Abstract:
Readily modifiable and customizable, low-area overhead interconnect structures for forming connections between a system-in-a-package module and other components in an electronic device. One example may provide an interposer for providing an interconnection between a system-in-a-package module and other components in an electronic device. Another may provide a plurality of conductive pins to form interconnect paths between a module and other components.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The number of types of electronic devices that are commercially available has increased tremendously the past few years and the rate of introduction of new devices shows no signs of abating. Devices, such as tablet, laptop, netbook, desktop, and all-in-one computers, cell, smart, and media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, and others, have become ubiquitous. 
         [0002]    The functionality of these devices has likewise greatly increased. This in turn has led to increased complexity inside of these electronic devices. At the same time, the dimensions of these devices have become smaller. For example, smaller and thinner devices are becoming more popular. 
         [0003]    This increasing functionality and decreasing size have necessitated the use of space-efficient circuit techniques. As one example, system-in-a-package modules and other similar structures may be used to increase an electronic device&#39;s functionality while reducing space consumed in the device. 
         [0004]    These system-in-a-package modules may be connected to other boards, circuits or modules in an electronic device using connector systems. But connector systems may consume considerable board space on a module. They may also have a considerable height that may match or exceed a height of the module itself. Even direct connections, for example between a flexible circuit board and system-in-a-package module, may consume a large board area. 
         [0005]    Moreover, connector systems may be difficult to modify when a design change to a module is necessary. Also, it may be difficult to acquire a customized connector system for a specific use. They may also be provided by third parties separate from a company that may manufacture the system-in-a-package modules and electronic devices. This separation may lead to further complications when a modified or custom connector system is desired. 
         [0006]    Thus, what is needed are easily modifiable and customizable, low-area overhead interconnect structures for forming connections between a system-in-a-package module and other boards, circuits, or components in an electronic device. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide readily modifiable and customizable, low-area overhead interconnect structures for forming connections between a system-in-a-package module and other boards, circuits, or components in an electronic device. 
         [0008]    An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide an interposer for providing an interconnection between a first board and a second board. The first board may support or be part of a system-in-a-package module and the second board may provide an interconnect paths to other circuits or components in an electronic device. The interposer may include first contacts on a bottom surface and second contacts on a top surface. Interposer interconnect paths may be formed between the first contacts and the second contacts. The first contacts may be coupled to traces on a first board, the first board supporting a system-in-a-package module. Circuits and other components in the module may be coupled to the traces on the first board. Contacts on the second board may be coupled to the second contacts on the top of the interposer. Traces coupled to the contacts on the second board may couple to other boards, circuits, or components in an electronic device. 
         [0009]    The interposer may be formed of various materials. For example, the interposer may be a printed circuit board formed of FR-4, BT, or other high-density substrate. The interposer may alternatively be formed of plastic or other material. The interconnect paths may be formed using traces on layers in the printed circuit board joined together with vias between layers of the board. 
         [0010]    In this and other examples, the first board may be a printed circuit board, flexible circuit board, or other appropriate substrate. The second board may be a flexible circuit board, printed circuit board, or other appropriate substrate. 
         [0011]    This interposer may provide a highly modifiable interconnect structure. Specifically, contact placement and the interconnect paths between the contacts may be readily modified using conventional printed circuit techniques. This interposer may also provide a highly customizability since its size, shape, and contact configurations may be readily arranged using these same conventional techniques. This may provide a high-degree of flexibility and configurability, in particular when compared to a convention connector system. 
         [0012]    These interposers may also provide low-area overhead interconnect structures. Specifically, these interposers may be placed adjacent to a system-in-a-package module or other structure. Contacts on a bottom side of the interposer may be coupled to contacts on a first board supporting the module. The interposer may be adjacent to the module and the contacts may be very close to the module, thereby reducing the board space used. Contacts on a top side of the interposer may couple to traces in a second board, where the top of the interposer is at least approximately in a line with a top of the module. This configuration may eliminate or at least reduce the need for providing clearance or space between the second board and the module, again saving space. 
         [0013]    In various embodiments of the present invention, the first contacts on a bottom of the interposer may be formed using ball grid array type contacts or similar structure. This may allow the interposer to be attached to the first board, such as a printed circuit board, at the same time as other surface-mounted devices and circuits. That is, the use of these or similar contacts may allow an interposer to be treated as another surface mount device during a wave soldering or other attachment process. The second contacts on a top side of the interposer may be attached to a second board, such as a flexible circuit board, using surface mount techniques, hot-bar soldering, anisotropic conductive film, or other attachment methods. 
         [0014]    Various embodiments of the present invention may facilitate the connection of the second board to the interposer in different ways. In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the second board may overlap the interposer to cover at least a portion of the module. This may provide a larger area for forming a connection, which may be particularly useful when hot-bar soldering or similar attachment techniques are used. 
         [0015]    In still other embodiments of the present invention, an interposer may be notched or stepped such that a top surface of the interposer is larger than a bottom surface of the interposer. This larger top surface may help to facilitate a connection of a second board to the top of the interposer. For example, contact size may be increased on the top surface. Also, additional contacts, for example additional ground or power contacts, may be placed on the top side to provide additional shielding or isolation. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment of the present invention, an interposer may be notched or stepped such that the remaining module portion itself is stepped. This stepped portion of the module may result in a portion of the module having a lower height. In various embodiments of the present invention, appropriately sized components may be placed in this shallow or lower-height region in order to more fully utilize module space. In another embodiment of the present invention, an interposer may be notched or stepped such that a portion of the interposer resides over a top of the module. Again, this may provide a surface that may be easier to connect to a second board. 
         [0017]    In still other embodiments of the present invention, the second board may be formed as part of the interposer. For example, a flexible board may be formed as one or more layers inside and extending from an interposer. 
         [0018]    An illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide an electronic device. The electronic device may include a first board, the first board having a number of interconnect traces. The first board may be a printed circuit board, flexible circuit board, or other type of board or appropriate substrate. A number of surface mount or other types of devices may be attached to a top surface of the first board. The surface mount devices may be electrically connected to traces on or in the first board. These surface mount devices may include active and passive components, integrated circuits, or other circuits or components. An interposer may be attached to the top surface of the first board. The interposer may be attached to the first board in the same or in a different manner as other surface mount devices. The interposer may be attached to the first board at the same or different time as the other surface mount devices. The interposer may have first contacts on a bottom surface electrically connected to traces in or on the first board. The interposer may further have a plurality of interconnect paths from the first contacts on the bottom surface to second contacts on a top surface. The interposer may be a multi-layer printed circuit board and the interposer interconnect paths may include contacts or traces on one or more layers and vias between at least two layers A simple interposer may have contacts on a top and bottom side that are connected using vertical vias. A second board having a number of traces or interconnect paths may be electrically connected to the second contacts on the top surface of the interposer. That is, contacts on the second board may connect to traces on and in the second board and to the second contacts on a top surface of the interposer. The second board may be a flexible circuit board, printed circuit board, or other appropriate board or substrate. 
         [0019]    Again, the interposer may provide interconnection pathways to a system-in-a-package module. In this case, a molded portion made of plastic or other material may be formed over the surface mount devices on the top surface of the first board and along a side of the interposer. In other embodiments of the present invention, the first board is not part of a system-in-a-package module and the molded portion may not be present. In such a case, the interposer may be used to connect two conventional boards or one or more types. Also, while surface mount devices and interposers may be used, in other embodiments of the present invention, other types of devices and interposers may be used, for example through-hole devices and interposers may be used. 
         [0020]    Another illustrative embodiment of the present invention may provide a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device. This method may include forming a first board comprising a number of traces. A number of surface mount or other types of devices may be attached to a top surface of the first board. The surface mount devices may be electrically connected to traces in the number of traces. An interposer may be attached to the top surface of the first board. The interposer may have first contacts on a bottom surface electrically connected to traces on the first board. The interposer may have a plurality of interconnect paths from the first contacts on the bottom surface to second contacts on a top surface. As before, the interposer may be a multi-layer printed circuit board and the interposer interconnects paths may include contacts or traces on at least one layer and vias between at least two layers. A molding made of plastic or other material may be formed over the surface mount devices and along a side of the interposer, though such molding may be absent in other embodiments of the present invention. A second board may have a number of traces such that the traces are electrically connected to the second contacts on the top surface of the interposer. Again, the first board may be a printed circuit board and the second board may be a flexible circuit board. 
         [0021]    Other embodiments of the present invention may provide other interconnect structures for forming electrical paths between a system-in-a-package module and other circuits or components in an electronic device. In one example, a number of pins may be used. These pins may be formed in a localized area or array, or they may be distributed among other circuits or components. These pins may be surface mounted to a top of a first board along with a number of other surface mount circuits and components. The pins, circuits, and components may be encapsulated or covered with molded plastic or other material. The molding may be lapped back, etched, or otherwise reduced as needed such that tops of the pins are exposed. The pins may then be attached to a second board, such as a flexible circuit board, using surface mount techniques, hot-bar soldering, anisotropic conductive film, or other attachment methods. In various embodiments of the present invention, not all pins may be connected to the second board. For example, some pins may be provided at the surface of the molded plastic for test, programming, or diagnostic purposes. 
         [0022]    In various embodiments of the present invention, these interposers and pin arrays may be placed in various locations on a system-in-a-package module. For example, an interposer may be placed along a side of the module. In other embodiments of the present invention, the interposer may be placed in a corner, in middle, or other location on a module. 
         [0023]    It should be noted that while the interconnect structures described above are well-suited to forming interconnect paths for system-in-a-package modules, in other embodiments of the present invention, other types of boards may be connected using these techniques. For example, other printed circuit boards that are not part of a system-in-a-package module may be electrically connected using these same or similar techniques and structures. For example, printed circuit boards may be attached to other boards, including printed circuit boards or flexible circuit boards, using the interposers and pins shown herein. 
         [0024]    In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, interconnect paths, and other conductive portions of interposers and pins may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, or other manufacturing process. The conductive portions may be formed of stainless steel, steel, copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material or combination of materials. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material. The nonconductive portions may be formed using injection or other molding, 3-D printing, machining, or other manufacturing process. The nonconductive portions may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The printed circuit boards used may be formed of FR-4, BT or other material. Printed circuit boards may be replaced by other substrates, such as flexible circuit boards, in many embodiments of the present invention, while flexible circuit boards may be replaced by printed circuit boards in these and other embodiments of the present invention. 
         [0025]    Embodiments of the present invention may provide interconnect structures that may be located in and may connect to various types of devices, such as portable computing devices, tablet computers, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, wearable computing devices, cell phones, smart phones, media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, power supplies, adapters, remote control devices, chargers, and other devices. In various embodiments of the present invention, these interconnect paths provided by these interposers and pins may be used to convey power, ground, signals, test points, and other voltage, current, data, or other information. 
         [0026]    Various embodiments of the present invention may incorporate one or more of these and the other features described herein. A better understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be gained by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 3  illustrates top and bottom surfaces of an interposer according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 6  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0034]      FIG. 8  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment present invention; 
           [0035]      FIG. 9  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0036]      FIG. 10  illustrates a location of an interposer in a system-in-a-package module according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0037]      FIG. 11  illustrates a location of an interposer in a system-in-a-package module according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0038]      FIG. 12  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0039]      FIG. 13  illustrates a step and a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0040]      FIG. 14  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0041]      FIG. 15  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0042]      FIG. 16  illustrates a method of manufacturing a portion of electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0043]      FIG. 1  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure, as with the other included figures, is shown for illustrative purposes and does not limit either the possible embodiments of the present invention or the claims. This figure illustrates portion  100  of an electronic device including interposer  120  that may provide interconnect paths between first board  110  and second board  150 . 
         [0044]    First board  110  may include traces or other interconnect paths, represented here by traces  112  and  114 . First board  110  may be a printed circuit board, flexible circuit board, or other appropriate substrate. For example, first board  110  may be a multi-layer printed circuit board. Electronic devices, circuits, or components  130  and  132  may be mounted on a top surface of board  110 . Electronic devices, circuits, or components  130  and  132  may be surface mount components, though in this and the other examples they may be other types of devices, such as through-hole components. Devices, circuits, or components  130  and  132  may be active or passive components, integrated circuits, or other components or devices. Traces  112  and  114  may be electrically connected to devices, circuits, or components  130  and  132 . 
         [0045]    Interposer  120  may be attached to a top surface of board  110  at the same time as devices, circuits, or components  130  and  132 , or interposer  120  may be attached to a top surface of board  110  at a different time. In various embodiments of the present invention, interposer  120  may be arranged such that it may be handled as a surface mount device. For example, contacts  125  on a bottom surface  124  of interposer  120  may be formed as a ball grid array to facilitate the handling of interposer  120  as a surface mount device. Contacts  125  on bottom surface  124  of interposer  120  may electrically connect to traces on the first board, such as traces  112  and  114 . Interposer  120  may provide interconnect paths from first contacts  125  on bottom side  124  of the interposer  120  to second contacts  123  on a top side  125 . Interposer  120  may include one or more layers. The interposer may include interconnect paths that may be formed of contacts or traces along surfaces of the layers and the traces may be coupled together by vias between the layers. 
         [0046]    A molding or plastic encapsulation  124  may be formed around devices, circuits, or components  130  and  132  and a long one or more edges of interposer  120 , though in other embodiments of the present invention, such molding may be absent. A top surface of the encapsulation  140  may be approximately aligned with the top surface  122  of interposer  120 . 
         [0047]    A second board  150  may be attached to the top surface  122  of interposer  120 . Contacts  130  may be electrically connected to traces  152  and  154  on or in second board  150 . Second board  150  may be a flexible circuit board, printed circuit board, or other appropriate board or substrate. Second board  150  may provide an interconnect path to other circuits or components in or associated with the electronic device. 
         [0048]    Interposer  120  may provide a highly configurable interconnect structure. Specifically, contacts  125  and  122  and interconnect traces connecting them may be moved or changed using conventional printed circuit board manufacturing techniques. 
         [0049]    Interposer  120  may also provide a highly space efficient interconnect structure. For example, flexible circuit board  150  may otherwise be attached directly to a surface of board  110 . However, manufacturing tolerances may require a space between second board  150  and the encapsulation  140 . In this example, this space is shown as distance  172 . Given this distance, only length  170  of the first board  120  would remain for forming an attachment between second board  150  and first board  110 . This limited space may make such an attachment difficult, for example where a hot-bar soldering processes is used. 
         [0050]    Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may provide interposer  120  and may further allow second board  150  to at least be aligned with a vertical edge, or overlap at least a portion of encapsulation  140 . This provides a length  174  over which second board  150  may be attached to interposer  120 . With length  174 , a connection using a process such as a hot-bar process may be more readily completed. Again, in other embodiments of the present invention, other process steps, such as surface mount techniques, anisotropic conductive film, or other attachment methods or structures may be used. 
         [0051]    In this and other embodiments of the present invention, contacts  124  may be formed using a ball grid array or other techniques. These techniques may be well-suited to providing a high density of contacts. This high density may be difficult to replicate in connecting a top surface  122  of interposer  120  to a second board  150 . Accordingly, interposer  120  may be notched or stepped such that interposer  120  has a top surface  122  that is larger than a bottom surface  124 . An example is shown in the following figure. 
         [0052]      FIG. 2  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As before, first board  210  may include traces  212  and  214 . Traces  212  and  214  may electrically connect to devices, circuits, or components  230  and  232 , which may be surface mounted on a top side of first board  210 . 
         [0053]    Interposer  220  may have a bottom surface  224  attached to a top surface of first board  210 . Contacts  225  on a bottom surface  224  of interposer  220  may electrically connect to traces  212  and  214 . Interposer  220  may be formed of one or more layers. Interposer  220  may include conductive paths between contacts  225  on a bottom surface  224  to contacts  223  on a top surface  222 . These interconnect paths may include contacts or traces along one or more layers of interposer  220 . These contacts or traces may be interconnected by vertical vias between the layers. 
         [0054]    Devices, circuits, or components  230  and  232  may be encapsulated in a plastic molding  240  that may be defined along at least a portion of one edge by interposer  220 , though again molding  240  may be absent in various embodiments of the present invention. Interposer  220  may be stepped such that top surface  222  may be larger than bottom surface  224 . This step may provide a portion of encapsulation  240  having a lower height. Properly sized devices, circuits, or components, shown here as  230 , may be placed in this shallow or lower-height area in order to more fully utilize space on a board  210 . 
         [0055]    Contacts  223  at top surface  222  of interposer  220  may electrically connect to traces  252  and  254  in second board  250 . As before, first board  210  may be a printed circuit board, flexible circuit board, or other appropriate substrate, while second board  250  may be a flexible circuit board, printed circuit board, or other appropriate board. Second board  250  may be connected to other circuits or components in or associated with the electronic device. 
         [0056]    As before, this embodiment of the present invention may provide a larger area that may simplify an attachment of a second board  250  to interposer  220 . In this example, second board  250  may overlap at least a portion of encapsulation  240 , such that length  270  is available for a hot bar during a hot-bar attachment of second board  250  to interposer  220 . 
         [0057]      FIG. 3  illustrates top and bottom surfaces of an interposer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, top surface  222  may include contacts  223  while a bottom surface  224  may include contacts  225 . Again, contacts  223  on top surface  222  may be larger than contacts  225  on bottom surface  224 . Top surface  222  may include more contacts than bottom surface  224 . This may be useful where one ground contact on a bottom surface  224  may be connected to two or more ground contacts on the top surface  222 . This may improve shielding, reduce ground resistance, or be used other reasons. Contacts  223  and  225  may convey power, ground, data, test points, or other signals, voltages, currents, or other information. 
         [0058]    Embodiments of the present invention may be manufactured using various techniques. One such technique is outlined in the following figures. 
         [0059]      FIG. 4  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a first board  210  having interconnect traces  212  and  214  may be provided. Interconnect traces  212  and  214  may be representative of traces that may be on or in printed circuit board  210 . 
         [0060]      FIG. 5  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, devices, circuits, or components  230  and  232 , as well as interposer  220 , may be attached to a surface of first board  210 . Devices, circuits, or components  230  and  232  may be surface mount devices. Again, interposer  220  may also be, or may be treated as, a surface mount device. Again, devices, circuits, or components  230  and  232  may be electrically connected to interposer  220  through traces on a first board  210 . In this and the other examples herein, one or more devices, circuits, or components  230  and  232  and interposer  220  may be other types of device, such as through-hole devices. 
         [0061]      FIG. 6  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, plastic encapsulation  240  may be formed or molded around devices, circuits, or components  230  and  232 , and along at least an edge of interposer  220 . A top surface of molding  240  may be at least approximately aligned with a top surface of interposer  220 . Once the plastic encapsulation is complete, second board  250  may be attached as shown in  FIG. 2 . Again, in various embodiments of the present invention, molding  240  may be absent or optional. 
         [0062]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. A printed circuit board having interconnect traces may be formed in act  710 . In act  720 , surface mount devices including an interposer may be attached to a top surface of printed circuit board. A plastic overmold or encapsulation over the surface mount devices and along at least a side of the interposer may be formed in act  730 . In act  740 , a flexible circuit board may be attached to a top surface of the interposer. 
         [0063]    In the above example, interposer  220  may be notched or stepped such that plastic encapsulation  240  is also notched or stepped. In other embodiments of the present invention, the interposer may be notched or stepped such that it has a portion over the plastic encapsulation. An example is shown in the following figure. 
         [0064]      FIG. 8  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment present invention. In this example, devices, circuits, or components  830  and  832  may be mounted to a top surface of a first board  810 . Devices, circuits, or components  830  and  832  may be encapsulated in a plastic encapsulation  840 . An interposer  820  may be placed along an edge and over a top of the encapsulation  840 . Second board  850  may be attached to a top surface of interposer  820 . While interposer  820  is shown as overhanging molded portion  840 , in other embodiments of the present invention, interposer  820  may overhang other devices or circuits, such as a packaged integrated circuit. 
         [0065]    In still other embodiments of the present invention, a flexible circuit board or other interconnect structure may be formed as part of the interposer. An example is shown in the following figure. 
         [0066]      FIG. 9  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As before, devices, circuits, or components  930  and  932  may be attached to a top surface of first board  910  and covered in plastic encapsulation  940 . Intermediate layers of interposer  920  may be used to form flexible circuit board  950 . Flexible circuit board  950  may connect to other components and circuits in or associated with the electronic device. 
         [0067]    These interposers and other interconnect structures consistent with embodiments of the present invention may be located in different places on system-in-a-package modules. Examples are shown in the following figures. 
         [0068]      FIG. 10  illustrates a location of an interposer in a system-in-a-package module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Interposer  1020  may have a bottom surface  1040  and a top surface  1030 . Interposer  1020  may be located in a corner of system-in-a-package module  1010 . 
         [0069]      FIG. 11  illustrates a location of an interposer in a system-in-a-package module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Interposer  1120  may have a bottom surface  1140  and a top surface  1130 . Interposer  1120  may be located in a center of a system-in-a-package module  1110 . In still other embodiments of the present invention, these interposers may be located along an edge of a module, along two or more edges of a module, or they may be distributed in more than one location in a module. Also, while interposers may be located in these areas, other interconnect structures, such as the pins described below, may be placed in these or similar locations. 
         [0070]    In still other embodiments of the present invention, other interconnect structures may be used in place of an interposer. For example, one or more pins, which may be distributed throughout a system-in-a-package module or arranged as a group or array on the module, may be used as an interconnect structure. An example is shown in the following figures. 
         [0071]      FIG. 12  illustrates a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As before, devices, circuits, or components  1230  and  1232  may be attached to a top surface of a first board  1210 . Interconnect traces  1212  and  1214  may electrically connect devices, circuits, or components  1230  and  1232  to pins  1220 . Pins  1220  may provide electrical connections to traces in second board  1250 . A plastic housing or encapsulation  1240  may surround devices, circuits, or components  1230  and  1232  and pins  1220 . 
         [0072]    In this way, devices, circuits, or components  1230  and  1232  may electrically connect to traces in second board  1250  via interconnect traces  1212  and  1214  and pins  1220 . 
         [0073]    The above interconnect structure may be formed in various ways. One example is shown in the following figures. 
         [0074]      FIG. 13  illustrates a step and a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a first board  1210  having interconnect traces, illustrated here as interconnect traces  1212  and  1214 , may be provided. Interconnect traces  1212  and  1214  may be located in or on first board  1210 . First board  1210  may be a printed circuit board, flexible circuit board, or other appropriate substrate. 
         [0075]      FIG. 14  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, devices, circuits, or components  1230  and  1232  may be attached to a top surface of first board  1210 . One or more pins  1220  may also be attached. These pins may be attached in a group or they may be distributed throughout a surface of first board  1210 . 
         [0076]      FIG. 15  illustrates a step in a method of manufacturing a portion of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, plastic encapsulation  1240  is placed over devices, circuits, or components  1230  and  1232  and around pins  1220 . Top surfaces of pins  1220  may be exposed. This may require a top surface of plastic encapsulation  1240  to be etched, laptop or otherwise reduced or lowered. Once this is completed, circuit board  1250  may be attached as shown in  FIG. 12 . In various embodiments of the present invention, not all pins  1220  are connected to second board  1250 . For example, some pins  1220  may be provided at the surface of the molded plastic or encapsulation  1240  for test, programming, or diagnostic purposes. 
         [0077]      FIG. 16  illustrates a method of manufacturing a portion of electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In act  1610 , a printed circuit board having a number of interconnect traces may be formed. Surface mount devices including pins may be attached to a top surface of a printed circuit board in act  1620 . An overmold over the surface mount devices and around the pins may be formed in act  1630 . In act  1640 , the overmold may be etched, lapped, or otherwise reduced to expose the top of the pins. A flexible circuit board may be attached to the tops of the pins in act  1650 . 
         [0078]    It should be noted that while the interconnect structures such as the interposers and pins shown above, are well-suited to forming interconnect paths for system-in-a-package modules, in other embodiments of the present invention, other types of boards may be connected using these techniques. For example, other printed circuit boards that are not part of a system-in-a-package module may be electrically connected using these same or similar techniques and structures. 
         [0079]    In various embodiments of the present invention, contacts, interconnect paths, and other conductive portions of interposers and pins may be formed by stamping, metal-injection molding, machining, micro-machining, 3-D printing, or other manufacturing process. The conductive portions may be formed of stainless steel, steel, copper, copper titanium, phosphor bronze, or other material or combination of materials. They may be plated or coated with nickel, gold, or other material. The nonconductive portions may be formed using injection or other molding, 3-D printing, machining, or other manufacturing process. The nonconductive portions may be formed of silicon or silicone, rubber, hard rubber, plastic, nylon, liquid-crystal polymers (LCPs), or other nonconductive material or combination of materials. The printed circuit boards used may be formed of FR-4, BT or other material. Printed circuit boards may be replaced by other substrates, such as flexible circuit boards, in many embodiments of the present invention, while flexible circuit boards may be replaced by printed circuit boards in these and other embodiments of the present invention. 
         [0080]    Embodiments of the present invention may provide interconnect structures that may be located in and may connect to various types of devices, such as portable computing devices, tablet computers, desktop computers, laptops, all-in-one computers, wearable computing devices, cell phones, smart phones, media phones, storage devices, portable media players, navigation systems, monitors, power supplies, adapters, remote control devices, chargers, and other devices. In various embodiments of the present invention, these interconnect paths provided by these interposers and pins may be used to convey power, ground, signals, test points, and other voltage, current, data, or other information. 
         [0081]    The above description of embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form described, and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teaching above. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Thus, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.