Source: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/54931915/Method-Of-Producing-An-Optoelectronic-Component---Patent-6645783
Timestamp: 2014-12-21 22:39:40
Document Index: 340865182

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Method Of Producing An Optoelectronic Component - Patent 6645783
United States Patent: 6645783
6,645,783
The optoelectronic component has a radiation-receiving or
radiation-emitting semiconductor chip mounted on a base part. The chip is
contacted with at least two electrode terminals made of an electrically
conductive connection material. The electrode terminals are formed by a
thin coating, which is deposited on the outer surfaces of the base part,
is applied by electrodeposition and is patterned by means of laser
Brunner; Herbert (Regensburg, DE), Hurt; Hans (Regensburg, DE)
09/556,413
178199Oct., 1998
197 46 863
438/26  ; 257/772; 257/81; 257/99; 257/E31.118; 257/E31.131; 438/614; 438/64; 438/678
H01L 31/024&amp;nbsp(20060101); H01L 33/00&amp;nbsp(20060101); H01L 31/0203&amp;nbsp(20060101); H01L 021/00&amp;nbsp(); H01L 021/44&amp;nbsp(); H01L 027/15&amp;nbsp(); H01L 033/00&amp;nbsp(); H01L 023/48&amp;nbsp()
438/25,26,64,67,614,676,687,612,652,674,677,678,118,125,129 257/81,99,762,772,779,433,729,730,701,702
0 493 051
0 641 152
61-002371
02-154134
04-63163
09-293800
&quot;The Enhanced and Suppressed Electroless Plating of Copper by UV-Irradiation&quot; (Ishikawa et al.), Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 27, No. 9, Sep. 1988, pp. 1764-1767.
Japanese Patent Abstract No. 01283883 (Tadaaki), dated Nov. 15, 1989..
This is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/178,199, filed Oct. 23,
1.  In a method of producing an optoelectronic component, wherein a radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip is mounted on a base part and is connected to at least
two electrode terminals of electrically conductive connection material, and the component is contacted via the electrode terminals, the improvement which comprises: covering the base part with a thin coating made of the electrically conductive connection
material including copper by deposition from a liquid;  patterning the thin coating to form individual regions of the coating electrically insulated from one another;  selectively depositing a further thin layer of auxiliary masking material including
tin, on a number of predetermined regions of the thin coating by electrodeposition with external electric current, for increasing a layer thickness of the thin coating at the predetermined regions;  selectively removing, by etching, regions of the thin
coating on the base part that have not been thickened in the depositing step;  and mounting the radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip on at least one of the base part and the auxiliary masking material and electrically connecting
the semiconductor chip to at least one of the electrically conductive connection material and the auxiliary masking material forming the at least two electrode terminals of the component.
2.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the covering step comprises depositing the thin coating chemically and without an external electric current.
3.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the patterning step comprises patterning the thin coating with a beam selected from the group consisting of a light beam, a particle beam, and a laser beam.
4.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the removing step comprises removing conductive material by wet chemical etching.
5.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the base part is coated with the electrically conductive connection material on all sides.
6.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the connection material of the thin base part coating comprises copper.
7.  The method according to claim 1, wherein the base part is composed of plastic and prefabricated in an injection-molding process.
8.  A method of producing an optoelectronic component, which comprises: providing a base part;  covering the base part with a thin base part coating of electrically conductive connection material by depositing from a liquid;  depositing a thin
layer of auxiliary masking material including tin, on the thin base part coating and patterning the auxiliary masking material to form a mask with regions of the thin base part coating covered by the auxiliary masking material and regions not covered by
the auxiliary masking material;  selectively etching and removing the thin base part coating in the regions that are not covered by the auxiliary masking material;  and mounting a radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip on the base
part and electrically connecting the semiconductor chip to the electrically conductive connection material forming at least two electrode terminals of the component.
9.  The method according to claim 8, wherein the covering step comprises depositing the thin coating chemically and without an external electric current.
10.  The method according to claim 7, wherein the patterning step comprises patterning the auxiliary masking material layer with a beam selected from the group consisting of a light beam, a particle beam, and a laser beam.
11.  The method according to claim 8, wherein the removing step comprises removing conductive material by wet chemical etching.
12.  The method according to claim 8, wherein the base part is coated with the electrically conductive connection material on all sides.
13.  The method according to claim 8, wherein the connection material of the thin base part coating comprises copper.
14.  The method according to claim 8, wherein the providing step comprises providing a base part composed of plastic and prefabricated in an injection-molding process.  Description
The invention relates to an optoelectronic component having a radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip, which is fastened to or on a base part and is connected to at least two electrode terminals made of an electrically
conductive material.  The electrode terminals serve to electrically contact the component.  The invention furthermore relates to a method for producing such an optoelectronic component.
Optoelectronic semiconductor components of this type are mass-produced.  They serve as transducers to convert optical signals or energy into electrical signals or energy, or vice versa.  Radiation receivers or radiation-sensitive components are,
for example, photodiodes or phototransistors.  Transmitters or radiation-emitting components include (visible) light-emitting diodes (LED) and infrared radiation-emitting diodes (IRED).  These optoelectronic components are expediently produced in the
wafer composite and, after completion, are separated from the wafer composite in the form of parallelepipedal chips.  Depending on the purpose of use, the finished semiconductor chips are then fastened to a suitable carrier, contact-connected and
embedded in an encapsulation made of transparent plastic.  In addition to affording protection for the semiconductor chip as well as the contact wires, the plastic encapsulation is additionally ascribed the function of improved radiation input coupling
and radiation output coupling in and on the chip.
In addition to the ubiquitously known radial designs with a plastic housing and elongate electrode terminals which is protrude to one side, designs of light-emitting diodes which are also suitable, in particular, for surface mounting are known,
in which a so-called lead frame is provided as a prefabricated carrier part for the semiconductor chip, and the electrode terminals are small legs that are routed laterally from the plastic housing and bent.  In the course of producing such LEDs for
surface mounting, an endlessly stamped conductor strip is encapsulated by injection molding with a thermoplastic which is resistant to high temperature.  In a further method technique, the light-emitting diode is fitted into a holder suitable for surface
mounting only after the potting fabrication.  German published patent application DE 31 28 187 A1 discloses an optoelectronic component.  The component has a radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip fastened to a base part and
connected to two electrode terminals.  The two connections are applied in a planar manner to the carrier, are connected to the semiconductor body and extend from that outer surface of the carrier which carries the semiconductor body as far as at least
one further outer surface of the carrier, where they form a connection contact area.
German published patent application DE 19 21 124 A1 discloses an optoelectronic transducer with a semiconductor chip fastened to a carrier unit.  The carrier unit has a chip mounting region which is assigned a number of connection parts.  These
connection parts are provided with electrical connection areas which define a plane whose spacing from the chip mounting region is greater than the maximum height of the semiconductor chip, if appropriate including all the connecting conductors and/or
covering means referring to the chip mounting region.
Japanese J. Appl.  Physics, Vol. 27, 1988, pp.  L1764-L1767 discloses a method in which an insulating substrate is covered with a thin coating of copper by means of deposition from a liquid chemically and without the action of an external current
flow, i.e. by electroless plating.  The copper coating is then etched selectively with the aid of photolithography, a mask layer being deposited and patterned.  As a result, regions of the coating which are not covered and those which are covered by the
mask material are identified, and the regions which are not covered by the material of the mask layer are selectively removed by means of etching.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an optoelectric component and production method, which overcomes the disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which specifies an optoelectronic
component, in particular SMT optocomponent (SMT=Surface Mounted Technology) and a method for its production which, with an even further reduced structural size of the component, enables cost-effective production in particular in conjunction with high
numbers, even with different designs.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an optoelectronic component, comprising: a base part having outer surfaces; a radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip mounted
on the base part; at least two electrode terminals of electrically conductive material connected to the chip and extending on the outer surfaces of the base part, the electrode terminals being formed by a patterned, thin coating on the outer surfaces of
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the surfaces of the base part include a top side facing the semiconductor chip, an underside opposite the top side, and edge portions between the top side and the underside, and wherein the
electrode terminals extend from the top side of the base part, across the edge portions and to the underside of the base part.
With the above and other objects in view there is also provided an improved method of producing an optoelectronic component of the type described above.  The improvement comprises the step of coating outer surfaces of the base part with a thin
layer of electrically conductive connection material, and patterning the coating to form the electrode terminals.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the method comprises: covering the base part with a thin coating made of the electrically conductive connection material by deposition from a liquid; patterning the thin coating so as to form
individual regions of the coating that are electrically insulated from one another; selectively depositing a further thin layer of auxiliary material on a number of predetermined regions of the thin coating by electrodeposition with external electric
current, for increasing a layer thickness of the thin coating at the predetermined regions; and selectively removing regions of the thin coating on base part that have not been thickened in the depositing step by means of etching.
In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, the covering step comprises depositing the thin coating chemically and without an external electric current.  In accordance with again an added feature of the invention, the patterning
step comprises patterning the mask layer with a beam selected from the group consisting of a light beam, a particle beam, and a laser beam.
With the above and other objects in view there is also provided, in accordance with the invention, a method of producing an optoelectronic component, which comprises: covering a base part with a thin coating of electrically conductive connection
material by depositing from a liquid, preferably chemically without an external current; depositing a mask layer on the thin base part coating; patterning the mask layer and identifying regions of the thin base part coating that are not covered and
regions that are covered by the mask; selectively etching and removing the thin base part coating in the regions that are not covered by the mask; and mounting a radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip on the base part and
electrically connecting the semiconductor chip to the electrically conductive connection material forming at least two electrode terminals of the component.
In other words, a first version of the production method is distinguished by the fact that the base part is covered with a thin coating made of the electrically conductive connection material by means of deposition from a liquid, in particular
chemically and without the action of an external electric current flow, the thin coating of the base part is patterned and, in the process, individual regions of the coating, which are electrically insulated from one another, are fabricated, a further
thin layer made of an auxiliary material is deposited, by electrodeposition under the action of an external electric current flow, selectively on a number of predetermined regions of the thus fabricated regions of the thin coating, as a result of which
the layer thickness of these predetermined regions of the coating is increased, and the unthickened regions of the base part coating are selectively removed by means of etching.
A further method according to the invention is distinguished by the fact that the base part is covered with a thin coating made of the electrically conductive connection material by means of deposition from a liquid, in particular chemically and
without the action of an external electric current flow, a mask layer is deposited on the thin base part coating, the mask layer is patterned, as a result of which regions of the base part coating which are not covered and those which are covered by the
The particular advantages achieved by the invention are that the use of a prefabricated plastic base part, preferably plastic injection-molded part, on which the electrode terminals serving for the electrical contact-making of the component are
applied using a patterned coating technique, means that it is possible to produce optocomponents for surface mounting technology (SMT) with smaller structural heights and with essentially low manufacturing costs.  On account of flexible process control,
the invention makes it possible to produce a wide variety of different designs and electrode terminal forms; a plurality of components in an interconnection, so-called arrays, can be produced in an equally cost-effective and simple manner.  A wide range
of component modifications can be covered with just one base part.  If the component is an LED, for example, the base part is substantially simpler in terms of its configuration than the conventional LED carriers with lead frame and/or with embossed
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an optoelectronic component and method for its production, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural
Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is seen a light-emitting diode (LED) that is illustrative as an exemplary embodiment of the optoelectronic component according to the
invention.  A semiconductor chip 1 forms the radiation-emitting element of the LED.  A base part 4--a chip carrier--is coated, on predetermined portions of its outer surfaces, with two electrode terminals 2, 3 made of an electrically conductive material
which, in particular, includes copper.  In this case, the electrically conductive area of the first electrode terminal 2, proceeding from a portion 5 on the top side of the base part 4, said top side facing the semiconductor chip 1, extends across edge
portions 6 as far as portions 7 on the underside of the base part 4.  Correspondingly, the area of the second electrode terminal 3 extends on the other side of the base part 4, proceeding from a portion 8, across edge portions 9 as far as portions 10 on
the underside of the base part 4.  The semiconductor chip 1 is expediently fastened by means of a suitable conductive adhesive on the portion 5 of the electrode terminal 2.  Contact is made between the chip 1 and the second electrode terminal 3 via a
bonding wire 11.  A lens part 12 made of transparent plastic is formed on the base part 4.  The base part 4 may have an incorporated heat sink 13 made of copper.
A plurality of optoelectronic components or base parts with the electrode terminals are expediently fabricated simultaneously in one work operation.  FIG. 2 shows a carrier body 14 in the form of a board made of a suitable high-temperature
thermoplastic material.  The carrier body is prefabricated for this purpose by an injection-molding process and is provided with perforations 15 between the base parts 4 which are to be separated later.  The perforations 15 serve two purposes, namely, a
transport tool for conveying the carrier 14 and a separating tool for separating the components can engage there.  The electrode terminals 2, 3 are fabricated first of all in the board-type carrier body 14 of the base parts, which electrode terminals
serve as conductor tracks for the chip mounting and for the electrical contact-making of the component for surface mounting (SMT).
After the completion of the base part 4 with electrode terminals 2, 3--still in the interconnection of the body 14--the semiconductor chip 1 is bonded and the connecting wire 11 is contacted.  If required, the base part can be configured in such
a way that it is also possible to mount a plurality of semiconductor chips per structural part, as a rule more than two electrode terminals being required in this case.  The lens 12 is subsequently applied.  This can be carried out using a suitably
designed molding plate whose molds form the lens body and which can be aligned with the chip carrier composite.  The individual molds are filled with epoxy resin, for example, and the chip carrier substrate is centered with the face downward onto the
molding plate.  After initial curing of the epoxy resin for the lenses, the substrate is released from the mold and the epoxy resin lenses can still be post-cured if required.  Subsequently, the chip carrier body 14 provided with the lenses is separated
into individual structural parts or else arrays by means of a sawing process.  For optimal wiring up, the &quot;conductor tracks&quot; of the electrode terminals 2, 3 can likewise be severed by sawing.  Subsequently, the separated components or arrays can, with
the use of an automatic machine, be tested and packaged.  The packaging can be effected either in so-called tapes or else in tubes, particularly in the case of arrays.  Moreover, further packagings can be used, for example by means of a structural part
carrier sheet or the like.
Although the chip carrier body 14 is composed of a plastic material in the particularly preferred embodiment, in principle, it is also possible to use a metal plate which, for the purpose of electrical insulation, is either provided with inserts
or is coated by means of a plastic film.  In this case, the carrier body 14 can also be designed as a reusable structural part for the purpose of further reducing the manufacturing costs.
Moreover, the molding plate for fabricating the lenses can be configured in such a way that the individual lens molds are connected to one another, and, during the casting of the lenses, level adjustment of the casting composition can take place
in order to ensure an accurate cast height.  Overflow reservoirs can additionally be fitted.  Furthermore, holes for ejector pins may be present between the molds for the lenses, in order to enable or simplify the release from the mold.  In order to
minimize the stress of release from the mold and to maximize the accuracy, the expansion coefficients of chip carrier body 14 and molding plate should be matched as well as possible; the use of a carrier body made of LCP material (liquid-crystalline
polymer) and a molding plate made of metal is expedient in this case.
FIGS. 3A to 3C diagrammatically show the successive process steps for fabricating the base parts 4, situated in an interconnection, with the electrode terminals in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the invention.  According to FIG.
3A, in a first step, the base part 4 is covered on all sides with a thin coating 16 made of the electrically conductive connection material, in particular copper, by means of deposition from a liquid.  This deposition is carried out chemically, that is
to say without the action of an external electric current flow.  This is followed by the patterning of the base part coating 16 under the action of a particle or light beam, in particular a laser beam.  At the locations where the laser beam is guided,
patterning trenches 17 reaching down to the material of the base part 4 are produced as a result of vaporization of the connection material.  The trenches in each case electrically insulate neighboring regions of the connection material 16 from one
another.  In a subsequent work step, according to FIG. 3B, a further thin layer 20 made of an auxiliary material, in particular having copper again, is applied selectively on a number of predetermined regions of the regions 18 fabricated in such a way,
by means of electrodeposition, that is to say under the action of an external electric current flow through the affected region 18.  In this way, the layer thickness of this region 18 is increased by the value of the layer thickness of the material 20,
while the regions 19 to which an electric current is not applied remain unchanged.  Subsequently, according to FIG. 3C, the unthickened regions 19 of the base part coating can be completely removed by means of wet-chemical etching, the layer thickness of
the region 20 being slightly reduced after the etching.
FIGS. 4A to 4C show, in successive work steps, a second exemplary embodiment for the fabrication of the base parts 4 with electrode terminals 2, 3.  Once again, in a first step, a thin coating 16 made of the electrically conductive connection
material is applied on all sides chemically, that is to say without the action of an external electric current flow, it being the case that in FIGS. 4A to 4C, in order to impart greater clarity to the illustration, the coating is shown only on the top
side of the base part 4, and a more detailed illustration of the underside is omitted.  The thickness of the coating 16 can be increased by (chemical or else electrical) application of further material 16a.  Chemical coating with a thin mask layer 21,
for example made of tin material, preferably follows.  According to FIG. 4B, the mask layer 21 is patterned, to be precise under the action of a particle or light beam, in particular laser beam.  According to FIG. 4C, the pattern of the mask 21 is
transferred wet-chemically to the coating 16, 16a, that is to say the regions which are not covered by the material of the mask layer 21 are selectively removed by means of etching.  In this way, the desired structure of the extensive electrode terminals
2 and 3 can be produced with comparatively low manufacturing costs.
Method of producing an optoelectronic component, Brunner, et al., Herbert Brunner, Hans Hurt, Application number 09 556-413, Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process, Active Solid-State Devices (E.G. Transistors Solid-State Diodes), semiconductor chip, optoelectronic component, integrated circuit, active region, refractive index profile, motor vehicle, semiconductor device, PATENT NUMBER, radiation pattern, refractive index
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to an optoelectronic component having a radiation-receiving or radiation-emitting semiconductor chip, which is fastened to or on a base part and is connected to at least two electrode terminals made of an electricallyconductive material. The electrode terminals serve to electrically contact the component. The invention furthermore relates to a method for producing such an optoelectronic component.Optoelectronic semiconductor components of this type are mass-produced. They serve as transducers to convert optical signals or energy into electrical signals or energy, or vice versa. Radiation receivers or radiation-sensitive components are,for example, photodiodes or phototransistors. Transmitters or radiation-emitting components include (visible) light-emitting diodes (LED) and infrared radiation-emitting diodes (IRED). These optoelectronic components are expediently produced in thewafer composite and, after completion, are separated from the wafer composite in the form of parallelepipedal chips. Depending on the purpose of use, the finished semiconductor chips are then fastened to a suitable carrier, contact-connected andembedded in an encapsulation made of transparent plastic. In addition to affording protection for the semiconductor chip as well as the contact wires, the plastic encapsulation is additionally ascribed the function of improved radiation input couplingand radiation output coupling in and on the chip.In addition to the ubiquitously known radial designs with a plastic housing and elongate electrode terminals which is protrude to one side, designs of light-emitting diodes which are also suitable, in particular, for surface mounting are known,in which a so-called lead frame is provided as a prefabricated carrier part for the semiconductor chip, and the electrode terminals are small legs that are routed laterally from the plastic housing and bent. In the course of producing such LEDs forsurface mounting, a
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