the passivation layer  502  and the dielectric layer  504 . The transmission line  505  transmits a signal from an active component to adjacent circuits (not shown) formed on the dielectric layer  504 .  
         [0043]     Finally, referring to  FIG. 5   f , a flip-chip bonding bump  506  is formed on the transmission line  505  above the Si-bump  503 . The flip-chip bonding bump  506  is made of a conventional solder bump material. An active component  507  is then mounted on the flip-chip bonding bump  506 .  
       Example 4  
       [0044]      FIGS. 6   a  to  6   g  illustrate a method for forming a flip-chip bonding structure using an MCM-D substrate in accordance with a final embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0045]     Referring to  FIG. 6   a , a lossy silicon substrate  601  is prepared. Due to an inherent property of lossy silicon, a DC leakage current occurs through the lossy silicon substrate  601 . To prevent a DC leakage current from flowing through the lossy silicon substrate  601 , an insulating layer  602  is deposited on the lossy silicon substrate  601 . The insulating layer  602  is formed of an oxide layer or nitride layer. A thickness of the insulating layer  602  is preferably ranged from 100 Å to 1000 Å.  
         [0046]     Referring to  FIG. 6   b , a passivation layer  603  is deposited on the insulating layer  602  and patterned to define a Si-bump region. The passivation layer  603  is needed to protect a Si-bump during a subsequent etching process using a fluorine group material as an etchant. The passivation layer  603  is also used as an etching mask for the subsequent silicon substrate etching to form a Si-bump. Any metal which is not etched by a fluorine group etchant, for example, Al, Au, or Ti/Au, can be used as the passivation layer  603 . A thickness of the passivation layer  603  ranges from 500 Å to 10000 Å.  
         [0047]     Referring to  FIG. 6   c , a Si-bump  604  is formed by removing some portion of the silicon substrate  601  and the insulating layer  602  using the passivation layer  603  as an etching mask. The Si-bump  604  has a height ranging from 10 μm to 100 μm and a diameter, ranging from 30 μm to 2001 μm. The Si-bump  604  is basically cylindrical in shape but may be formed in any other shapes.  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 6   d , a dielectric layer  605  is deposited over the resulting structure so as to fill up a region where the silicon substrate  601  has been etched off. The dielectric layer  605  is formed of a BCB film by using a spin-coating process. The spin-coating process can form a uniform and flat dielectric layer because the Si-bump  604  has a very small size. The BCB film, which is commonly used as a dielectric layer for mm-wave module, has a very low dielectric loss wherein the loss tangent is 0.0005, and a low dielectric constant, 2.65. The BCB film does not require a planarization process because of its good planarization property. The BCB film  605  may be a single layer or multi-layer. To achieve a good topology, the dielectric layer  605  is slightly over-deposited on the top of the passivation layer  603 . For example, if the height of the Si-bump  604  including the insulating layer  602  and the passivation layer  603  is around 20 μm, the BCB film  605  is spin-coated and cured in a vacuum oven to attain a height of about 21 μm. In case of a multi-layer deposition, a first BCB film of 16 μm is deposited, and a second BCB film of 5 μm is then formed.  
         [0049]     Referring to  FIG. 6   e , a mask pattern is formed on the photoresist (not shown) over the BCB film  605 . The BCB film  605  over the passivation layer  603  is removed by an etching process using the photoresist pattern as an etching mask and SF 6 /O 2  or CF 4 /O 2  as an etching gas. Here, the fluorine group etchant may etch not only the BCB film  605  but also the Si-bump  604 . In the present invention, since the passivation layer  603 , which is not etched with the fluorine group gas, is disposed over the Si-bump  604 , protecting the Si-bump  604  from damages due to the fluorine group gas during the etching process.  
         [0050]     Referring to  FIG. 6   f , a transmission line  606  is formed on the passivation layer  603  and the dielectric layer  605 . The transmission line  606  transmits a signal from an active component to adjacent circuits (not shown) formed on the dielectric layer  605 .  
         [0051]     Finally, referring to  FIG. 6   g , a flip-chip bonding bump  607  is formed on the transmission line  606  above the Si-bump  604 . The flip-chip bonding bump  607  is made of a conventional solder bump material. An active component  608  is then mounted on the flip-chip bonding bump  607 .  
         [0052]     It is noted that this patent claims priority from Korean Patent Application Serial Number 10-2005-0001536, which was filed on Jan. 7, 2005, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.  
         [0053]     Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.