Patent Abstract:
A method of forming a member for joining to form a composite wiring board. The member includes a dielectric substrate. Adhesive tape is applied to at least one face of said substrate. At least one opening is formed through the substrate extending from one face to the other and through each adhesive tape. An electrically conductive material is dispensed in each of the openings and partially cured. The adhesive tape is removed to allow a nub of the conductive material to extend above the substrate face to form a wiring structure with other elements.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/640,484, filed Aug. 13, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,969,436 B2, which is a division of application Ser. No. 10/285,162, filed Oct. 30, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,638,607 B1. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/834,281, filed Apr. 12, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,084 B1, and a division thereof, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/213,646, filed Aug. 6, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,607 

   BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates generally to a method and structure for producing a Z-axis interconnection of printed wiring board and chip carrier elements and, more particularly, to a method of providing a printed wiring board or chip carrier formed of a plurality of elements which are laminated together to form a printed wiring board or chip carrier having Z-axis interconnections. 
   2. Background of the Invention 
   Printed wiring boards and chip carriers are conventionally made up of a plurality of individual elements joined together to provide various levels of wiring on the surfaces of the elements and interconnections between the various wiring levels, such interconnection between the various levels often being referred to as Z-axis interconnections. In some conventional techniques for forming such interconnections in the Z-axis, a drilling operation is required after the various elements have been joined together. This requires precise alignment of all of the elements, as well as precise drilling of the final structure, which creates the possibility of misalignment, at least requiring either rework of the board or, at most, scrapping of the board after it reaches this late assembly stage. Moreover, the z-interconnection provides a more efficient utilization of space on the circuit board compared to conventional through hole drilling. Thus, it is desirable to provide elements for forming a printed wiring board or chip carrier and a technique for forming the elements in the printed wiring board or chip carrier which does not require drilling in the final stage but, rather, allows the individual elements to be formed with the components of the Z-axis connection which, when finally joined together, will provide the necessary connection between various layers of metal wiring. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to the present invention, a method of forming a member for a composite wiring board or chip carrier and a method of forming the composite wiring board or chip carrier, as well as the member of the composite wiring board or chip carrier, are provided. The member is formed by providing a dielectric substrate having opposite faces and optionally forming an electrically conductive coating on at least one face thereof, preferably by laminating copper on the at least one face. At least one electrical conductive coating, if provided, is circuitized, preferably at this stage, but later if desired. At least one layer of adhesive film or tape is applied over at least one face. At least one opening is formed through the substrate extending from one face to the other and through each conductive coating, if present, and through each layer of adhesive film or tape. Openings to form one or more blind vias may also be formed. An electrically conductive material is dispensed in each of the openings, including through the openings in the adhesive film or tape. The conductive material is then partially cured. Alternately, a solder paste could be deposited in the holes and then reflowed in an oven. Each layer of adhesive film or tape is then removed to allow a nub of the conductive material to extend above the substrate face, and any remaining conductive material, if any, to thereby form a member that can be electrically joined face-to-face with another member or other circuitized structure. In one embodiment, another member is then formed in a similar manner and the two members joined face-to-face to provide a printed wiring board with electrical interconnections in the Z-axis, i.e. between the circuit traces on opposite faces of the circuit board so formed. In another embodiment, the member is used to join with at least one other circuitized member. The invention also contemplates a member formed according to this invention and a printed wiring board formed using at least one member, either as a circuitized member or as a joining member. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIGS. 1-6  show a longitudinal, sectional view, somewhat diagrammatic, of the steps to form a core member according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show the steps of laminating two core members together to form a printed wiring board according to one embodiment of the invention; 
       FIGS. 9-13  show a longitudinal, sectional view, somewhat diagrammatic, of the steps to form a joining member according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 14 and 15  show the steps of laminating two core members together using a joining member formed according to this invention; 
       FIGS. 16-20  show longitudinal, sectional views, somewhat diagrammatic, of the steps to form a chip carrier using the blind via embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 21 and 22  show the steps of laminating three members together to form a chip carrier; 
       FIG. 23  shows diagrammatically the use of the chip carrier formed in  FIGS. 20 ,  21  and  22  to mount a chip and to mount the carrier to a substrate using, respectively, C4 and ball grid array technology; 
       FIGS. 24-27  show a longitudinal, sectional view, somewhat diagrammatic, of the steps to form a joining member with internal power planes; and 
       FIGS. 28 and 29  show the steps of laminating two core members together using the joining member formed according to  FIGS. 24-27 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring now to the drawings and, for the present, to  FIGS. 1-6 , the successive steps in forming a core member  10  for use in laminating to another core member to form a printed wiring board according to one embodiment of the invention are shown. As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the core member  10  includes a dielectric substrate  12  which has layers of metal coatings  14  and  16  on opposite faces thereof. Dielectric substrate  12  can be any conventional dielectric, such as FR4 (a glass reinforced epoxy), polyimide, polytetrafluroroethylene or other suitable well known dielectric. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , the metal coatings  14  and  16  preferably are copper and, typically, the layer is either one-half ounce copper (17.5 um), one ounce copper (35 um thick) or two ounce copper (70 um thick). However, other thicknesses of copper coatings can be used. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , preferably the copper layer  14  is patterned to form circuit traces  18  and the copper layer  16  is patterned to form circuit traces  20 . Any conventional patterning process, such as by using a photoresist, exposing, developing and etching the exposed areas and then stripping the photoresist can be used. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , a film in the form of adhesive tape  22  is applied over the circuit traces  18  and the same type of film is applied over the circuit traces  20 . A particularly useful adhesive tape is a polyimide having a silicone adhesive. This is available from Dielectric Polymers, Inc. of Holyoke, Mass. This tape must be compatible with the conductive material and processes associated with the formatting of the core, which will be described presently. Other types of film material may be used, such as plating tapes NT-580, 582, 583, 590 and 590-2 manufactured by Dielectric Polymers, Inc. The tape  22  and  24  should be of a thickness equal to the height that it is desired to have the conductive material extend above the circuit traces  18  and  20 . If a single layer of tape is not sufficient, multiple layers may be used. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a plurality of holes or openings, two of which are shown at  26 , are drilled through the entire composite, including the adhesive tape  22  and  24 , circuit traces  18  and  20  and the substrate  12 . These holes or openings  26  define the location of the conductive interconnect vias that will be formed. 
   Into the openings  26  is deposited an electrically conductive material  28 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The filling of these openings  26  can be done by screening, stenciling, flood coating, doctor blading, immersing or injecting. Various types of conductive material may be used. A preferred conductive polymer material is a conductive epoxy sold by National Starch and Chemical Company under the trademark “Ablebond 8175” (This was formerly sold by Ablestik Corporation): “Ablebond 8175” is a silver filled thermosetting epoxy. Following the filling of the holes  26 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , the epoxy is B-staged which entails heating the material to a temperature of about 130° C. until the degree of cure is advanced from about 20% to about 80% complete cure. As will become apparent later, the film material should not be fully cured at this stage since it will be used to adhere to another conductive epoxy in another core element. Alternatively, a solder paste of tin lead, tin lead silver, tin silver copper, tin silver copper antimony or tin bismuth, which are commercially available, can be used and heated to reflow. 
   After the conductive material  28  is partially cured, the adhesive tape  22  and  24  is removed to provide the structure shown in  FIG. 6 . As can be seen in  FIG. 6 , the partially cured conductive material  28  extends above the circuit traces  18  and  20  a distance equal to the thickness of the adhesive tape  22  and  24 . 
   If the copper layers  14  and  16  have not been previously patterned, that can be done at this point. However, in general, it is preferred that the patterning to form the circuit traces  18  and  20  be done, as shown in  FIG. 2 , at that stage in the process so that the conductive material  28  is not subjected to the harsh chemical processes normally encountered in patterning material. 
   As can be seen in  FIG. 7 , two core elements  10   a  and  10   b  are provided which are to be laminated together. It will be noted that the two core elements  10   a  and  10   b  are very similar except that the circuit traces on each of them is slightly different. (In describing the embodiments of  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the letter suffixes a and b are used to denote similar structures in each core element.) As seen in  FIG. 7 , a pre-drilled adhesive bonding film  30 , such as the film sold under the trademark Pyralux LF by Pyralux Corporation, is interposed between the two cores  10   a  and  10   b . The film  30  has openings  32  drilled therein which are positioned to align with the conductive fill material  24   a ,  24   b  in the two core elements  10   a  and  10   b . Heat and pressure are applied to cause the two core members to bond together, with the Pyralux LF film acting as an adhesive bond material. Also, the fill material  28   a  and  28   b  in each of the openings in the two core members  10   a  and  10   b  will bond together, as shown in  FIG. 8 , to form a continuous Z-axis electrical connection between the circuit traces  18   a ,  18   b ,  20   a  and  20   b  on the core element  10   a  and  10   b . Also, the material of the substrate  30  will fill around the circuit traces  18   b  and  20   a . The lamination process also advances the cure of the conductive fill material  28   a  and  28   b  past 80% to the fully cured stage. A specially formulated dicing tape can be used as adhesive tape  22 . An example of suitable dicing tape is Adwill D-series tape provided by Lintec Corporation. These tapes are comprised of a base material, such as PVC (poly vinyl chloride), or PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or PO (polyolefin) with an adhesive film that provides strong temporary adhesion. Alternately, the adhesive could be provided on other base material, such as polyimide. The adhesive layer provided on the base layer is formulated so that it provides strong initial adhesion but, upon exposure to UV (ultraviolet) radiation, its adhesion is diminished and it can be peeled and released without causing damage or leaving residue on the copper traces  18  or the dielectric layer  12 . In such case, the backing must be transparent to UV radiation. Also, it is to be understood that the tape  22 ,  24  does not need to be a dielectric. For example, a metal foil with an adhesive on one side could be used. This also constitutes a “tape”. (Alternatively, the film material  30  could be a dry film epoxy adhesive which is B-staged, or other film type adhesive dielectric layers and used to laminate the core elements  10   a  and  10   b  together.) 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 9-13 , another embodiment of the present invention is shown which is useful in forming a joining member. A substrate  10  is provided which is preferably an adhesive dielectric material. For example, this could be an adhesive coated film (such as duPont Pyralux LF, which is a modified acrylic adhesive on a polyimide film) or a B-staged thermoset adhesive (such as IBM Dri-clad glass reinforced high glass transition dielectric material), or other film type adhesive dielectric layers, including materials such as Rogers 2800 Silica filled polytetrafluoroethylene. 
   A plurality of holes, one of which is shown at  26 , is either mechanically or laser drilled through the substrate  12  and through both of the tapes  22  and  24 , as shown in  FIG. 11 . A conductive material  28  of the same type as described with respect to  FIGS. 1-6  is deposited in the hole  26  by the same techniques as previously described with respect to  FIGS. 1-6 . After the conductive material  28  is remelted or cured, as previously described, the adhesive tapes  22  and  24  are removed to provide a joining member, as shown in  FIG. 13 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , a joining member formed according to  FIGS. 9-13  is used to join two printed wiring boards  34 . The dielectric substrate  12  is adhesive acting as a bonding member. Typically, the printed wiring boards will have a dielectric substrate  36  with a plurality of internal conductive planes, one of which is shown at  38 , and plated through holes  40 . However, this is just illustrative as the joining member can be used to join many different types of printed wiring boards, the boards shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15  being merely illustrative. 
     FIGS. 16-20  show an embodiment of the invention which provides members that can be laminated to form a chip carrier. In this embodiment, member  10  is shown in  FIG. 16  which includes a dielectric substrate  12  having a conductive metal coating  16  thereon. The substrate  12  is preferably an adhesive of the type described with respect to  FIGS. 9-13 . The conductive metal coating  16  shown in  FIG. 16  is patterned to form either a chip pad or interconnect  20 , as shown in  FIG. 17 . Also, an adhesive tape  22  is applied to the opposite side of the substrate  12  from which the patterned metal  20  is adhered. 
   As shown in  FIG. 18 , holes, one of which is shown at  26 , are drilled through both the tape  22  and the substrate  12  terminating at the patterned metal  20 . This hole  26  is then filled with conductive material  28  of the type previously described, as shown in  FIG. 19 , and then the conductive material is heated, as previously described, and the tape  22  is removed to provide the structure shown in  FIG. 20 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 21 and 22 , several of these members  10   a ,  10   b  and  10   c  are laminated together to form a chip carrier with the substrates of  10   a ,  10   b  and  10   c  filling around the circuit traces on  10   a  and  10   b . A coating of copper  42  is laminated on top of the member  10   a , as shown in  FIG. 22 . This copper layer  42  is then patterned to form a pad  44  which can serve as a mounting pad for chip  46  mounted thereto by a C- 4  joint  48 . The pad  20  on the bottom of member  10   c  can be used to join the chip carrier to a circuit board (not shown) using solder ball technology, one of which is shown at  50 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 24-27 , an embodiment is shown for forming a joining member with internal conductive planes. In this embodiment, member  52  includes a dielectric substrate  54  having a metal plane  56  embedded therein which can be a power or ground plane. The substrate  54  again preferably is adhesive, such as shown and described in  FIGS. 9-13 . Adhesive tape  22  and  24  is applied to opposite sides of the substrate  54  and again a plurality of holes, one of which is shown at  26 , are drilled through both of the tapes  22  and  24  and the substrate  54  and opening  58  in plane  56 . As in the previous embodiments, a conductive material  28  is deposited in the hole  26  and cured or otherwise heated, as shown in  FIG. 26 . The tape is then removed to provide the structure shown in  FIG. 27 . This joining structure can be used to join two printed wiring boards  34 , as shown in  FIGS. 28 and 29 . 
   While the invention has been described in conjunction with embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing teachings. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8