Abstract:
A mold plate to parking location interface includes: a mold plate for holding solder; a fill head with an o-ring for dispensing solder bumps on the mold plate; a parking location for locating the fill head; and a platform between the mold plate and the parking location for relatively moving the fill head from the first location to the second location such that the o-ring decompresses as it passes over the platform.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a division of, and claims priority from, co-pending and commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/508,082, filed on Aug. 22, 2006. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED-RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
     Not Applicable. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention disclosed broadly relates to the field of semiconductor packaging technology and more particularly relates to the process of creating solder bumps for integrated circuit wafers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The face-down soldering of integrated circuit (IC) devices to chip carriers, known as “flip-chip packaging” has been used in the semiconductor manufacturing process for forty years. Injection Molding Soldering (IMS) is a technique developed by IBM to address the cost vs. quality issues associated with current wafer bumping technologies. IMS as applied to wafer bumping has been dubbed C4NP (Controlled Collapse Chip Connection New Process) and is the newest semiconductor packaging technology developed by IBM for putting C4 solder bumps onto chips at the wafer level using a lead-free solder. 
     C4NP involves filling specially designed pits in a solder mold (mold plate) using a head which provides molten solder. The solder is typically constrained to the head and operating area by an o-ring that is compressed between the fill head and the mold plate. This interface between the fill head and the mold plate must be moved onto the mold plate from a parking location of some sort, as the head must remain at operating temperature (with the solder molten). This is done by moving the head across a seam between the mold plate and the parking area, stressing and often damaging the o-ring. This limits the machine throughput, as o-ring replacement is a lengthy process. In addition, o-rings are stressed and damaged by reversals in motion and direction, so any solution would be best if it was implemented in a unidirectional way. It would also be beneficial if in any solution for the interface cleaning process could be accomplished without machine downtime. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, according to an embodiment of the invention, a method for dispensing solder bumps on a mold plate includes the steps of: relatively moving a fill head comprising an o-ring from a first location to a second location such that the o-ring decompresses as it crosses from the first location to the second location; filling at least one cavity in the mold plate with solder; and then relatively moving the fill head from the second location to a third location such that the o-ring decompresses as it crosses from the second location to the third location. The step of relatively moving the fill head from the first location to the second location includes moving from a higher elevation to a lower elevation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a mold plate showing unfilled cavities, according to the known art. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic side view of a basic IMS head for dispensing molten solder onto a mold plate, according to the known art. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart of the bumping process of IMS, according to the known art. 
         FIG. 4A  is an illustration of the “Step Down” method according to an embodiment of the invention, showing the loading of a fill head onto a mold plate. 
         FIG. 4B  is another illustration of the “Step Down” method according to an embodiment of the invention, showing the unloading of a fill head from a mold plate. 
         FIG. 5  is an illustration of the lifting of a parking plate in the “Step Down” method according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is an illustration of another embodiment of the “Step Down” method showing a sloped parking plate. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a top-level view of a mold plate  100  used in solder wafer bumping, also known as “C4 wafer bumping.” The multiple etched cavities  120  on the mold plate match the pattern of solder bumps (the “bond pads”) required on the wafer. The cavity size and spacing determine the solder bump volume and pitch. The cavities  120  give precise control of bump solder volume, resulting in excellent bump height uniformity. Typical applications might call for 75-μm diameter bumps on 150-μm pitch. Smaller bumps down to 25-μm in diameter on 50-μm pitch have been demonstrated, matching the fine-pitch capability of electroplated bumps. For a higher board-to-die standoff, jumbo BGA solder bumps could be molded to 500-μm diameter. 
     The mold plate  100  is typically constructed of borosilicate glass. In selecting a material for the mold plate  100  the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) must be taken into consideration. For example, the thermal expansion of the glass mold matches the thermal expansion of the silicon wafer. Other materials may be used, provided the CTE is taken into consideration. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , we show a basic IMS filling head  200  for dispensing molten solder onto a mold plate. The dispenser  210  contains a movable plunger  225  for exerting pressure on the molten solder  240 . A reservoir  235  for the containment of the molten solder  240  is disposed at the end of the dispenser  210 . The temperature of the reservoir  235  is typically maintained at 10° to 20° Celsius above the solder melting point. To inject solder into a cavity, pressure is exerted on the plunger  225  so that it descends into the reservoir  235 , thus forcing the molten solder through an aperture  245  and into a cavity in the mold plate  250 . In this figure the head is shown moving right to left. The filled cavities are shown as black while the unfilled cavities are shown as white. 
     An o-ring  280  acts as a seal to prevent solder leakage. The o-ring  280  also provides solder containment and solidification zone definition. When the o-ring  280  moves across the mold plate  250  it acts as a wiper to remove excess solder over the surface of the plate without disturbing the solder in the cavities. This eliminates the need to incorporate a separate wiper into the fill head mechanism. The o-ring  280  is preferably a concentric conformable material such as rubber which does not adhere to the mold plate  250 . The contact patch (compressed area) of the o-ring  280  provides somewhat of a solidification zone. The process of solder bumping using the IMS technique is detailed in the flowchart of  FIG. 3 . In step  302  the molten solder is injected into the mold plate cavities  120  through the dispenser  210 . The mold plate  100  is heated to just below the melting point of the solder. The injector includes a slightly pressurized reservoir of molten solder of any composition. The filling head  200  automatically fills all cavities in the mold  100 , maintaining close contact with the mold plate. The cavities are uniformly filled with the molten solder to the level of the mold plate surface. 
     In step  304  the filled mold can be cooled and then stored indefinitely at room temperature in dry nitrogen until it is needed. When the process continues to the next step in  306  the filled mold and the wafer are aligned so that the mold cavities  120  exactly match the points on the wafer where the solder is needed. Then in step  308  the mold and the wafer are heated in a furnace with the mold disposed over the wafer so that the solder bumps adhere to the surface of the wafer. After adhesion of the solder bumps in step  310  the empty mold is cleaned in a simple wet-chemistry process and re-used. 
     In creating the solder bumps, often the fill head is secured to a moving arm which moves over and above a mold plate carrier (a belt or platform) where the mold plates are positioned and ready for filling. The fill head moves in one direction. Alternatively, the fill head remains stationary and it is the mold plate carrier which moves in one direction. The fill head remains stationary but it is considered to exhibit “relative” movement, rather than actual movement, with respect to the mold plate carrier. Although both movement methods can be implemented in this embodiment, for simplicity we will assume the mold plate  250  moves relative to a fixed fill head. 
     When the fill head has moved over the mold plate and filled all of the cavities, it next moves onto a parking, or transitional platform, before moving on to the next mold. The o-ring on the fill head is making contact with the mold plate and parking platform as it moves over them. As the o-ring moves over the seam where the mold plate abuts the parking plate it is stressed. Repeated stressing of the o-ring degrades the o-ring, necessitating replacement. This causes expensive downtime of the machinery. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4A , we show an interface  420  between the mold plate  450  and the parking space  440  constructed such that the fill head  410  “steps down” across the interface  420 , substantially reducing the stress on the o-ring  480 . Stepping down means that the o-ring  480  is never engaged by (moved into) a sharp edge or seam. This is in contrast to current methods where the fill head  410  slides onto and off of the mold plate, exposing the o-ring  480  to edges that degrade the o-ring  480  and generate debris. 
     When combined with a carrier the o-ring  480  moves in only one direction. This is desirable to cut down on o-ring  480  stress and degradation. As shown in  FIG. 4A  the fill head  410  is moving from left to right. As it leaves the parking platform  440 , the o-ring  480  (shown in cross-section) is slightly reformed as it moves down to the mold plate  450 . Note that the “step down” is only a slight level change. 
     In  FIG. 4B  we see how the unloading of the fill head  410  from the mold plate  450  is accomplished, also with the “step-down.” As the fill head  410  moves from the mold plate  450  onto the parking or transitional area  440  the o-ring  480  reforms slightly to make contact with the lower surface. Once on the lower surface, which in this case is the parking area  440  the o-ring  480  deforms slightly to continue to make contact with the surface. As the o-ring  480  moves across the surfaces it is constant contact with the surfaces and thus acts as a wiper, carrying off any excess solder or debris from the filling process. The debris could emanate from the actual o-ring  480  if it is damaged during the filling process. Reducing the stress and damage to the o-ring  480  also reduces the debris produced during the process. 
     In addition to enabling this “step down,” using a mold plate carrier  420  allows for unidirectional movement of the fill process. As stated earlier, changing movement direction is stressful on the o-ring  480 . In addition, using a mold plate carrier  420  allows for easy cleaning of the plates with less machine downtime. With the carrier implementation, the plates can be removed for cleaning while the next (or prior) plate is being filled and then reloaded back onto the platform. Fill head pressure can be lowered across the transition to reduce the possibility of leakage at the fill head ends. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mold plate carrier  420  and parking area  440  are constructed of a plastic substance or other similar material softer than glass in order to avoid the problems associated with glass (such as chipping and breakage). Note that the softer than glass material may be just a coating on a harder material that makes up the body of the carrier  420  or the parking space  440 . Whatever the material it must also stand up well to the high temperatures of the molten solder. Although the CTE of glass is ideal for this process, it is not recommended for a mold plate carrier  420  because it has the drawback of chipping and breakage, especially when a glass mold plate  450  comes into contact with a glass mold plate carrier  420 . Mold plate edges are not perfectly smooth. The roughness of one edge can engage the roughness of another. If a plate then moves relative to a mold plate carrier  420  which is also made of glass the plate and/or carrier can “bind,” creating stresses significant enough to chip, crack, or break one or both pieces of glass. 
       FIG. 5  shows an embodiment of the invention illustrating how the fill head always “steps down” to the next platform to reduce stress on the o-ring  480 . In this embodiment the parking plate  440  can be actively lifted through mechanical means or it can be lifted by interaction with guides. The plate  440  can have an actuator beneath it that lifts it (hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical) or, in the case of a fixed head, it can have rollers or guide pins on the ends or underneath the plate that engage ramped guide structures which cause the plate&#39;s level to change as the plate moves across the guide structures. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6  we discuss another embodiment of the invention where the parking plate  440  from  FIG. 5  is sloped to allow for an even smoother transition from the parking plate  440  to the mold plate  450 . Note that the slope is always in the same direction and it is quite a small slope, but just enough to provide a comfortable lift to the o-ring  480  so that it can be gently released onto the lower platform. The parking plate  440  can be constructed of a plastic material (or other similar material softer than glass) which can be easily formed and shaped. 
     Therefore, while there have been described what are presently considered to be the preferred embodiments, it will understood by those skilled in the art that other modifications can be made within the spirit of the invention.