Abstract:
An electronic device includes a support board having a mounting face and an integrated circuit chip mounted on the mounting face. An encapsulation block embeds the integrated circuit chip, the encapsulation block extending above the integrated circuit chip and around the integrated circuit chip on the mounting face of the support board. The encapsulation block includes a front face with a hole passing through the encapsulation block to uncovering at least part of an electrical contact. A layer made of an electrically conducting material fills the hole to make electrical connection to the electrical contact and further extends over the front face of the encapsulation block.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional application from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/050,216 filed Feb. 22, 2016, which claims priority from French Application for Patent No. 1557998 filed Aug. 28, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of electronic devices. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Known electronic devices, generally of parallelepipedal shape, comprise a support board, including an electrical connection network, an integrated circuit chip mounted on one of the faces of the support board and an encapsulation block in which the chip is embedded. The chip is linked to the network of the support board by electrical connection elements, such as balls, interposed between the support board and the chip, or by electrical connection wires embedded in the encapsulation block. 
         [0004]    Such electronic devices are mounted on printed circuit boards, generally by way of electrical connection elements, such as balls, linking the electrical connection network of the support boards and the electrical connection network of the printed circuit boards. 
         [0005]    When the chips generate radiofrequency signals having to be transmitted or when they process radiofrequency signals received, the transmit or receive antennas are produced on the printed circuit boards. The electrical signals follow very long resistive paths which consist of lines of the electrical connection network of the printed circuit boards, the electrical connection elements between the printed circuit boards and the support boards, lines of the electrical connection network of the support boards and the electrical connection elements between the support boards. Such paths depend furthermore on the quality of the interconnections arising from fabrication. 
         [0006]    The arrangements hereinabove constitute a handicap notably when the necessary dimension of the antennas, for the transmission of radiofrequency signals at frequencies of the order of a gigahertz or greater, or indeed much greater, than a gigahertz, becomes reduced. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    According to one embodiment, there is proposed an electronic device which comprises a support board exhibiting a mounting face, at least one integrated circuit chip mounted on the mounting face of the support board, an encapsulation block in which the chip is embedded, this encapsulation block extending above the chip and around the chip on the mounting face of the support board and exhibiting a front face, at least one through hole passing through the encapsulation block and uncovering at least in part an electrical contact of the mounting face of the support board or of the chip, and at least one layer made of an electrically conducting material, extended over the front face of the encapsulation block and linked to the electrical contact in the hole. 
         [0008]    The electrical contact can be fashioned on the mounting face of the support board, remote from the periphery of the chip. 
         [0009]    The electrical contact can be fashioned on a front face of the chip. 
         [0010]    The encapsulation block can exhibit at least one groove in the front face, in which the conducting layer extends. 
         [0011]    There is also proposed a method for fabricating an electronic device, in which use is made of a primary electronic device which comprises a support board, an integrated circuit chip mounted on a mounting face of the support board and an encapsulation block extending above the chip and around the chip on the mounting face of the support board, the encapsulation block exhibiting a front face parallel to the support board. 
         [0012]    The method comprises: producing a hole through the encapsulation block of the primary electronic device, from the front face, until at least partially uncovering an electrical contact; depositing an electrically conducting liquid or pasty material on at least one zone of the front face of the encapsulation block and in the hole; and hardening the conducting material, so as to produce a conducting layer linked to the electrical contact. 
         [0013]    The method can comprise: producing at least one groove in the front face of the encapsulation block, this groove emerging in the hole; the conducting material being subsequently deposited in this groove. 
         [0014]    The method can comprise: producing at least two holes through the encapsulation block of the primary electronic device, from the front face, until at least partially uncovering two electrical contacts; depositing the electrically conducting liquid or pasty material on at least one zone of the front face of the encapsulation block and in the holes; and hardening the conducting material, so as to produce a conducting layer linked to the electrical contacts. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    Electronic devices and their modes of fabrication will now be described by way of exemplary embodiments, illustrated by the drawing in which: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  represents a section through an electronic device; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  represents a view from above of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  represents a step of fabrication, in section, of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  represents another step of fabrication, in section, of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  represents another step of fabrication, in section, of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  represents another step of fabrication, in section, of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  represents a section through another electronic device; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  represents a section through another electronic device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , according to an exemplary embodiment a final electronic device  1  comprises a support board  2 , including an electrical connection network  3 , an integrated circuit chip  4  mounted on a front mounting face  5  of the support board  2  and an encapsulation block  6  in which the chip  4  is embedded and which extends over the chip  4 , around the latter, on the mounting face  5  of the support board  2 , in such a way that the electronic device  1  takes the form of a parallelepiped. 
         [0025]    According to one variant embodiment represented, the integrated circuit chip  4  is mounted on a mounting face  5  of the support board  2  by way of electrical connection elements  7 , such as balls, which selectively link the chip  4  and the electrical connection network  3 . According to another variant embodiment, the chip  4  could be glued on the mounting face  5  of the support board  2  and be linked to the electrical connection network  3  by electrical connection wires embedded in the encapsulation block  6 . 
         [0026]    According to one variant embodiment represented, the encapsulation block  6  exhibits a through hole  8  fashioned from a front face  9  of this block, parallel to the support board  2 , until uncovering an electrical contact  10  of the electrical connection network fashioned on the mounting face  5  of the contact board. The through hole  8  is situated remote from the periphery of the chip  4  and from the periphery of the primary encapsulation block  6  and between same. 
         [0027]    In the front face  9  of the encapsulation block  6  is fashioned an elongate groove  11  which emerges in the hole  8 . For example, the groove  11  can pass above and remote from the chip  4 . 
         [0028]    The encapsulation block  6  is furnished with a layer  12  made of an electrically conducting material, extended over a zone of its front face  9  and which approximately fills the through hole  8  so as to be connected to the electrical contact  10  in this hole. 
         [0029]    More precisely, the conducting layer  12  extends in the groove  11  so as to approximately fill this groove  11 . The layer  12  is held by an adhesion effect on the encapsulation block  6 . 
         [0030]    The conducting layer  12  can be made of a hardened resin including electrically conducting metallic particles. 
         [0031]    Moreover, the electronic device  1  can be furnished with elements for exterior electrical connection  3   a , such as balls, disposed on electrical contacts  3   b  of the electrical connection network  3  fashioned on a face  2   a  of the support board  2 , opposite the mounting face  5 , these electrical contacts  3   b  being linked selectively to the electrical connection network  3  of the support board  2 . 
         [0032]    The final electronic device  1  can be produced in the following manner. 
         [0033]    As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , use is made of a prefabricated primary electronic device  13  which comprises the support board  2 , the chip  4  mounted as described above and the encapsulation block  6 , the latter exhibiting a completely flat front face  9 . 
         [0034]    As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the hole  8  and the elongate groove  11  are produced. 
         [0035]    Next, according to a variant embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a conducting layer  12  made of a liquid or pasty material, that is to say one able to creep or flow, is deposited in the hole  8  and in the groove  11  by means of a mobile syringe  14 , the quantity of material deposited being able to approximately fill the hole  8  and the groove  11 , the latter constituting a barrier to the creep of the material. 
         [0036]    Or else, according to another variant embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 6 , a quantity of conducting material  15  largely filling the hole  8  and the groove  11  is deposited and a scraping of this deposited material  15  is undertaken by means of a spatula  16  by moving the latter over the front face  9  of the encapsulation block  6  so as to leave only the conducting layer  12 . 
         [0037]    Next, a hardening of the deposited layer  12  is undertaken, for example under the effect of a radiation. 
         [0038]    As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , according to another exemplary embodiment a final electronic device  17  is differentiated from the electronic device  1  described previously by the fact that, this time, the conducting layer  12  is linked directly to a specific electrical contact  18  provided on the front face  19  of the chip  4 . The specific electrical contact  18  can result from the formation of an electrical link passing through the substrate of the integrated circuit chip  4 , known by the name TSV (“Through Silicon Via”). 
         [0039]    In this exemplary embodiment, the fabrication step equivalent to that described with reference to  FIG. 4  consists in producing a hole  20  in a location situated above the chip  4 , through an encapsulation block  6 , so as to uncover the electrical contact  18 , and in producing a groove  21  emerging in this hole  20 . The following steps in producing a conducting layer  12  are equivalent to those described with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
         [0040]    The electronic devices which have just been described can arise from a collective fabrication on a common support plate. The encapsulation blocks and the extra encapsulation blocks can be obtained by spreading of a liquid material, for example an epoxy resin, and then by hardening of this material. 
         [0041]    The electronic devices which have just been described can arise from collective fabrication on a common support plate, as is known in the field of microelectronics. 
         [0042]    Of course, the conducting layer  12  can exhibit any desired topographical shape. 
         [0043]    The conducting layer  12  of the electronic devices which have just been described can advantageously constitute an electromagnetic antenna for the transmission/reception of radiofrequency signals at very high frequencies (reaching a gigahertz or greater than a gigahertz, or indeed several hundred gigahertz), linked to the chip  4  by short electrical connection paths, via the electrical connection network of the support board  2  ( FIGS. 1-2 ) or directly ( FIG. 7 ). 
         [0044]    Nonetheless, according to a variant embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 8 , a conducting layer  12 , for example produced in the form of a strip, can constitute an extra passive electronic component, such as a resistance or a choke, whose ends can be linked to the chip  4 , via the electrical connection network  3  and/or directly, thereby constituting a bridge. 
         [0045]    Accordingly, the ends of this conducting layer  12  can be linked, via two holes  22  and  23  fashioned through the encapsulation block  6  from its front face, in a manner equivalent to that described previously, to electrical contacts  24  and  25  fashioned either on the front face of the support board  2 , or on the front face of the chip  4 , or one on the front face of the support board and the other on the front face of the chip.