Method and apparatus for processing semiconductor devices in a singulated form

• US 20040212389A1
• Filed: 04/23/2003
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Cram, Daniel P., Hamren, Steven L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,126,228 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/765
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/0408 Test fixtures or contact fields; Connectors or connecting adaptors; Test clips; Test sockets G01R1/067 takes precedence; mass production testing systems G01R31/59; testing of connections G01R31/66; for testing printed circuit boards G01R31/2808
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/0433 Sockets for IC's or transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05568 the whole external layer protruding from the surface
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05573 Single external layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05599 Material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16 of an individual bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/29099 Material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/13 of an individual bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/16 of an individual bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00013 Fully indexed content
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01079 Gold [Au]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01087 Francium [Fr]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/09701 Low temperature co-fired ceramic [LTCC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/14 Integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/16195 Flat cap [not enclosing an internal cavity]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19041 being a capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19042 being an inductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19043 being a resistor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/321 by conductive adhesives

Abstract

Improved methods and apparatus are provided for the handling and testing of semiconductor devices. One embodiment comprises a die carrier for one or more semiconductor dice having very fine pitch electrical I/O (input/output) elements. The semiconductor dice are temporarily attached to the die carrier in singulated form to enable testing the dice with conventional contact technology. The die carrier may include a flex circuit base substrate and a rigid support frame. Further embodiments comprise materials and methods for attaching the semiconductor dice to the die carrier and for providing a temporary electrical connection with the semiconductor dice during testing. Exemplary materials for providing the temporary electrical connection may comprise a conductive film or tape, a conductive or conductor-filled epoxy, resin or RTV adhesive-based materials, a water-soluble material impregnated with a conductive filler or non-reflowed solder paste.

Claims

1. A die carrier assembly, comprising:

a first substantially planar substrate including a die-side surface with at least one die attachment area for holding at least one semiconductor die and an opposing back surface;

at least one attachment pad located on the die-side surface of the first substantially planar substrate;

at least one contact pad located on one of the die-side surface and the back surface of the first substantially planar substrate;

at least one conductive trace connecting the at least one attachment pad and the at least one contact pad; and

a second substantially planar substrate secured to the die-side surface of the first substantially planar substrate and including at least one aperture therethrough that exposes the at least one die attachment area of the die-side surface.

2. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, wherein the first substantially planar substrate comprises a flex circuit including a core of one or more sheets of pliant material.

3. The die carrier assembly of claim 2, wherein at least one of the at least one attachment pad, the at least one contact pad and the at least one conductive trace comprises at least one layer of a metal, a metal alloy or a conductive polymer material.

4. The die carrier assembly of claim 2, wherein the one or more sheets of pliant material are comprised of a polyimide or polyester.

5. The die carrier assembly of claim 2, wherein the second substantially planar substrate comprises a substantially rigid material.

6. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one contact pad is located on the die-side surface of the first substantially planar substrate.

7. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one contact pad is located on the back surface of the first substantially planar substrate, and further comprising:

at least one conductive via passing at least partially through the first substantially planar substrate and connecting the at least one contact pad to the at least one conductive trace.

8. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one passive device located on the first substantially planar substrate and connected to the at least one conductive trace.

9. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one die attachment area comprises a plurality of die attachment areas for holding a plurality of semiconductor dice on the die-side surface of the first substantially planar substrate.

10. The die carrier assembly of claim 9, wherein the at least one aperture of the second substantially planar substrate comprises a single aperture of a size sufficient to expose the plurality of die attachment areas.

11. The die carrier assembly of claim 9, wherein the at least one aperture of the second substantially planar substrate comprises a plurality of apertures, each aperture of the plurality of apertures exposing a single die attachment area of the plurality of die attachment areas.

12. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one alignment feature configured for engaging another alignment feature carried by a probe assembly.

13. The die carrier assembly of claim 12, wherein the at least one alignment feature comprises one of an aperture passing at least partially through a portion of the die carrier assembly, a notch on a peripheral portion of the die carrier assembly and a structure protruding outwardly from a surface of the die carrier assembly.

14. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one attachment pad comprises a plurality of attachment pads, each attachment pad of the plurality of attachment pads spaced from an adjacent attachment pad at an interval of about 0.5 mm or less.

15. The die carrier assembly of claim 14, wherein the at least one contact pad comprises a plurality of contact pads, each contact pad of the plurality of contact pads spaced from an adjacent contact pad at an interval of about 0.8 mm or greater.

16. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, further comprising a semiconductor die having at least one I/O element, wherein the at least one I/O element is attached to the at least one attachment pad on the first substantially planar substrate with a conductive adhesive material.

17. The die carrier assembly of claim 16, wherein the second substantially planar substrate has a thickness in a direction perpendicular to the die-side surface of the first substantially planar substrate that is approximately equal to a thickness of the semiconductor die.

18. The die carrier assembly of claim 16, wherein the conductive adhesive material comprises a z-axis conductive adhesive tape.

19. The die carrier assembly of claim 18, wherein the adhesive tape is a pressure-sensitive z-axis conductive adhesive tape.

20. The die carrier assembly of claim 16, wherein the conductive adhesive material comprises a resin, epoxy or RTV adhesive-based material.

21. The die carrier assembly of claim 20, wherein the resin, epoxy or RTV adhesive-based material comprises a conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste.

22. The die carrier assembly of claim 20, wherein the resin, epoxy or RTV adhesive-based material comprises a solidified structure.

23. The die carrier assembly of claim 16, wherein the conductive adhesive material comprises an at least partially solidified water-soluble material impregnated with a conductive filler of discrete particles.

24. The die carrier assembly of claim 23, wherein the conductive filler comprises discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy.

25. The die carrier assembly of claim 23, wherein the water-soluble material comprises a polymer or copolymer-based material.

26. The die carrier assembly of claim 16, wherein the conductive adhesive material comprises discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy entrained within a solidified flux carrier.

27. The die carrier assembly of claim 16, wherein the at least one I/O element of the semiconductor die comprises a bond pad.

28. The die carrier assembly of claim 16, wherein the at least one I/O element of the semiconductor die comprises a discrete conductive element extending outwardly from the semiconductor die.

29. The die carrier assembly of claim 1, further comprising a semiconductor die having at least one I/O element, wherein the at least one I/O element is held against the at least one attachment pad on the first substantially planar substrate with an adhesive tape extending across the at least one aperture of the second substantially planar substrate.

30. A method for testing an electronic device comprising:

providing a first substantially planar substrate including a first conductive element and a second conductive element in electrical communication with the first conductive element;

attaching a semiconductor die to the first substantially planar substrate by adhesively bonding an I/O element of the semiconductor die to the first conductive element with a conductive material;

securing a second substantially planar substrate to the first substantially planar substrate to at least partially surround the semiconductor die;

probing the second conductive element to test a functional aspect of the semiconductor die; and

removing the semiconductor die from the first substantially planar substrate.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein providing a first substantially planar substrate comprises forming the first substantially planar substrate of one or more sheets of pliant material.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising forming at least one of the first conductive element and the second conductive element with at least one layer of a metal, a metal alloy or a conductive polymer material.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein forming the first substantially planar substrate of one or more sheets of pliant material comprises forming the one or more sheets of pliant material from a polyimide or polyester material.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising forming the second substantially planar substrate of a substantially rigid material.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein probing the second conductive element comprises probing the second conductive element on a side of the first substantially planar substrate to which the semiconductor die is attached.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein probing the second conductive element comprises probing the second conductive element opposite a side of the first substantially planar substrate to which the semiconductor die is attached.

37. The method of claim 30, further comprising filtering signal noise with at least one passive device on the first substantially planar substrate.

38. The method of claim 30, further comprising attaching a plurality of semiconductor dice to the first substantially planar substrate by adhesively bonding at least one I/O element of each semiconductor die of the plurality of semiconductor dice to a conductive element on the first substantially planar substrate.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising at least partially surrounding the plurality of semiconductor dice with a single aperture formed in the second substantially planar substrate.

40. The method of claim 38, further comprising at least partially surrounding each semiconductor die of the plurality of semiconductor dice with a separate aperture formed in the second substantially planar substrate.

41. The method of claim 30, wherein probing the second conductive element comprises contacting the second conductive element with a contact probe, and further comprising:

aligning the contact probe with the second conductive element by using an alignment feature formed on at least one of the first substantially planar substrate and the second substantially planar substrate.

42. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

forming a plurality of first conductive elements spaced at intervals of about 0.5 mm or less on the first substantially planar substrate; and

attaching the semiconductor die to the first substantially planar substrate by adhesively bonding a plurality of I/O elements of the semiconductor die to the plurality of first conductive elements with a conductive material.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

forming a plurality of second conductive elements spaced at intervals of about 0.8 mm or greater on the first substantially planar substrate; and

probing the plurality of second conductive elements with an array of contact probes.

44. The method of claim 30, further comprising surrounding the semiconductor die to a height approximately equal to a thickness of the semiconductor die with the second substantially planar substrate.

45. The method of claim 30, wherein adhesively bonding an I/O element of the semiconductor die to the first conductive element comprises bonding the I/O element to the first conductive element with a z-axis conductive adhesive tape.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising applying a force transverse to a major plane of the z-axis conductive adhesive tape to convert the z-axis conductive adhesive tape from a nonconductive state to a conductive state.

47. The method of claim 30, further comprising applying the conductive material to at least one of the first conductive element and the I/O element of the semiconductor die in the form of a conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein applying the conductive material in the form of a conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste comprises applying a resin, epoxy or RTV adhesive-based material.

49. The method of claim 47, further comprising probing the second conductive element while the semiconductor die is held in place by the conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste.

50. The method of claim 47, further comprising:

at least partially curing the conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste to provide an at least partially solidified bond between the first conductive element and the I/O element of the semiconductor die;

probing the second conductive element while the semiconductor die is held in place by the at least partially solidified bond; and

breaking the at least partially solidified bond with a solvent or deactivating agent to remove the semiconductor die from the first substantially planar substrate.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein applying the conductive material in the form of a conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste comprises applying a water-soluble material impregnated with a conductive filler, and further comprising:

dehydrating the water-soluble material to a degree sufficient to provide an at least partially solidified bond between the first conductive element and the I/O element of the semiconductor die;

probing the second conductive element while the semiconductor die is held in place by the at least partially solidified bond; and

breaking the at least partially solidified bond by dissolving it with water to remove the semiconductor die from the first substantially planar substrate.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising forming the conductive filler of the water-soluble material from discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy.

53. The method of claim of claim 51, further comprising selecting the water-soluble material to comprise a polymer or copolymer-based material.

54. The method of claim 47, wherein applying the conductive material in the form of a conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste comprises applying a solder paste having discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy entrained within a flux carrier, and further comprising:

heating the solder paste to provide an at least partially solidified solder paste structure comprising the discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy entrained within the flux carrier, wherein the at least partially solidified solder paste structure forms a bond between the first conductive element and the I/O element of the semiconductor die;

probing the second conductive element while the semiconductor die is held in place by the at least partially solidified solder paste structure; and

dissolving the at least partially solidified solder paste structure to remove the semiconductor die from the first substantially planar substrate.

55. The method according to claim 54, wherein heating the solder paste comprises driving off volatiles in the flux carrier while maintaining the particles of a metal or metal alloy in a solid state within a matrix of remaining material of the flux carrier.

56. The method according to claim 30, wherein adhesively bonding an I/O element of the semiconductor die to the first conductive element comprises adhesively bonding a bond pad of the semiconductor die to the first conductive element.

57. The method according to claim 30, wherein adhesively bonding an I/O element of the semiconductor die to the first conductive element comprises adhesively bonding a discrete conductive element extending outwardly from the semiconductor die to the first conductive element.

58. A circuit assembly comprising:

an electronic device including a first conductive element;

a substrate including a second conductive element; and

an electrically conductive bond joining the first conductive element and the second conductive element, wherein the electrically conductive bond comprises an at least partially solidified water-soluble material impregnated with a conductive filler of discrete particles.

59. The circuit assembly of claim 58, wherein the conductive filler comprises discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy.

60. The circuit assembly of claim 58, wherein the water-soluble material comprises a polymer or copolymer-based material.

61. The circuit assembly of claim 58, wherein the electronic device comprises a semiconductor die.

62. The circuit assembly of claim 61, wherein the substrate comprises a die carrier configured to interface the semiconductor die with a matrix of contact probes.

63. A circuit assembly comprising:

an electronic device including a first conductive element;

a substrate including a second conductive element; and

an electrically conductive bond joining the first conductive element and the second conductive element, wherein the electrically conductive bond comprises discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy entrained within a solidified flux carrier.

64. The circuit assembly of claim 63, wherein the electronic device comprises a semiconductor die.

65. The circuit assembly of claim 64, wherein the substrate comprises a die carrier configured to interface the semiconductor die with a matrix of contact probes.

66. A method for conductively bonding circuit assemblies comprising:

providing an electronic device including a first conductive element;

providing a substrate including a second conductive element;

applying a water-soluble material impregnated with a conductive filler of discrete particles to at least one of the first conductive element and the second conductive element; and

dehydrating the water-soluble material to a degree sufficient to provide an at least partially solidified bond between the first conductive element and the second conductive element.

67. The method of claim 66, further comprising forming the conductive filler of the water-soluble material from discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy.

68. The method of claim of claim 66, further comprising selecting the water-soluble material to comprise a polymer or copolymer-based material.

69. The method of claim 66, wherein providing an electronic device comprises providing a semiconductor die.

70. The method of claim 69, further comprising probing a third conductive element on the substrate to test a functional aspect of the semiconductor die.

71. A method for conductively bonding circuit assemblies comprising:

providing an electronic device including a first conductive element;

providing a substrate including a second conductive element;

applying a solder paste having discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy entrained within a flux carrier to at least one of the first conductive element and the second conductive element; and

heating the solder paste to provide an at least partially solidified solder paste structure comprising the discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy entrained within the flux carrier, wherein the at least partially solidified solder paste structure forms a bond between the first conductive element and the second conductive element.

72. The method according to claim 71, wherein heating the solder paste comprises driving off volatiles in the flux carrier while maintaining the particles of a metal or metal alloy in a solid state within a matrix of remaining material of the flux carrier.

73. The method of claim 71, wherein providing an electronic device comprises providing a semiconductor die.

74. The method of claim 71, further comprising probing a third conductive element on the substrate to test a functional aspect of the electronic device.

75. A method for testing an electronic device comprising:

providing an electronic device including a first conductive element;

providing a substrate including a second conductive element;

applying a conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste to at least one of the first conductive element and the second conductive element;

bonding the first conductive element to the second conductive element with the conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste;

passing an electrical signal through the conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste to test a functional aspect of the electronic device.

76. The method of claim 75, further comprising selecting the conductive or conductor-filled liquid, gel or paste to comprise a resin, epoxy or RTV adhesive-based material.

77. The method of claim 75, wherein providing an electronic device comprises providing a semiconductor die.

78. The method of claim 77, further comprising probing a third conductive element on the substrate to test a functional aspect of the semiconductor die.

79. A circuit bonding material comprising a water-soluble, polymer or copolymer-based material impregnated with a conductive filler of discrete particles.

80. The circuit bonding material of claim 79, wherein the conductive filler of discrete particles comprises discrete particles of a metal or metal alloy.

81. A circuit assembly comprising:

a semiconductor die including at least one conductive I/O element;

a substrate including at least one conductive attachment pad; and

an at least partially solidified water-soluble material bonding a peripheral edge of the semiconductor die to the substrate and holding the at least one conductive I/O element against the at least one conductive attachment pad.