Tamper-proof electronic packages with stressed glass component substrate(s)

• US 10,177,102 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2017
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Busby, James A., Dragone, Silvio, Gaynes, Michael A., Rodbell, Kenneth P., Santiago-Fernandez, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/831,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20180102329A1
• Time in Patent Office: 399 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/87 by means of encapsulation, e.g. for integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/4803 Insulating or insulated parts, e.g. mountings, containers, diamond heatsinks H01L21/4846 takes precedence; printed circuit boards H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/8385 using a polymer adhesive, e.g. an adhesive based on silicone, epoxy, polyimide, polyester
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/053 the container being a hollow construction and having an insulating or insulated base as a mounting for the semiconductor body
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/08 the material being an electrical insulator, e.g. glass
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/573 using passive means
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/576 using active circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/32 of an individual layer connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/83 using a layer connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0665 Epoxy resin
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1434 Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/15192 Resurf arrangement of the internal vias
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/16251 Connecting to an item not being a semiconductor or solid-state body, e.g. cap-to-substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/16588 Glasses, e.g. amorphous oxides, nitrides or fluorides
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0275 Security details, e.g. tampering prevention or detection
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0284 Details of three-dimensional rigid printed circuit boards H05K1/119 takes precedence; shaping of the substrate H05K3/0014
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0306 Inorganic insulating substrates, e.g. ceramic, glass
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/181 associated with surface mounted components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09036 Recesses or grooves in insulating substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0999 : Circuit printed on or in housing, e.g. housing as PCB; Circuit printed on the case of a component; PCB affixed to housing
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10159 : Memory
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10371 : Shields or metal cases
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/303 : Surface mounted components, e.g. affixing before soldering, aligning means, spacing means H05K3/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/46 : Manufacturing multilayer circuits

Abstract

Tamper-proof electronic packages and fabrication methods are provided which include a glass substrate. The glass substrate is stressed glass with a compressively-stressed surface layer. Further, one or more electronic components are secured to the glass substrate within a secure volume of the tamper-proof electronic package. In operation, the glass substrate is configured to fragment with an attempted intrusion event into the electronic package, and the fragmenting of the glass substrate also fragments the electronic component(s) secured to the glass substrate, thereby destroying the electronic component(s). In certain implementations, the glass substrate has undergone ion-exchange processing to provide the stressed glass. Further, the electronic package may include an enclosure, and the glass substrate may be located within the secure volume separate from the enclosure, or alternatively, the enclosure may be a stressed glass enclosure, an inner surface of which is the glass substrate for the electronic component(s).

Claims

1. A tamper-proof electronic package comprising:

a glass substrate, the glass substrate comprising stressed glass with a compressively-stressed surface layer;

at least one electronic component secured to the glass substrate within a secure volume of the tamper-proof electronic package, the at least one electronic component comprising an electronic module;

an enclosure defining, at least in part, the secure volume;

a tamper-respondent detector monitoring for the attempted intrusion event into the secure volume;

a fragmenting trigger element secured to the glass substrate to trigger fragmentation of the glass substrate with the tamper-respondent detector detecting the attempted intrusion event into the secure volume;

wherein the enclosure comprises a plurality of stressed glass elements adhesively bonded together to form the enclosure, each stressed glass element comprising a respective, compressively-stressed surface layer, and the plurality of stressed glass elements defining multiple sides of the secure volume, and wherein one stressed glass element of the plurality of stressed glass elements comprises the glass substrate, and the at least one electronic component and the fragmentation trigger element are adhesively secured to the one stressed glass element and

wherein the glass substrate fragments with an attempted intrusion event into the tamper-proof electronic package, the fragmenting of the glass substrate also fragmenting the at least one electronic component secured thereto, destroying the at least one electronic component.

2. The tamper-proof electronic package of claim 1, wherein the glass substrate has undergone ion-exchange processing to provide the stressed glass with the compressively-stressed surface layer.

3. The tamper-proof electronic package of claim 1, wherein the compressively-stressed surface layer of the stressed glass is compressively stressed to ensure that the stressed glass fragments into glass particles of fragmentation size less than 1000 μ

ms with the attempted intrusion event.

4. The tamper-proof electronic package of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic component comprises at least one memory component, the at least one memory component comprising persistent memory adhesively secured to the glass substrate.

5. The tamper-proof electronic package of claim 1, wherein the enclosure is a glass enclosure defining, at least in part, the secure volume, the glass enclosure comprising stressed glass with a compressively-stressed surface layer.

6. A fabrication method comprising:

fabricating a tamper-proof electronic package, the fabricating comprising;

providing a glass substrate, the glass substrate comprising stressed glass with a compressively-stressed surface layer;

securing at least one electronic component to the glass substrate, and the glass substrate being within a secure volume of the tamper-proof electronic package, and the at least one electronic component comprising an electronic module;

providing an enclosure defining, at least in part, the secure volume;

providing a tamper-respondent detector monitoring for the attempted intrusion event into the secure volume;

providing a fragmenting trigger element secured to the glass substrate to trigger fragmentation of the glass substrate with the tamper-responding detector detecting the attempted intrusion event into the secure volume;

wherein the enclosure comprises a plurality of stressed glass elements adhesively bonded together to form the enclosure, each stressed glass element comprising a respective, compressively-stressed surface layer, and the plurality of stressed glass elements defining multiple sides of the secure volume, and wherein one stressed glass element of the plurality of stressed glass elements comprises the glass substrate, and the at least one electronic component and the fragmentation trigger element are adhesively secured to the one stressed glass element; and

wherein the glass substrate fragments with an attempted intrusion event into the secure volume of the tamper-proof electronic package, the fragmenting of the glass substrate also fragmenting the at least one electronic component secured thereto, destroying the at least one electronic component.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein providing the glass substrate comprises machining the glass substrate to a desired configuration, and then ion-exchange processing the glass substrate to obtain the stressed glass with the compressively-stressed surface layer, and wherein the at least one electronic component comprises at least one memory component, the at least one memory component comprising persistent memory, and the method comprises adhesively securing the persistent memory to the glass substrate.