Patent Abstract:
An apparatus and a method for packaging semiconductor devices. The apparatus includes a substrate strip component of a leadless three-dimensional stackable semiconductor package having mounting contacts on, for example, four peripheral edges. The substrate strip may either be fabricated for mounting a single electrical component (e.g., an integrated circuit die) or a plurality of substrate strips may be laid out in an X-Y matrix pattern which may later be singulated into individual package strip for leadless packages. Three-dimensional stacking is achieved by a bonding area on an uppermost portion of the sidewall. The sidewall of the strip is high enough to enclose an encapsulant covering a later mounted integrated circuit die and associated bonding wires.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The invention relates to a three-dimensional stackable semiconductor package, and more particularly, to a three-dimensional stackable semiconductor package for package types involving no-lead packages. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    As semiconductor integrated circuit chips become more multi-functional and highly integrated, the chips include more bonding pads (or terminal pads), and thus packages for the chips have more external terminals (or leads). When a conventional plastic package having leads along the perimeter of the package must accommodate a large number of electrical connection points, the footprint of the package increases. However, a goal in many electronic systems is to minimize an overall size of the systems. Thus, to accommodate a large number of pins without increasing the footprint of package, pin pitch (or lead pitch) of the package must decrease. However, a pin pitch of less that about 0.4 mm gives rise to many technical concerns. For example, trimming of a package having a pin pitch less than 0.4 mm requires expensive trimming tools, and the leads are prone to bending during handling of the package. In addition, surface-mounting of such packages demands a costly and complicated surface-mounting process due to a required critical alignment step. 
         [0003]    Thus, to avoid technical problems associated with conventional fine-pitch packages, packages that have area array or leadless external terminals have been suggested. Among these packages are ball grid array packages, chip scale packages, Quad Flat-Pack No-Lead (QFN) packages, and Dual Flat-Pack No-Lead (DFN) packages. The semiconductor industry presently uses a number of chip scale packages. A micro ball grid array package (μBGA) and a bump chip carrier (BCC) are examples of the chip scale packages. The μBGA package includes a polyimide tape on which a conductive pattern is formed and employs a totally different manufacturing process from a conventional plastic packaging. The bump chip carrier package includes a substrate having grooves formed around a central portion of a top surface of a copper alloy plate and an electroplating layer formed in the groves. Accordingly, chip scale packages use specialized packaging materials and processes that increase package manufacturing costs. 
         [0004]      FIG. 1A  is a typical plastic encapsulated package  100  of the prior art (showing top  100 A, bottom  100 B, and side views  100 C of the package). Specifically, the encapsulated package  100  is a QFN package. The QFN package  100  is a leadless package where electrical contact to a printed circuit board (PCB) is made by soldering lands on the bottom  100 B surface of the package  100  to the PCB, instead of more traditional formed perimeter leads being soldered to the PCB. 
         [0005]      FIG. 1B  is a cross-sectional view of the prior art QFN package  100  in use and includes a copper land  101 , a plurality of solder plating areas  103 , a plurality of gold lead wires  105 , and a down bond area  107 . The copper land  101  frequently has a plating material  115  applied, such as silver, to facilitate gold or aluminum wire bonding (not shown). An integrated circuit die  109  is attached to the QFN package  100  with a suitable die attach material  113 , such as a thermal epoxy. A mold compound  111  or other covering material is applied to finalize the QFN package  100 . 
         [0006]    Therefore, an integrated circuit package such as a QFN or DFN that uses conventional packaging materials and processes can only be accessed for electrical interconnection, for example, to a printed circuit board, by lower portions of the copper leadframe  101 /plating area  103  ( FIG. 1B ) which are found only on the bottom surface of the package. Consequently, what is needed to provide for a higher density of integrated circuit packaging into a given printed circuit board footprint is a means of allowing the integrated circuit packages to be readily stacked, one atop another, or even side-by-side. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In one exemplary embodiment, the present invention is a substrate strip component of a leadless three-dimensional stackable semiconductor package having mounting contracts on, for example, top, bottom, and sides of four peripheral edges. The substrate strip may either be fabricated for mounting a single electrical component (e.g., an integrated circuit die) or a plurality of substrate strips may be laid out in an X-Y matrix pattern. The matrix of strips may later be singulated into individual package strips for leadless packages. 
         [0008]    Each of the substrate strips includes a leadless outer portion having a plurality of sections electrically isolated from each other. Each of the sections has a flat wire bonding area and a sidewall area that is essentially perpendicular to the flat wire bonding area. The sidewall area is concentrically located on an outermost periphery of the outer portion. 
         [0009]    Each substrate strip also includes an inner portion located concentrically within and electrically isolated from the outer portion. The inner portion is thinner than the sidewall area of the outer portion and is designed to serve as an attachment area for an integrated circuit die or other electrical component. A combined thickness of the inner portion and the integrated circuit die (or component) is less than a height of the sidewall area. This mounting arrangement leaves an uppermost portion of the sidewall areas electrically exposed for mounting additional leadless packages or other components on top of the first package. 
         [0010]    In another exemplary embodiment, a substrate strip component of a leadless three-dimensional stackable semiconductor package has mounting contacts on, for example, top, bottom, and sides of two opposing (e.g., parallel) edges. The substrate strip may either be fabricated for mounting a single electrical component (e.g., an integrated circuit die) or a plurality of substrate strips may be laid out in an X-Y matrix pattern. The matrix of strips may later be singulated into individual package strip for leadless packages. 
         [0011]    In this embodiment, the substrate strip has a pair of parallel leadless outer portions. Each leadless outer portion has a plurality of sections electrically isolated from each other. Each section also has a flat wire bonding area and a sidewall area essentially perpendicular to the flat wire bonding area, the sidewall area being located on an outermost edge of each of the outer portions. 
         [0012]    An inner portion is located between and electrically isolated from the pair of outer portions. The inner portion is thinner than the sidewall area of the parallel outer portions and is designed to serve as an attachment area for an integrated circuit die or other electrical component. A combined thickness of the inner portion and the integrated circuit die (or component) is less than a height of the sidewall area. This mounting arrangement leaves an uppermost portion of the sidewall areas electrically exposed for mounting additional leadless packages or other components on top of the first package. 
         [0013]    In another exemplary embodiment, the present invention is a method of packaging a semiconductor device. The method includes mounting an electrical component to an inner portion die pad where the die pad is a portion of a substrate strip component of a first leadless three-dimensional stackable semiconductor package. A plurality of bond wires is secured from a plurality of bond pads on the electrical component to corresponding ones of a plurality of wirebond pads contained on a leadless outer portion of the substrate strip component. The outer portion has a sidewall that has a height greater than a combined height of the electrical component and the inner portion die pad. 
         [0014]    The electrical component, bond wires, and any exposed portions of the die pad are then covered with an encapsulating material to a level at or near the uppermost portion of the sidewalls on the leadless outer portion. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  show a QFN chip carrier package of the prior art. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 2A-2F  show exemplary cross-sections or plan views of stackable integrated circuit die and discrete component carriers in accord with the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  show singulated packages in single and stacked configurations. 
           [0018]      FIGS. 4A-4D  show various cross-sectional embodiments allowing for differing arrangements of layouts for singulation. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  shows completed exterior views of specific embodiments of QFN and DFN packages in accord with general embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  show singulated packages stacked with separate integrated circuit dice and discrete components. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    In  FIG. 2A , a substrate strip  201 A is selected to have a thickness close to a final “height” of a completed package. The height chosen for the substrate strip  201 A will be based on particular components placed in the final package but will typically vary from 0.2 mm to 2 mm. Additional details to determine an actual height for a given package will be discussed in greater detail, infra. 
         [0022]    Processes described herein refer to exemplary embodiments where many packages are formed in an X-Y matrix, although a single package could readily be formed by the same process as well. The X-Y matrix size for the substrate strip  201 A may be chosen to suit a particular vendor&#39;s tooling. In a specific exemplary embodiment, the X-Y dimensions of the substrate may be 205 mm×60 mm and the construction material is selected to be copper. In other exemplary embodiments, the substrate  201 A may be another type of metallic or non-metallic material. The material may be either electrically conductive or electrically non-conductive. Additionally, non-rectangular matrix shapes are contemplated. 
         [0023]    In  FIG. 2B , the substrate strip  201 A is pattern-etched, leaving an etched substrate strip  201 B. During the pattern-etching process, a bottom thickness of the substrate strip  201 A is reduced while leaving essentially full height sidewalls  203 . Pattern forming and pattern-etching steps are known in the art and will vary depending upon material chosen. Areas between the sidewalls  203  are reduced thickness areas. Portions of these areas will serve as a die pad mounting area in subsequent steps. Thus, the sidewalls  203  are areas substantially perpendicular to the reduced thickness areas. A height of the sidewalls is selected to be sufficient such that any mounted integrated circuit and bonding leads contained within the package will be at or below an uppermost portion of the sidewalls  203 . Other portions of the bottom thickness will later serve as bond fingers. In a specific exemplary embodiment, bottom portions of the etched substrate strip  201 B are reduced to about 0.12 mm (approximately 5 mils) in height. 
         [0024]    With reference to  FIG. 2C , the etched substrate strip  201 B is further pattern-etched forming a leadframe substrate strip  201 C. The leadframe substrate strip  201 C includes die attach pads  205  and the sidewalls  203  are further etched defining separate bond finger features as seen in plan-view  207 . The plan-view  207  shows a portion of the exemplary 205 mm×60 mm substrate. As viewed jointly in cross-sectional and plan-view, the bond fingers have integral sidewalls  203  which remain substantially the full height of the leadframe substrate strip  201 C. The die attach pads  205  are electrically isolated from the bond finger/integral sidewalls  203  due to the pattern-etch step. In a specific exemplary embodiment, exposed areas of the leadframe substrate strip  201 C are either fully-plated or spot-plated with, for example, silver. In other exemplary embodiments, the leadframe substrate strip  201 C is fully plated with a wire-bondable metal and solderable metal layers. For example, the leadframe substrate strip  201 C may be a leadframe with a nickel-palladium-gold (Ni—PD—Au) plating. A high-temperature polyamide tape may be used to secure all package portions in position. 
         [0025]    In  FIG. 2D , an etched leadframe substrate strip  201 D is populated by adhering (e.g., via a standard thermal epoxy or adhesive tape) individual integrated circuit dice  209  to the die attach pads  205 . Various adhering techniques and processes are known in the industry. Bonding wires  211  are then attached to electrically connect to portions of the etched leadframe substrate strip  201 D. 
         [0026]    With reference to  FIG. 2E , a populated leadframe strip  201 E is then encapsulated with an epoxy mold compound  213 . Encapsulation techniques are well-known in the art. After encapsulation, exposed portions of the populated leadframe strip  201 E are then plated with, for example, tin (Sn), a tin-alloy, Ni/Au or other plating materials possessing characteristics of being electrically-conductive and solderable. The plating allows for good electrical connections when the final package is mounted to a PCB or another die package. If the leadframe substrate strip is pre-plated, this final plating step is unnecessary. 
         [0027]    In  FIG. 2F , the populated leadframe strip  201 E is then singulated by standard techniques such as sawing or laser-cutting along a plurality of saw-lines  215 . After the singulation process, a plurality of QFN-type packages are produced. Each of the sidewalls  203 , which are a full-height integral part of the formed bond finger features ( FIG. 2C ) carry an electrical signal from a lower portion of the package to an upper portion of the package. Thus, all electrical signals are available on both upper and lower portions of the final package so three-dimensional stacking of packages is possible. 
         [0028]    Alternatively, a skilled artisan can readily envision modifications to the above-described processes wherein DFN-type packages are produced. DFN-type packages have external connection points on two parallel opposing edges of the package rather than on all four edges as with the QFN-type package. 
         [0029]    With reference to  FIG. 3A , a singulated DFN-type or QFN-type package  300  is shown in cross-section. (Note that either the QFN-type or DFN-type package appears similar to the other in cross-section). The singulated DFN-type or QFN-type package  300  can be used as a single package and mounted to a PCB or other structure directly. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 3B , three singulated DFN-type or QFN-type packages  300  are stacked in a three-dimensional structure  350 . Each of the singulated packages  300  is electrically connected to the other by, for example, solder joints  301 . 
         [0030]      FIGS. 4A through 4D  indicate alternative embodiments for the substrate strip explained in detail with reference to  FIGS. 2A through 2F , supra. A singulation saw  401  (or laser or other singulation method) placement provides an indication of some various arrangements of sidewalls. For comparison purposes, a common sidewall approach of  FIG. 4A  is the same solid common wall approach described with reference to  FIGS. 2A through 2F , supra. 
         [0031]      FIG. 4B  is an alternate configuration for a sidewall design. A “gap” located between the two singulation saws  401  was formed during the leadframe substrate strip etching process ( FIG. 2C ). Leaving the gap results in less metal sidewall for the singulation saw  401 , thus decreasing sawing time while reducing blade wear. 
         [0032]      FIG. 4C  indicates a wall arrangement where a gap has been left on the underside of the sidewall. Such an arrangement may be achieved by, for example, two-sided etching. Alternatively, the underside gap may be formed by mechanical means such as punching or stamping. 
         [0033]    A dual sidewall arrangement of  FIG. 4D  is formed similarly to the formation method described with reference to  FIG. 4C . 
         [0034]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , various views of completed QFN-type (on the left,  501 ,  503 ,  505 ) and DFN-type (on the right,  551 ,  553 ,  555 ) packages fabricated in accord with exemplary embodiments of the present invention described herein are shown. Top views  501 ,  551 , side views  503 ,  553 , and bottom views  505 ,  555  are given to visualize completed packages with reference to QFN-type and DFN-type packages respectively. As noted particularly with regard to the bottom views  505 ,  555 , a thermal enhancement of each of the package types is achieved by having a bottom portion of the die attach paddle exposed. The die attach paddle thus arranged provides an efficient conductive thermal path when soldered directly to a PCB. Alternatively, thermal conduction can be achieved through, for example, a thermally-conductive epoxy as well. This thermal enhancement can additionally provide a stable ground by use of down bonds or by electrical connection through a conductive die attach material. 
         [0035]    In an alternative three-dimensional stacking arrangement of  FIG. 6A , an integrated circuit die  601  is attached directly over a sigulated package  300  ( FIG. 3A ). The integrated circuit die  601  is electrically attached to the singulated package by a plurality of bonding wires  603 . An optional encapsulant  605  may be added over the integrated circuit die  601  and the plurality of bonding wires  603 . The encapsulant  605  may be applied by molding or dispensing techniques, both of which are known in the art. In a specific exemplary embodiment, the encapsulant  605  may be translucent such that any optical properties of the integrated circuit die  601  may be accessed through the translucent encapsulant  605  (e.g., an LED, optical laser, or EPROM). 
         [0036]    In another alternative stacking arrangement of  FIG. 6B , an integrated circuit die or discrete component  607  may be pre-mounted on a circuit substrate (e.g., a small daughterboard). Additionally, one or more optional discrete components  611  may be mounted to the circuitry substrate  609 . The integrated circuit die or discrete component  607  and the one or more optional discrete components  611  are electrically connected to the circuitry substrate  609  by a plurality of substrate bonding wires  613  or direct electrical connections (not shown) to the circuitry substrate  609 . The circuitry substrate  609 , in turn, is electrically connected to the singulated package by a plurality of package bonding wires  615 . An optional encapsulant  617  may be added over the integrated circuit die or discrete component  607 , the one or more optional discrete components  611 , the circuitry substrate  609 , and the plurality of bonding wire  613 ,  615 . The encapsulant  617  may be applied by molding or dispensing techniques, both of which are know in the art. In a specific exemplary embodiment, the encapsulant  617  may be translucent such that any optical properties of the integrated circuit die or discrete components  607 ,  611  may be accessed through the translucent encapsulant  617  (e.g., and LED, optical laser, or EPROM). 
         [0037]    In the foregoing specification, the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident to a skilled artisan that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. For example, skilled artisans will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention may be readily applied to modified versions of TAPP® (thin array plastic package), ULGA® (ultra-thin land grid array), BCC® (bumped chip carrier), or other similar package types. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7