Patent Abstract:
A no-flow underfill material and process suitable for underfilling a bumped circuit component. The underfill material initially comprises a dielectric polymer material in which is dispersed a precursor capable of reacting to form an inorganic filler. The underfill process generally entails dispensing the underfill material over terminals on a substrate, and then placing the component on the substrate so that the underfill material is penetrated by the bumps on the component and the bumps contact the terminals on the substrate. The bumps are then reflowed to form solid electrical interconnects that are encapsulated by the resulting underfill layer. The precursor may be reacted to form the inorganic filler either during or after reflow.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to underfill materials for flip chip devices. More particularly, this invention relates to a no-flow material for underfilling a flip chip device and an underfill method using the no-flow material. 
     (2) Description of the Related Art 
     Underfilling is well known for promoting the reliability of flip chip components, such as flip chips and ball grid array (BGA) packages that are physically and electrically connected to traces on organic or inorganic circuit boards with numerous solder bump connections. A basic function of an underfill material is to reduce the thermal expansion mismatch loading on the solder joints that electrically and physically attach a component, e.g., die, to an inorganic or organic substrate, such as a reinforced epoxy resin laminate circuit board. Underfill processes generally involve using a specially formulated dielectric material to completely fill the gap between the die and substrate and encapsulate the solder bump connections of the die. In conventional practice, underfilling takes place after the die is attached to the substrate. The underfill material is placed along the perimeter of the die, and capillary action is relied on to draw the material beneath the die. 
     Underfill materials preferably have a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is relatively close to that of the solder connections, die and substrate to minimize CTE mismatches that would otherwise reduce the thermal fatigue life of the solder connections. Dielectric materials having suitable flow and processing characteristics for capillary underfill processes are typically thermosetting polymers such as epoxies. To achieve an acceptable CTE, a fine particulate filler material such as silica is added to the underfill material to lower the CTE from that of the polymer to something that is more compatible with the CTE&#39;s of the die, circuit board, and the solder composition of the solder connections. 
     For optimum reliability, the composition of a filled underfill material and the underfill process parameters must be carefully controlled so that voids will not occur in the underfill material beneath the die, and to ensure that a uniform fillet is formed along the entire perimeter of the die. Both of these aspects are essential factors in terms of the thermal cycle fatigue resistance of the solder connections encapsulated by the underfill. While highly-filled capillary-flow underfill materials have been widely and successfully used in flip chip assembly processes, expensive process steps are typically required to repeatably produce void-free underfills. Capillary underfill materials require the use of expensive dispensing equipment, and the capillary underfill process is a batch-like process that disrupts an otherwise continuous flip chip assembly process. Also, the adhesive strength of a capillary underfill material critically depends on the cleanliness of the die after reflow, necessitating costly cleaning equipment and complex process monitoring protocols. As such, the benefits of flip chip assembly using capillary underfill materials must be weighed against the burden of the capillary underfill process itself. These considerations limit the versatility of the flip chip underfill process to the extent that capillary underfilling is not practical for many flip chip applications. 
     In view of the above, alternative underfill techniques have been developed. One such technique is to laminate a film of underfill material to a bumped wafer prior to die singulation and attachment. With this technique, referred to as wafer-applied underfill (WAU), the solder bumps on the wafer must be re-exposed, such as by burnishing or a laser ablation process. WAU has not been widely used because of the required burnishing step, which can yield inconsistent results, such as uneven underfill thickness. Another underfill technique involves the use of what has been termed a “no-flow” underfill material. In this technique, depicted in  FIG. 1 , an underfill material  120  is deposited on the surface of a substrate  116 . A bumped die  110  is then placed on the substrate  116 , and force is applied to the die  110  to cause solder bumps  112  on the die  110  to penetrate the underfill material  120  and register with terminals  118  (e.g., traces or bond pads) on the substrate  116 . Finally, the solder bumps  112  are reflowed to secure the die  110  to the substrate  116 , during which time the underfill material  120  cures. 
     Contrary to capillary-flow underfill materials, filler materials are not typically added to no-flow underfill materials because of the tendency for the filler material to hinder the flip chip assembly process. With reference again to  FIG. 1 , filler particles  124  present in the underfill material  120  can impede the penetration of the underfill material  120  by the solder bumps  112 . Filler particles  124  can also become trapped between the solder bumps  112  and the terminals  118  to interfere with the formation of a metallurgical bond, resulting in reduced reliability of the electrical connection. Without a filler material to reduce their CTE, no-flow underfill materials have not been practical for use in harsh environments, such as automotive applications for flip chips on laminate circuit boards. 
     In view of the above, it would be desirable if an underfill material and process were available that were capable of achieving the product reliability obtainable with capillary-flow underfill materials and processes, but without the cost and processing limitations of these materials. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a no-flow underfill material and process suitable for underfilling flip chips and other bumped components employed in harsh environments. The underfill material and process are adapted to incorporate a filler material in a manner that does not compromise component placement, solder connection and reliability, and therefore are suitable for use in underfill applications that have previously required capillary-flow underfill materials. 
     The no-flow underfill material of this invention is initially in the form of a dielectric polymer material in which a precursor is dispersed. According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the underfill material can initially be free of any particulate filler material, such as an inorganic filler typically used to reduce the CTE of a capillary-flow underfill material. However, the precursor added to the underfill material of this invention is chosen on the basis of being capable of reacting to form an inorganic filler that, as a result of having a CTE lower than the CTE of the polymer material, is able to reduce the CTE of the underfill material. 
     The underfill process of this invention generally entails forming the underfill material to comprise the polymer material containing the precursor, and then dispensing the underfill material over terminals on a substrate to which a bumped circuit component is to be mounted. The component is then placed on the substrate so that the underfill material is penetrated with bumps on the component and the bumps contact the terminals on the substrate. The bumps are then heated until molten (reflowed), followed by cooling so that the molten bumps form solid electrical interconnects that are metallurgically bonded to the terminals with electrical integrity. The underfill material forms an underfill layer that encapsulates the interconnects and contacts both the circuit component and the substrate. Either during heating of the bumps or a subsequent heat treatment, the precursor is reacted to form an inorganic filler having a CTE lower than the CTE of the polymer material. 
     According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the underfill layer is continuous, void-free, and completely fills the space defined by and between the component and the substrate. Because the underfill layer formed by the no-flow underfill material incorporates a filler material to reduce its CTE to something closer to that of the electrical (e.g., solder) connections it protects, the underfill material and process of this invention are capable of achieving the product reliability previously possible only with the use of highly-filled capillary-flow underfill materials and processes, but without the processing costs and limitations associated with capillary-flow underfill materials. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  represents a step in a no-flow underfill process in accordance with the prior art, by which a flip chip die is placed on a substrate so that solder bumps on the die penetrate a filled no-flow underfill material. 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  represent a sequence of steps in which an unfilled no-flow underfill material deposited on a substrate is penetrated by solder bumps on a flip chip die, and then a filler material is formed in situ within the underfill material during or following die attachment in accordance with the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A no-flow underfill process in accordance with the present invention is schematically represented in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , by which a no-flow underfill material  20  is initially deposited in an unfilled condition (FIG.  2 ), but is formulated to form a particulate filler material  24  in situ ( FIG. 3 ) following placement of a bumped circuit component  10 . In  FIG. 2 , the underfill material  20  is shown as having been deposited on a substrate  16 , which may be a circuit board formed of various materials, such as a thin organic laminate printed wiring board (PWB). As shown in  FIG. 2 , the circuit component, more specifically a flip chip die  10 , is to be attached to the substrate  16  with solder bumps  12  formed on pads  14 , such as under-bump metallurgy (UBM), defined on the die surface. The solder bumps  12  are intended to register with metal traces  18  (or other suitable terminals) on the substrate  16 . While the underfill material  20  is represented as being deposited as a single layer, additional layers could be incorporated into the initial underfill structure. 
     The underfill material  20  is represented in  FIG. 2  as not containing any filler material, more particularly, any inorganic filler particles capable of reducing the CTE of the underfill material  20  to something closer to those of the die  10 , substrate  16  and solder bumps  12 . As such, the underfill material  20  does not contain any filler particles of sufficient size and in a sufficient amount to significantly alter its CTE. Instead, the underfill material  20  is formulated to comprise a dielectric polymer material  22  containing a precursor capable of forming in situ the desired particulate filler material  24 , which is shown in  FIG. 3  as being dispersed in an underfill layer  28  formed as a result of curing or otherwise solidifying the underfill material  20 . 
     The polymer material  22  is chosen to be compositionally and physically compatible with the materials it contacts, as well as have processing (e.g., cure) temperatures that are compatible with the die  10 , the substrate  16 , and the various components and circuit structures that might already be present on the substrate  16 . Particularly suitable materials for the polymer material  22  are thermosetting polymers, such as epoxy adhesives. An example of a suitable epoxy adhesive material is commercially available from Loctite under the name FF2200. This material has a cure temperature of about 230° C. (compatible with the solder reflow profile) and a glass transition temperature of about 130° C. Other suitable polymer materials having different compositions and different cure and glass transition temperatures could be used, depending on the particular application. Furthermore, a flux compound can be added to the polymer material  22 , such as in an amount of about 13 to about 25 weight percent, to crack, displace and/or reduce oxides on the solder bumps  12  and traces  18  that would otherwise interfere with the ability of these features to metallurgically bond to each other. 
     The precursor for the polymer material  22  is chosen in part on the basis of being able to form filler particles  24  having a CTE that is lower than that of the polymer material  22 , with the effect of reducing the overall CTE of the underfill material  20  to something closer to the CTE&#39;s of the die  10 , substrate  16 , and solder bumps  12 , for example, about 18 to 32 ppm/° C. Suitable precursors for use with this invention include organometallic compounds that can be thermally decomposed or otherwise reacted to form a metal oxide, an example of which is organometallic silicon (organosilicon) compounds capable of forming silica (SiO 2 ) when heated to temperatures and for durations that can be withstood by the die  10 , solder bumps  12  and substrate  16 . A particular organometallic silicon compound believed to be suitable for this purpose is tetraethylorthosilicate. When heated to a temperature of about 220° C. for about five minutes, this precursor thermally decomposes to form Si—O chains, whose condensation leads to the formation of silica nano-particles, i.e., particles whose major dimension is generally one hundred nanometers or less. When used in combination with an epoxy as the polymer material  22 , thermal decomposition of the precursor can coincide with curing (polymerization) of the epoxy, which is believed to result in a structure having purely organic (epoxy) regions, glass-like inorganic (silica) regions, and mixed inorganic/organic regions. 
     The underfill material  20  must contain a sufficient amount of the precursor so that the resulting underfill layer  28  will contain enough filler particles  24  to appropriately adjust the CTE of the underfill layer  28 . For example, the underfill layer  28  should contain about 60 weight percent, preferably about 55 to about 65 weight percent of the filler particles  24 , depending on their composition. Adding the above-identified organometallic silicon compound in an amount of about 30 to about 40 weight percent of the underfill material  20  is believed to be sufficient to form silica nano-particles in an amount of about 55 to about 65 weight percent of the underfill layer  28 . 
     As is apparent from  FIG. 2 , when assembling the die  10  with the substrate  16 , the solder bumps  12  must penetrate the underfill material  20  to make contact with their respective traces  18 . An important feature of this invention is that registration of the solder bumps  12  with their traces  18  is not hindered by the presence of filler particles in the underfill material  20 , as evident from FIG.  2 . During die placement, the underfill material  20  preferably forms a fillet  30  along the peripheral wall of the die  10 , as depicted in FIG.  3 . Once the underfill material  20  is penetrated and the solder bumps  12  contact their respective traces  18 , the assembly can undergo a conventional reflow process to melt and coalesce the solder bumps  12 , which upon cooling form solder connections  26  that are metallurgically bonded to their traces  18 . During reflow, which is performed at a temperature of at least 183° C. and typically about 210° C. to about 225° C. if the solder bumps  12  are formed of the eutectic tin-lead solder, the polymer material  22  of the underfill material  20  may undergo curing if formed of the above-noted epoxy adhesive, but in any event the underfill material  20  surrounds the molten solder bumps  12  and contacts both the lower surface of the die  10  and the upper surface of the substrate  16 . During reflow, the precursor may also undergo thermal decomposition to form the filler particles  24 , creating a relatively uniform dispersion of the filler particles  24  throughout the underfill layer  28  that lowers the overall CTE of the layer  28  to something closer to the CTE of the solder connections  26 . Upon cooling the assembly, the underfill layer  28  encapsulates the solder connections  26  and completely fills the space defined by and between the die  10  and substrate  16 , thereby bonding the die  20  to the substrate  16 . If curing of the polymer material  22  and/or thermal decomposition of the precursor was incomplete or did not occur during reflow, the assembly can undergo a thermal treatment to complete either or both of these reactions. 
     In view of the above, one can appreciate that the filled underfill layer  28  formed by the no-flow underfill material  20  and process of this invention can have a CTE that is sufficiently close to that of the solder connections  26  to improve the reliability of the flip chip assembly, while having a simplified manufacturing process and a reduced number of process steps as compared to capillary-flow underfill materials. As a result, the no-flow underfill material  20  and process of this invention enable CTE matching in a wider variety of flip chip applications than capillary-flow underfill materials and processes. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7