Patent Description:
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of semiconductor technology. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an improved semiconductor package with a heatsink. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor package according to independent claim <NUM>. Such a semiconductor package is disclosed in document <CIT>. Documents <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> disclose similar semiconductor packages.

Document <CIT> discloses an integrated circuit package including a package shell, an integrated circuit die, a substrate, a set of die connections, one or more grounding pads, a thermally conductive filler, an optional package frame and a connection array. The package shell is shaped to attach to the substrate and covers the integrated circuit die and the die connections. The package shell is constructed of an electrically conductive material that facilitates electromagnetically shielding of the integrated circuit die and the die connections. The substrate includes the grounding pads which are used to ground the package shell and improve the shielding characteristics of the integrated circuit package. The package shell is bonded to the substrate and the grounding pads with an electrically conductive adhesive.

VLSI integrated circuits packages having high connection capacity are pin grid array (PGA) and ball grid array (BGA). One such package type is plastic ball grid array (PBGA). The PBGA offers many advantages over conventional packages such as solder ball I/O and high speed. The PBGA package has high speed due to a short path for signal transformation. The solder balls are set on a package surface in a matrix array which can provide more signal contacts.

When the PBGA product is operated, considerable heat is generated in the integrated circuit chip. Typically, a heatsink is installed to effectively radiate the heat to the outside. In addition, the heatsink exhibits a ground effect for electromagnetic (EM) shielding. However, the heatsink floating, which is conventionally difficult to detect, may deteriorate the efficiency of spreading heat of the PBGA product and the EM shielding performance. Therefore, there is need in this industry to provide an improved semiconductor package with heatsink capable of detecting heatsink floating during the final testing.

It is one object of the invention to provide an improved semiconductor package with a heatsink to solve the above-mentioned deficiencies or shortcomings. A semiconductor package according to the invention is defined in independent claim <NUM>. The dependent claims define preferred embodiments thereof.

Preferably, the roof portion is a rectangular shaped roof portion, and wherein the at least one connecting portion extends from a corner of the rectangular shaped roof portion.

Preferably, the roof portion has a planar top surface.

Preferably, the semiconductor package further comprises a solder mask between the connection lead and the connection pad and a first solder mask opening in the solder mask to partially expose a top surface of the first portion of the connection pad. The first conductive adhesion layer is disposed in the first solder mask opening. A second solder mask opening is disposed in the solder mask to partially expose a top surface of the second portion of the connection pad. The second conductive adhesion layer is disposed in the second solder mask opening.

Preferably, the first conductive adhesion layer and the second conductive adhesion layer are conductive epoxy layers.

Preferably, the first portion of the connection pad is electrically coupled to reserved VDD voltage and the second portion of the connection pad is electrically coupled to Vss voltage or ground.

Preferably, the substrate comprises a package substrate.

Preferably, the substrate comprises a solder ball pad disposed on a ball grid array (BGA) side.

Preferably, a solder ball is mounted on the solder ball pad. The connection pad is electrically connected to the solder ball pad through at least one metal interconnect structure in the substrate.

Preferably, the at least one metal interconnect structure is a conductive through via, and wherein the solder ball pad is disposed directly under the connection pad.

Preferably, the substrate comprises a ground plane.

Preferably, the second portion of the connection pad is electrically coupled to the ground plane.

Preferably, the semiconductor die is mounted on the substrate through wire bonding.

Preferably, the semiconductor die is mounted on the substrate through flip chip bonding.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. In the drawings:.

In the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific preferred embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice them, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that mechanical, structural, and procedural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, primary, secondary, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. Thus, a first or primary element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second or secondary element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present inventive concept.

Spatially relative terms, such as "beneath", "below", "lower", "under", "above," "upper," "over" and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" or "under" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" or "over" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary terms "below" and "under" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. In addition, it will also be understood that when a layer is referred to as being "between" two layers, it can be the only layer between the two layers, or one or more intervening layers may also be present.

As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and may be abbreviated as "/".

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on", "connected to", "coupled to", or "adjacent to" another element or layer, it can be directly on, connected, coupled, or adjacent to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to", "directly coupled to", or "immediately adjacent to" another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers present.

It is noted that: (i) same features throughout the drawing figures will be denoted by the same reference label and are not necessarily described in detail in every drawing that they appear in, and (ii) a sequence of drawings may show different aspects of a single item, each aspect associated with various reference labels that may appear throughout the sequence, or may appear only in selected drawings of the sequence.

The present invention pertains to an improved semiconductor chip package with a heatsink, such as a plastic ball grid array (PBGA) package. The connection lead of the heatsink is mounted on a connection pad of a substrate. The connection pad is split into two portions including a first portion and a second portion, which are spaced apart from each other and arranged in close proximity to each other. The first portion and the second portion are configured to electrically couple to different voltage signals, respectively, such that the heatsink floating can be detected during the final testing.

Please refer to <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is a schematic, cross-sectional diagram showing a semiconductor package <NUM> according to one embodiment of the invention. <FIG> is a schematic, perspective view of the semiconductor package <NUM> in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the semiconductor package <NUM> comprises a substrate <NUM> such as a package substrate or a printed circuit substrate, but not limited thereto. According to an embodiment, the substrate <NUM> comprises a chip side 100a and a ball grid array (BGA) side 100b. According to an embodiment, a semiconductor die <NUM> is mounted on the chip side 100a of the substrate <NUM>.

Preferably, the semiconductor die <NUM> may be mounted on the substrate <NUM> through wire bonding. According to another embodiment, the semiconductor die <NUM> may be mounted on the substrate <NUM> through flip chip bonding manner with conductive bumps or conductive pillar structures.

According to an embodiment, an array of solder ball pads <NUM> is disposed on the BGA side 100b of the substrate <NUM>. According to an embodiment, solder balls SB are mounted on the solder ball pads <NUM>, respectively.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, according to an embodiment, a heatsink <NUM> is disposed over the semiconductor die <NUM>. An encapsulant <NUM> such as a molding compound may be disposed around the heatsink <NUM> and may seal the space between the heatsink <NUM> and the substrate <NUM> so as to protect the semiconductor die <NUM>.

The heatsink <NUM> includes a roof portion <NUM> and at least one connecting portion <NUM> extending between the roof portion <NUM> and the substrate <NUM>. According to an embodiment, the roof portion <NUM> may be a rectangular shaped roof portion. According to an embodiment, the roof portion <NUM> has a planar top surface 201a, which may be exposed from the encapsulant <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, four exemplary connecting portions <NUM> extend from four corners of the rectangular shaped roof portion <NUM>, respectively. According to an embodiment, each of the four connecting portions <NUM> includes a connection lead <NUM> mounted on a connection pad <NUM> of the substrate <NUM> on the chip side 100a. The connection pad <NUM> includes a first portion 110a and a second portion 110b spaced apart from each other.

According to an embodiment, the first portion 110a and the second portion 110b are arranged in close proximity to each other. According to an embodiment, the first portion 110a and the second portion 110b are configured to electrically couple to different voltage signals, respectively. According to an embodiment, the first portion 110a of the connection pad <NUM> may be electrically coupled to a reserved VDD voltage and the second portion 110b of the connection pad <NUM> may be electrically coupled to Vss voltage or ground.

According to an embodiment, the connection lead <NUM> is attached to both the first portion 110a and the second portion 110b of the connection pad <NUM>. According to an embodiment, the connection lead <NUM> is attached to the first portion 110a through a first conductive adhesion layer 301a and is attached to the second portion 110b through a second conductive adhesion layer 301b. According to an embodiment, the first conductive adhesion layer 301a and the second conductive adhesion layer 301b may comprise a conductive epoxy layer.

According to an embodiment, the semiconductor package <NUM> further comprises a solder mask <NUM> between the connection lead <NUM> and the connection pad <NUM>. According to an embodiment, a first solder mask opening 160a is disposed in the solder mask <NUM> to partially expose a top surface of the first portion 110a of the connection pad <NUM>. The first conductive adhesion layer 301a is disposed in the first solder mask opening 160a.

According to an embodiment, a second solder mask opening 160b is disposed in the solder mask <NUM> to partially expose a top surface of the second portion 110b of the connection pad <NUM>. The second conductive adhesion layer 301b is disposed in the second solder mask opening 160b. According to an embodiment, the first conductive adhesion layer 301a is not in direct with the second conductive adhesion layer 301b.

According to an embodiment, the first portion 110a of the connection pad <NUM> is electrically connected to the solder ball pad 120a through at least one metal interconnect structure <NUM> in the substrate <NUM>. According to an embodiment, the at least one metal interconnect structure <NUM> may comprise a conductive through via. According to an embodiment, the solder ball pad 120a is disposed directly under the connection pad <NUM>.

According to an embodiment, the substrate <NUM> comprises a ground plane <NUM>. According to an embodiment, the second portion 110b of the connection pad <NUM> is electrically coupled to the ground plane <NUM>. During the final testing process, as described above, the first portion 110a of the connection pad <NUM> may be electrically coupled to a reserved VDD (RSVD) voltage and the second portion 110b of the connection pad <NUM> may be electrically coupled to Vss voltage or ground. A significant resistance value can be detected during the final testing if any heatsink floating occurs. With the above-described structure of the present invention, by testing whether the first portion 110a and the second portion 110b are floating, it can be confirmed whether the heatsink <NUM> is well connected to the substrate <NUM>.

It is advantageous to use the present invention because the heatsink floating or detachment can be detected during the final testing stage of the chip manufacturing process. When the heatsink floating occurs, a high resistance signal can be detected through the solder ball pad 120a. By providing such configuration, the heatsink <NUM> can be well connected to ground through a shortest path and a good EMI shielding can be maintained.

Claim 1:
A semiconductor package (<NUM>), comprising:
a substrate (<NUM>);
a semiconductor die (<NUM>) mounted on the substrate (<NUM>); and
a heatsink (<NUM>) over the semiconductor die (<NUM>), wherein the heatsink (<NUM>) comprises a roof portion (<NUM>) and at least one connecting portion (<NUM>) extending between the roof portion (<NUM>) and the substrate (<NUM>), wherein the at least one connecting portion (<NUM>) comprises a connection lead (<NUM>) mounted on a connection pad (<NUM>) of the substrate (<NUM>), wherein the connection pad (<NUM>) is disposed on a chip side (100a) of the substrate (<NUM>) and comprises a first portion (110a) and a second portion (110b) spaced apart from each other, which are configured to electrically couple to different voltage signals, respectively;
the connection lead (<NUM>) is attached to the first portion (110a) through a first conductive adhesion layer (301a), characterized in that the connection lead (<NUM>) is attached to the second portion (110b) through a second conductive adhesion layer (301b) that is not in direct contact with the first conductive adhesion layer (301a).