Patent ID: 7122905

Claim:
A packaged microelectronic device, comprising: a microelectronic die having an integrated circuit and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to the integrated circuit; an interposer substrate having a first side coupled to the die, a second side opposite the first side, a plurality of ball-pads arranged on the second side to be coupled to a printed circuit board, interconnects electrically coupled to the bond-pads on the die and the ball-pads, a plurality of trace lines adjacent to the ball-pads, and a solder-mask on the second side having openings over the ball-pads, wherein at least a portion of at least one of the plurality of trace lines is exposed in the openings; a plurality of solder-balls arranged so that each solder-ball is in an opening in the solder-mask and contacting a corresponding ball-pad; a dielectric compound in the openings in the solder-mask, wherein the dielectric compound surrounds a portion of the perimeter of each of the ball-pads and the solder-balls; and a solder paste in the openings in the solder-mask and adjacent to the dielectric compound, wherein the dielectric compound electrically insulates the solder paste, all the ball-pads and solder-balls from any exposed portion of the plurality of trace lines.