Abstract:
The present invention directs to fabrication methods of the embedded component package structures by providing preformed lamination structures, joining or stacking the preformed laminate structures and mounting at least one electronic component to the joined structures. By way of the fabrication methods, the production yield can be greatly improved with lower cycle time.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a chip package structure and a fabricating method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fabrication method of an embedded component package structure and the package structure thereof. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     For satisfying the trends of light weight and compactness on electronic products in the market, package structures with the embedded components have become popular. However, as the electronic components are usually standardized and have specific electric properties, the fabrication of the embedded component package structure for accommodating the electronic components with various electric properties has to be custom-made with relatively low yield and has long cycle time. 
     For facilitating the further implementation of this technology, it is desirable to simplify the fabrication of the embedded component package structure, so as to increase the yield and lower the production costs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a fabrication method of an embedded component package structure and/or a cavity substrate, which is capable of increasing the productivity or yield and is compatible with the present manufacturing processes. 
     As embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention directs to methods of fabricating an embedded component package structure. The fabrication method generally includes first supplying various preformed structural parts (or laminate structures). A first laminate structure and a second laminate structure are joined to an interlayer. The first laminate structure has a first double-layered sheet and a first metal layer disposed on the first double-layered sheet. The first double-layer sheet consists of a first dielectric layer and a second metal layer, the first and second metal layers are separated by the first dielectric layer and the first dielectric layer is sandwiched between the first and second metal layers. The second laminate structure has at least a hollow space therein, and the second laminate structure consists of a third metal layer and a second dielectric layer disposed on the third metal layer. The second dielectric layer of the second laminate structure is joined to the second surface of the interlayer, while the first dielectric layer and the second metal layer of the first double-layer sheet is joined to the first surface of the interlayer. The at least hollow space covered by the interlayer turns into at least a cavity exposing a part of the interlayer. Later a drilling process is performed to the form a plurality of through holes and a plurality of plated-through hole structures is formed to cover the plurality of the through holes and in the first laminate structure, the interlayer and the second laminate structure joined together. After mounting at least an electronic component to the plurality of the bonding pads, an encapsulant is formed to fill the cavity, so that the at least electronic component is embedded within the encapsulant. 
     According to embodiments of the present invention, the bonding pads may be provided in the preformed laminate structure or can be fabricated after forming the plated-through holes structures. 
     According to embodiments of the present invention, the interlayer may be joined to the preformed laminate structure before or after joining the provided laminate structures. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the interlayer is made of a no-flow pre-impregnated material and joining the first and second laminate structures with the interlayer comprises performing a thermal compression process. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the fabrication method may further comprise performing a surface treating process to the bonding pads. 
     The present invention further provides a package structure. The package structure includes a first laminate structure having a first double-layered sheet and a first metal layer disposed on the first double-layered sheet, a second laminate structure having a third metal layer, a second dielectric layer disposed on the third metal layer and at least a cavity therein, an interlayer joining the first laminate structure and the second laminate structure, a plurality of plated-through hole structures extending through the first laminate structure, the interlayer and the second laminate structure, a plurality of bonding pads, at least an electronic component mounted on the plurality of the bonding pads, and an encapsulant, filling up the at least cavity and encapsulating the at least electronic component. 
     In the present invention, the package structure with the electronic component embedded within the encapsulant in the cavity, which protects the electronic component. 
     In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
       FIGS.  1 A- 1 G′ are cross-sectional views showing the fabricating process steps of structural parts of a substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 2A-2B  are cross-sectional views showing various structural parts of the substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 3A-3G  are cross-sectional views showing the fabricating process steps of the cavity substrate and the package structure according one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 4A-4D  are cross-sectional views showing the fabricating process steps of the cavity substrate according another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention can also be implemented in a plurality of different forms, so it should not be interpreted as being limited in the following embodiments. Actually, the following embodiments are intended to demonstrate and illustrate the present invention in a more detailed and completed way, and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the accompanying drawings, in order to be specific, the size and relative size of each layer and each region may be exaggeratedly depicted. 
     It should be known that although “first”, “second”, “third” and the like are used in the present invention to describe each element, region, layer, and/or part, such words are not intended to restrict the element, the region, the layer, and/or the part, either in sequential orders or in relative positions, but shall be considered to distinguish one element, region, layer, or part from another. Therefore, under the circumstance of without departing from the teaching of the present invention, the first element, region, layer, or part can also be called the second element, region, layer, or part. 
     In addition, “upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, “under”, “on”, and similar words for indicating the relative space position are used in the present invention to illustrate the relationship between a certain element or feature and another element or feature in the drawings. It should be known that, beside those relative space words for indicating the directions depicted in the drawings, if the element/structure in the drawing is inverted, the element described as “upper” element or feature becomes “lower” element or feature. 
     FIGS.  1 A- 1 G′ are cross-sectional views showing the fabricating process steps of structural parts of a substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A , a double-sided lamination structure  100  is provided, which has a first metal layer  104  disposed on a top surface  102   a  of the core structure  102  and a second metal layer  106  disposed on a bottom surface  102   b  of the core structure  102 . The material of the first and the second metal layers  104 ,  106  may be copper formed by electroplating or copper foil lamination, for example. The thickness of the first and the second metal layers  104 ,  106  may be about 18 microns, for example. The double-sided lamination structure  100  can be a copper clad laminate (CCL), while the core structure  102  may be a release film (such as Tedlar film) or a peelable mask film, for example. 
     In  FIG. 1B , a first and second patterned photoresist layers  107   a ,  107   b  are respectively formed on the first and second metal layers  104 ,  106 . 
     In  FIG. 1C , using the first and second patterned photoresist layers  107   a ,  107   b  as the masks, a third metal layer  108  and a fourth metal layer  110  are respectively formed on the first and the second metal layers  104  and  106  and partially covering the first and second metal layers  104 ,  106 . The material of the third and the fourth metal layers  108 ,  110  may be copper formed by electroplating, for example. The thickness of the third and the fourth metal layers  108 ,  110  may be about 10˜30 microns, for example. Then, the first and second patterned photoresist layers  107   a ,  107   b  are removed. The patterns of the third and the fourth metal layers  108 ,  110  may correspond to the trace patterns. 
     In  FIG. 1D , a first double-layered sheet  112  consisting of a first dielectric layer  112   a  and a fifth metal layer  112   b  is formed on the first and third metal layers  104 ,  108 , while a second double-layered sheet  114  consisting of a second dielectric layer  114   a  and a sixth metal layer  114   b  is formed on the second and fourth metal layers  106 ,  110 . The first and second dielectric layers may be made of pre-impregnated materials (prepregs), for example. The thickness of the fifth and the sixth metal layers  112   b ,  114   b  may be about 12 microns, for example. The first and second double-layered sheets  112 ,  114  are press-laminated to the metal layers by thermal compression, for example. In this case, the patterns of the dielectric layers  112   a / 114   a  are complementary to the patterns of the third and the fourth metal layers  108 ,  110 . 
     In  FIG. 1E , the upper laminate structure  100 A and the lower laminate structure  100 B are respectively separated from the top and bottom surfaces  102   a ,  102   b  of the core structure  102 . The upper laminate structure  100 A and the lower laminate structure  100 B are inverted (turned upside down) and then re-set (reaffix) to the top and bottom surfaces  102   a ,  102   b  of the core structure  102 . The upper laminate structure  100 A consists of the first and third metal layers  104 ,  108  and the first double-layered sheet  112 , while the lower laminate structure  100 B consists of the second and fourth metal layers  106 ,  110  and the second double-layered sheet  114 . 
     In  FIG. 1F , the top most metal layer  104  (the first metal layer  104 ) and the bottom most metal layer  106  (the second metal layer  106 ) are respectively removed by etching, until the dielectric layers  112   a ,  114   a  are exposed. The exposed third and the fourth metal layers  108 ,  110  may function as traces in the package structures. 
     In  FIG. 1G , the upper laminate structure  100 A and the lower laminate structure  100 B are respectively separated from the top and bottom surfaces  102   a ,  102   b  of the core structure  102 , so that two laminate structures  100 A′,  100 B′ are obtained. The upper laminate structure  100 A′ consists of the third metal layer  108  and the first double-layered sheet  112 , while the lower laminate structure  100 B′ consists of the fourth metal layer  110  and the second double-layered sheet  114 . 
     Alternatively, following  FIG. 1F , as shown in FIG.  1 G′, a plurality of first bonding pads  120  is formed on the exposed third metal layer  108  and a plurality of second bonding pads  122  is formed on the exposed fourth metal layer  110 . The first and second bonding pads may be formed by tin plating with a thickness of about 3-5 microns, for example. Later, the upper and lower laminate structures are separated, and two laminate structures  100 A″,  100 B″ are obtained. 
     The laminate structures  100 N/ 100 B′ or  100 A″/ 100 B″ can be further used as structural parts for the cavity substrate in the present invention. 
     According to the fabrication process of the present invention, metal layers and passivation layers can be stacked on both surfaces of the temporary carrier (the core structure) as the double-sided lamination structure, and both sides of the lamination structure can be processed and then separated to provide patterned laminate structures. 
     Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 2A , the structure  200 A consists of a core structure  202  and a metal layer  204  disposed on the bottom surface  202   a  of the core structure  202 . The structure  200 A includes at least one hollow space  20  penetrating through the whole structure  200 A (i.e. from the top surface to the bottom surface). The core structure  202  may be made of pre-impregnated materials (prepregs) and further includes multiple metal layers or conductive trace patterns, for example. The metal layer  204  may be a copper layer with a thickness of about 3 microns, for example. The structure  200 A can be fabricated from removing the metal layer from one side of a double-sided lamination structure and then performing a punching/routing process to the structure to form the hollow space. 
     Similarly, as shown in  FIG. 2B , the structure  200 B consists of a core structure  202  with a hollow space  20 , a metal layer  204  disposed on the bottom surface  202   a  of the core structure  202  and an interlayer  206  disposed on the top surface  202   b  of the core structure  202 . The material of the interlayer  206  can be no-flow pre-impregnated materials (prepregs), for example. The structure  200 B can be fabricated from removing the metal layer from one side of a double-sided lamination structure, press laminating the interlayer to the core structure and then performing a punching/routing process to form the hollow space in the core structure. The structures  200 A/ 200 B can also be used as a structural part for the cavity substrate in the present invention. 
     The above described structural parts may be fabricated in advance as preformed structural parts and then assembled together. 
       FIGS. 3A-3G  are cross-sectional views showing the fabricating process steps of the cavity substrate and the package structure according one embodiment of the present invention. 
     Firstly, referring to  FIG. 3A , a laminate structure  100 B′, which has the double-layer sheet  114  (dielectric layer  114   a  and the metal layer  114   b ) and a metal layer  110 , and the structure  200 A consisting of the core structure  202  with a hollow space  20  and the metal layer  204  are provided. Later, an interlayer  302  is provided. In  FIG. 3B , the laminate structure  100 B′ and the structure  200 A are respectively joined to a top surface  302   a  and a bottom surface  302   b  of an interlayer  302 , either in sequence or simultaneously, by compression. Preferably, the material of the interlayer  302  is no-flow pre-impregnated materials (prepregs), for example. The no-flow prepregs is partially cured and has little fluidity, so that the interlayer  302  will not flood into the hollow space  20 . After the laminate structure  100 B′ and the structure  200 A are joined with the interlayer  302 , the hollow space  20  turns into a cavity  20 ′ of the joined structure. Later, the cavity  20 ′ may be filled with a filler  304 , so that the cavity is protected during the subsequent drilling process. Generally, the filler  304  is packed with a release film, so that the filler  304  can be easily removed in the later process. 
     In  FIG. 3C , a drilling process is performed to form a plurality of through holes  306 . If the filler  304  is applied, the filler  304  is removed after the drilling process. 
     In  FIG. 3D , a plating process is performed to the through holes  306  and a plurality of plated through hole structures  310  is formed. The formation of the plated through hole structures  310  may comprise forming a seed copper layer  308  on the sidewalls of the through holes  306  by electroless plating, electroplating a copper layer (not shown) on the exposed surfaces of the joined structure and later performing etching to pattern the copper layer to form a plating layer  309  on the seed copper layer  308  and covering a portion of the metal layer  204  surrounding the through holes  306 . Also, during the etching process, the copper layer and the metal layer  114   b  are removed. As shown in  FIG. 3D , the seed copper layer  308  and the plating layer  309  of the plated through hole structures  310  is coplanar with and do not cover the exposed dielectric layer  114   a . Such design can provide a flat top surface S and is compatible with the sensor circuit patterns for sensor applications. However, it is well-understood that the patterns of the plated through hole structures on either surface of the joined structure can be adjusted or modified according to the product design or electrical requirements. In addition, the though holes  306  may be protected by plugging with a filling material  307 . 
     In  FIG. 3E , a plurality of bonding pads  320  is formed within the interlayer  302  inside the cavity  20 ′. The formation of the bonding pads  320  may comprise laser drilling a plurality of openings in the interlayer  302  and then forming the bonding pads  320  within the openings by tin plating. Later, a surface treating process is performed to the bonding pads  320 . The bonding pads  320  may have a thickness of about 3-5 microns and the surface treating process may be an immersion tin process or an organic solderabilty preservatives (OSP) process, for example. 
     In addition, the joined structure shown in  FIG. 3E  may further include a solder resist coating  312  over the flat surface S and around the plated through holes structures  310 . The solder resist coating  312  may be printed before the formation of the bonding pads  320 . As shown in  FIG. 3E , the solder resist coating  312  exposes portions of the plating layer  309 , which may function as ball pads in the subsequent process. At this stage, the structure shown in  FIG. 3E  can be considered as a cavity substrate  30 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3F , a plurality of bumps  322  is formed on the bonding pads  320 . The bumps  322  can be made of gold or copper, for example. Later, an electronic component  330  is connected to the bumps  322  mounted on the bonding pads  320 . The electronic component  330  can be an active component (such as a chip) or a passive component (such as a capacitor or a resistor). 
     Next, in  FIG. 3G , an encapsulant  340  is foamed to fill the cavity  20 ′ and the electronic component  330  is embedded within the encapsulant  340 , thus obtaining the embedded component package structure (the package structure with the embedded components). In this way, the embedded electronic component  330  is protected. If necessary, an underfill (not shown) may be further included. Later, a plurality of balls  350  is formed on the bottom surface of the joined structure (i.e. on the exposed portions of the plating layer  309 ). 
       FIGS. 4A-4D  are cross-sectional views showing the fabricating process steps of the cavity substrate according another embodiment of the present invention. 
     Firstly, referring to  FIG. 4A , a laminate structure  100 B″, which has the double-layer sheet  114  (dielectric layer  114   a  and the metal layer  114   b ), a metal layer  110  and a plurality of second bonding pads  122 , is joined with the structure  200 B consisting of the interlayer  206 , the core structure  202  and the metal layer  204 . The laminate structure  100 B″ and the structure  200 B can be joined by compression. The interlayer  206  is partially cured at lower temperatures and has little fluidity, so that the interlayer  206  will not flood into the hollow space  20 . After the laminate structure  100 B″ and the structure  200 B are joined, the hollow space  20  of the core structure ( FIG. 2B ) turns into a cavity  20 ′ of the joined structure. Later, the cavity  20 ′ may be filled with a filler  404 , so that the cavity is protected during the subsequent drilling process. Generally, the filler  404  is packed with a release film, so that the filler  404  can be easily removed in the later process. 
     In  FIG. 4B , a drilling process is performed to form a plurality of through holes  406 . If the filler  404  is applied, the filler  404  is removed after the drilling process. 
     In  FIG. 4C , a plating process is performed to the through holes  406  and a plurality of plated through hole structures  410  is formed. The formation of the plated through hole structures  410  may comprise forming a seed copper layer  408  on the sidewalls of the through holes  406  by electroless plating, electroplating a plating layer  409  on the exposed surfaces of the joined structure and later performing etching to pattern the plating layer  409  and the metal layer  204 . The plating layer  409  covers the metal layer  204 , the seed copper layer  408  and the metal layer  114   b , except for covering the cavity  20 ′. As shown in  FIG. 4C , a flat top surface S is provided by the seed copper layer  408  and the plating layer  409  of the plated through hole structures  410 . Such design is compatible with the sensor circuit patterns. However, it is well-understood that the patterns of the plated through hole structures on either surface of the joined structure can be adjusted or modified according to the product design or electrical requirements. In addition, the though holes  406  may be protected by plugging with a filling material  407 . 
     In  FIG. 4D , a solder resist coating  412  is formed over the flat surface S and around the plated through holes structures  410 . As shown in  FIG. 4D , the solder resist coating  412  exposes portions of the plating layer  409 , which may function as ball pads in the subsequent process. At this stage, the structure shown in  FIG. 4D  can be considered as a cavity substrate  40 . 
     Subsequently, the cavity substrate  40  may be further assembled to obtain the package structure, either following the similar process steps described in  FIGS. 3E-3G . or other compatible packaging process steps. 
     According to the fabrication process of the present invention, certain preformed structural parts can be fabricated from processing double-sided lamination structure, and the productivity can be practically doubled without wasting the processing materials or the production line. In addition, by providing preformed structural parts, not only the fabrication process of the present invention can efficiently fabricate the cavity substrate suitable for the embedded component package structure, but also the fabrication process can be provide the cavity substrate and/or the embedded component package structure with better reliability. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.