Patent Abstract:
A design structure to provide a package for a semiconductor chip that minimizes the stresses and strains that arise from differential thermal expansion in chip to substrate or chip to card interconnections. An improved set of design structure vias above the final copper metallization level that mitigate shocks during semiconductor assembly and testing. Other embodiments include design structures having varying micro-mechanical support structures that further minimize stress and strain in the semiconductor package.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to design structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to the design structure for microelectronic packaging of semiconductor chips and, more specifically, to the process of manufacturing IC flip chip assemblies designed to reduce the structural damage to C4 interconnections due to thermal stress and the CTE mismatch of the chip and the packaging material. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Advances in microelectronics technology tend to develop chips that occupy less physical space while performing more electronic functions. Conventionally, each chip is packaged for use in housings that protect the chip from its environment and provide input/output communication between the chip and external circuitry through sockets or solder connections to a circuit board or the like. Miniaturization results in generating more heat in less physical space, with less structure for transferring heat from the package. 
     The heat of concern is derived from wiring resistance and active components switching. The temperature of the chip and substrate rises each time the device is turned on and falls each time the device is turned off. As the chip and the substrate ordinarily are formed from different materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE), the chip and substrate tend to expand and contract by different amounts, a phenomenon known as CTE mismatch. This causes the electrical contacts on the chip to move relative to the electrical contact pads on the substrate as the temperature of the chip and substrate changes. This relative movement deforms the electrical interconnections between the chip and printed wiring board (PWB) and places them under mechanical stress. These stresses are applied repeatedly with repeated operation of the device, and can cause fatigue of the electrical interconnections. This is especially true for the solder ball of the controlled collapse chip connection, also known as “C4”, connections. It is therefore important to mitigate the substantial stress caused by thermal cycling as temperatures within the device change during operation. 
     CTE mismatch is indeed a concern. However, a second primary source of thermal cycling concerns the stresses encountered in the assembly of the chip to the packaging substrate. During this process, the solder ball must be heated and softened by reflow so that it can join the chip to the solder pad on the substrate. During cool-down of the chip-join process, considerable vertical tensile and shear stresses are translated through the solder ball to the underlying chip-level wiring. These stresses can cause the physical breakage of dielectric and wiring levels. These stresses can be a greater threat to proper chip functioning than the stresses discussed the paragraph above. 
     One type of semiconductor chip package includes one or more semiconductor chips mounted on a circuitized surface of a substrate (e.g., a ceramic substrate or a plastic composite substrate). Such a semiconductor chip package is usually intended for mounting on a printed circuit card or board. In the case of a ball grid array (BGA) package, the chip carrier includes a second circuitized surface opposite the surface to which the chip is attached. This, in turn, is connected to the printed circuit card or board. Chip carriers of this type provide a relatively high density of chip connections and are readily achieved by mounting one or more semiconductor chips on the circuitized surface of a chip carrier substrate in the so-called “flip chip” configuration. 
     Another type of attachment is called direct chip attach (DCA). For direct chip attach, individual IC chips are mounted on the cards or boards. The space between the mounted chip and the card or board is then filled with an epoxy resin. By this expedient, the standoff between the IC chip and the card or board is encapsulated with epoxy. 
     However, one problem encountered with the combination of DCA and C4 bonding is the difficulty of reworking the encapsulated package. In order to improve rework and to accommodate the CTE mismatches between the chip and the PWB, many prior art proposals have been developed to connect integrated circuit chips to printed wiring boards via an intermediate element. Often, chip carriers are interposed between the chip and the circuit board; the CTE of the chip carrier is itself chosen as some intermediate value to provide a reasonable match to both the chip and to the printed circuit board. The very large difference in CTE between the silicon device and the printed circuit board generally requires some intermediate device carrier to reduce localized delamination or white bumps. One such type of interconnection mounts the integrated circuit chip on a ceramic chip carrier or module, which module is mounted on a circuit board. One or more chips may be mounted on each device carrier or module, and one or more modules may be mounted on any given circuit board. In a particularly well known type of configuration, the integrated circuit chip is mounted onto a ceramic module by flip chip bonding wherein the I/O pads on the face of the chip are bonded to corresponding pads on the module. Such connections are formed by solder bumps or solder balls normally using solder reflow techniques. It is these connections that are referred to as C4 connections. 
       FIG. 1  is a top view of a prior art metal pad  100  for a solder bump interconnection. The metal pad  100  has final passivation opening  102  of 47 um and via in hard dielectric passivation connection  101  of 64 um. 
       FIG. 3  is a side perspective view of the prior art of  FIG. 1 . Metal pad  300  has a solder bump  301  according to C4 technology. The solder bump  301  is lead free and preferably a SnAg Pb-free solder. Below the solder bump  301  is a ball limiting metallurgy  302 . Below the ball limiting metallurgy  302  is final passivation opening/layer  303  of approximately 47 um containing photosensitive polyimide which is over aluminum pad level  304 . Below the aluminum pad  304  is the via and electrical connection opening  305  of approximately 64 um. Below the TV opening  305  is the last copper wiring level  306 . The via  307  lies directly below the last metallization level  306 . Finally, copper pads/wires level  308  is provided to make circuitry connections. For purposes of comparison, the relative stress level in the oxide under the last metallization level  306  in dashed boxes  309 ,  309 ′ and  309 ″ for this configuration is 1 where values greater than 1 have higher stress and values below 1 have lower stress. The areas  309 ,  309 ′ and  309 ″ represent high stress areas under the photosensitive polyimide edge in the prior art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a general aspect of an embodiment of the present invention to provide novel and useful semiconductor devices wherein the foregoing problems are mitigated. 
     It is another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a design structure for a semiconductor chip with on-chip vias to mitigate differences in CTE. 
     It is yet another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a design structure for an improved ball limiting metallurgy to mitigate stresses experienced during semiconductor packaging and testing. 
     It is a further aspect of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a design structure for an improved via system to further mitigate stresses in semiconductor chip packages. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings (not drawn to scale) when considered in conjunction with the subsequent detailed description, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of the prior art. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of a first embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow diagram of the design process used in semiconductor design, manufacture and/or test. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of first embodiment of the metal pad  200  for a solder bump interconnection. The metal pad  200  has a final passivation opening  202  of 47 um and via in hard dielectric passivation opening  201  of 30 um. This embodiment is not limited to the specific dimensions recited here above. Those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . Metal pad  400  has a solder bump  401  according to C4 technology. The solder bump  401  is lead free and preferably a SnAg Pb-free solder. Below the solder bump  401  is a ball limiting metallurgy  402 . The ball limiting metallurgy  402  may be composed of any metallurgy known effective in the art. Preferably, the ball limiting metallurgy  402  is copper/nickel metallurgy. Below the ball limiting metallurgy  402  is final passivation opening/layer  403  of approximately 47 um containing photosensitive polyimide which is over thickened aluminum pad level  404 . The thickened aluminum pad preferably 4 um tall. Below the thickened aluminum pad  404  is the via in hard dielectric passivation  405  of approximately 30 um. This embodiment allows for the via in hard dielectric passivation opening  405  to be well contained within the final passivation  403 . The final passivation  403  via edge is supported by thickened aluminum pad  404  which is on the via in hard dielectric passivation connection opening  405  which is on the last metallization pad  406 . Below the via in hard dielectric passivation level opening  405  is the last copper wiring level  406 . Via  407  represents a via of reduced stress and strain of the present invention. The via  407  lies directly below the last metallization level  406 . Finally, copper pads/wires level  408  is provided to make circuitry connections. Finite element modeling indicates that the worst case relative stress level for this embodiment is on the order of ⅓ that of the prior art structure of  FIG. 3 . The dashed box areas  409 ,  409 ′ and  409 ″ are the new reduced stress areas now protected by the thickened aluminum pad  404 . This embodiment is not limited to the specific dimensions and/or materials recited here above. Those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention. The metal pad  500  has solder bump  501  above BLM  502 . BLM  502  is supported by both photosensitive polyimide  503  and aluminum pad  504 . The aluminum pad  504  is also supported by photosensitive polyimide  503 . The via in hard dielectric passivation level  505  has an oxide/nitride composition and supports the photosensitive polyimide  503 . Circuitry connections  506  are installed below the via in hard dielectric passivation level  505 . Copper pad/wire connections  507  are adjacent the circuitry connections  506 . Finally, the last metallization  508  is installed below aluminum pad  504 . The dashed box areas  509  and  509 ′ are the reduced stress areas now protected by thickened aluminum pad  504  and the via in hard dielectric passivation level  505 . This embodiment is not limited to the specific dimensions and/or materials recited here above. Those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention. The metal pad  600  has solder bump  601  above ball limiting metallurgy  602 . Ball limiting metallurgy  602  is supported by both photosensitive polyimide level  603  and aluminum pad  604 . The aluminum pad  604  is also supported by photosensitive polyimide level #  2   605 . Wiring connection  606  has an oxide composition and supports the aluminum pad  604 . Wiring connections  607  are installed below wiring connection  606 . Copper pad/wire connections  608  are adjacent the wiring connection  607 . Finally, the last metallization copper level  609  is installed below aluminum pad  604 . Dashed box areas  610  and  610 ′ represent reduced stress areas protected by photosensitive polyimide levels # 1  and  2  at  605 . This embodiment is not limited to the specific dimensions and/or materials recited here above. Those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  shows a block diagram of an exemplary design flow  700  used for example, in semiconductor design, manufacturing, and/or test. Design flow  700  may vary depending on the type of IC being designed. For example, a design flow  700  for building an application specific IC (ASIC) may differ from a design flow  700  for designing a standard component. Design structure  720  is preferably an input to a design process  710  and may come from an IP provider, a core developer, or other design company or may be generated by the operator of the design flow, or from other sources. Design structure  720  comprises an embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4 - 6  in the form of schematics or HDL, a hardware-description language (e.g., Verilog, VHDL, C, etc.). Design structure  720  may be contained on one or more machine readable medium. For example, design structure  720  may be a text file or a graphical representation of an embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4 - 6 . Design process  710  preferably synthesizes (or translates) an embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4 - 6  into a netlist  780 , where netlist  780  is, for example, a list of wires, transistors, logic gates, control circuits, I/O, models, etc. that describes the connections to other elements and circuits in an integrated circuit design and recorded on at least one of machine readable medium. This may be an iterative process in which netlist  780  is resynthesized one or more times depending on design specifications and parameters for the circuit. 
     Design process  710  may include using a variety of inputs; for example, inputs from library elements  730  which may house a set of commonly used elements, circuits, and devices, including models, layouts, and symbolic representations, for a given manufacturing technology (e.g., different technology nodes, 32 nm, 45 nm, 90 nm, etc.), design specifications  740 , characterization data  750 , verification data  760 , design rules  770 , and test data files  785  (which may include test patterns and other testing information). Design process  710  may further include, for example, standard circuit design processes such as timing analysis, verification, design rule checking, place and route operations, etc. One of ordinary skill in the art of integrated circuit design can appreciate the extent of possible electronic design automation tools and applications used in design process  710  without deviating from the scope and spirit of the invention. The design structure of the invention is not limited to any specific design flow. 
     Design process  710  preferably translates an embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4 - 6 , along with any additional integrated circuit design or data (if applicable), into a second design structure  790 . Design structure  790  resides on a storage medium in a data format used for the exchange of layout data of integrated circuits and/or symbolic data format (e.g. information stored in a GDSII (GDS2), GLI, OASIS, map files, or any other suitable format for storing such design structures). Design structure  790  may comprise information such as, for example, symbolic data, map files, test data files, design content files, manufacturing data, layout parameters, wires, levels of metal, vias, shapes, data for routing through the manufacturing line, and any other data required by a semiconductor manufacturer to produce an embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4 - 6 . Design structure  790  may then proceed to a stage  795  where, for example, design structure  790 : proceeds to tape-out, is released to manufacturing, is released to a mask house, is sent to another design house, is sent back to the customer, etc. 
     The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7