Design Interconnects for Finer Pitch Assembly Suitable for Commercial and Military Applications

Technology

The presented technology reduces interconnect width, allowing a reduced pitch in comparison to conventional semiconductor structures and devices. This is accomplished with a semiconductor structure composed of a substrate, interconnect pad, and an isolating layer where one or more conductive structure projecting from the surface of an interconnect pad form a connection for electrically and mechanically coupling the semiconductor structure to other semiconductor structures and devices. The electrical connections may be made by drilling holes through the substrate in appropriate locations and plating the inside of the holes with a conducting material (e.g., copper). The interconnect pad is provided to promote scalability of the semiconductor structure since it can couple to other semiconductor structures or devices. An isolating layer includes a polymer, which may be used as a dielectric bridge for crossover of circuits within the same layer of substrate. This dielectric bridge may be created by selective deposition of a dielectric material (e.g., nanoporous silica, silicon oxyfluoride) using physical or chemical vapor deposition. Openings in the isolating layer may be formed by an additive or subtractive process which accommodates one or more conductive structures that fits between the interconnect pad and isolating layer. These processing conditions are cheaper and less bulky than conventional methods of reducing pitch size. 

Problem Addressed

Today’s military and commercial electronics demand increased density, enhanced mobility, and extended operational life. In addition, new electronic packages require low loss, lightweight structures, higher electrical performance, and mixed material construction with the structural stability to accommodate the complexity associated with size, weight and power optimization. This requires the integration of multiple interconnected structures, yielding die with greater function, higher I/O counts and smaller pitches. While it is desirable to reduce interconnect pitch, relatively simple and cost effective approaches are needed in order for such a technology to be practical. Current conventional interconnects, such as solder pads, self-aligned contact pads, bond wires, and conductive pads, are bulky and their associated pitch is not easily reduced. This results in a less effective use of the space on the integrated circuit and a less powerful circuit overall.  

Advantages

• Shortens assembly and package construction timesImproved RF performance due to conversion to flip-chip from wire bondable package
• Reduced pad size and spacing to convert standard substrates to finer pitch substrates
• Reduced total interconnect resistance, less power dissipation