INTEGRATED ANTENNAS IN WAFER LEVEL PACKAGE

• US 20120104574A1
• Filed: 10/28/2010
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Boeck, Josef, Lachner, Rudolf, Wojnowski, Maciej, Meyer, Thorsten
• Granted Patent: US 8,451,618 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/660
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/032 Constructional details for solid-state radar subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/6677 for antenna, e.g. antenna included within housing of semiconductor device antennas per se H01Q
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/0401 Bonding areas specifically adapted for bump connectors, e.g. under bump metallisation [UBM]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/11318 by dispensing droplets
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/1132 Screen printing, i.e. using a stencil
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/12105 Bump connectors formed on an encapsulation of the semiconductor or solid-state body, e.g. bumps on chip-scale packages
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/131 with a principal constituent of the material being a metal or a metalloid, e.g. boron [B], silicon [Si], germanium [Ge], arsenic [As], antimony [Sb], tellurium [Te] and polonium [Po], and alloys thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/13111 Tin [Sn] as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/13139 Silver [Ag] as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/13147 Copper [Cu] as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/1319 with a principal constituent of the material being a polymer, e.g. polyester, phenolic based polymer, epoxy
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/13191 The principal constituent being an elastomer, e.g. silicones, isoprene, neoprene
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/13299 Base material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/14051 Bump connectors having different shapes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/141 Disposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/14505 Bump connectors having different materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/14517 including bump connectors providing primarily mechanical bonding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/16225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/17517 including bump connectors providing primarily mechanical support
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/21 of an individual HDI interconnect
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/2101 : Structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/211 : Disposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/215 : Material
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32225 : the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73204 : the bump connector being embedded into the layer connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/81191 : wherein the bump connectors are disposed only on the semiconductor or solid-state body
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/81801 : Soldering or alloying
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/831 : the layer connector being supplied to the parts to be connected in the bonding apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/49816 : Spherical bumps on the substrate for external connection, e.g. ball grid arrays [BGA]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/66 : High-frequency adaptations
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/05 : of an individual bonding area
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/11 : Manufacturing methods for bumps on insulating substrates H01L21/4853
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/13 : of an individual bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/14 : of a plurality of bump connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/16 : of an individual bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/19 : Manufacturing methods of high density interconnect preforms
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/20 : Structure, shape, material or disposition of high density interconnect preforms
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/32 : of an individual layer connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/81 : using a bump connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/96 : the devices being encapsulated in a common layer, e.g. neo-wafer or pseudo-wafer, said common layer being separable into individual assemblies after connecting
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 : Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• 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 2924/01029 : Copper [Cu]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/014 : Solder alloys
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/10253 : Silicon [Si]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12042 : LASER
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/14 : Integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/181 : Encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/18162 : of a chip with build-up interconnect
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3512 : Cracking
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/384 : Bump effects
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/44 : using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna , e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspectH01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 17/00 : Devices for absorbing waves radiated from an antenna; Combinations of such devices with active antenna elements or systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 23/00 : Antennas with active circuits or circuit elements integrated within them or attached to them
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/3436 : having an array of bottom contacts, e.g. pad grid array or ball grid array components

Abstract

A semiconductor module having one or more integrated antennas in a single package is provided herein to comprise a bonding interconnect structure having a plurality of individual bonding elements that are confined to a relatively small area of the bottom of a package. In particular, the semiconductor module comprises a bonding interconnect structure configured to connect an integrated package to a printed circuit board (PCB), wherein the integrated antenna structures are located at greater center-to-center distance from the IC device than the three dimensional interconnect structures. Therefore, the bonding interconnect structures are confined to a connection area that causes a part of the package containing the one or more antenna structures to extend beyond the bonding interconnect structure as a cantilevered structure. Such a bonding interconnect structure result in a package that is in contact with a PCB at a relatively small area that supports the load of the package.

Claims

1. A semiconductor module, comprising:

a printed circuit board;

a package comprising an integrated circuit (IC) device embedded within a package molding compound and one or more integrated antenna structures coupled to the IC device and configured to generate electromagnetic radiation for wireless transmission; and

a bonding interconnect structure having three dimensional interconnect structures configured to physically connect the package to the printed circuit board;

wherein the at least one of the integrated antenna structures is located at greater center-to-center distance from the IC device than the three dimensional interconnect structures.

2. The module of claim 1, wherein the three dimensional interconnect structures comprise surface-mountable solder balls.

3. The module of claim 1, wherein the bonding interconnect structure is configured to physically connect to the package at a position that supports the package as a cantilevered structure, supported by the bonding interconnect structure, comprising at least part of one or more of the at least one integrated antenna structures.

4. The module of claim 1, further comprising one or more support structures physically coupled to the package and having no electrical connection between the printed circuit board and the package, wherein the support structures are located at greater center-to-center distance from the IC device than the three dimensional interconnect structures.

5. The module of claim 4, wherein the one or more support structures comprise one or more solder balls coupled to the package.

6. The module of claim 1, wherein the bonding interconnect structure is physically coupled to a connection area of the package that is less than 40% of the total area of a bottom surface of the package.

7. The module of claim 1, wherein the one or more integrated antenna structures comprise a plurality of antenna structures respectively arranged on different sides of the IC device.

8. The module of claim 1, wherein the one or more integrated antenna structures comprise a plurality of antenna structures separated spatially by an electrically isolating shield layer.

9. The module of claim 8, wherein the electrically isolating shield layer comprises a redistribution layer electrically connected to a ground terminal.

10. The module of claim 1, wherein the package is formed using a wafer level packaging process and wherein the package comprises a non-rectangular shape that is formed by laser dicing.

11. A semiconductor module, comprising:

a package molding compound layer comprising an integrated circuit (IC) device embedded within the package molding compound; and

an interface layer comprising;

a redistribution layer coupled to the IC device and the package molding compound layer;

at least one integrated antenna structure integrated from within the interface layer and coupled to the IC device,

a bonding interconnect structure having three dimensional interconnect structures configured to physically and electrically connect the IC device externally from the package molding compound layer to a printed circuit board (PCB) at a connection area located in a position that supports the package as a cantilevered structure, supported by the bonding interconnect structure, comprising at least part of one or more of the at least one integrated antenna structures outside of the connection area.

12. The module of claim 11, wherein the connection area is located at the center of the package to form a double cantilever structure having portions of the package extending beyond the connection area in two opposite directions.

13. The module of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the integrated antenna structures is configured at greater center-to-center distance from the IC device than the three dimensional interconnect structures.

14. The module of claim 11, further comprising one or more support structures disposed outside of the connection area and having a physical, but not electrical, connection between the PCB and the package.

15. The module of claim 11, wherein the one or more integrated antenna structures comprise a plurality of antenna structures respectively arranged on different sides of the IC device.

16. The module of claim 11, wherein the package molding compound layer is configured to form a package having a non-rectangular shape.

17. A method for fabricating a semiconductor module, the method comprising:

providing an integrated circuit (IC) chip within a package molding compound layer having a surface;

forming at least one integrated antenna structure coupled to the IC chip through the redistribution layer, and at least one three dimensional interconnect structure also coupled to the IC chip through the redistribution layer; and

forming a bonding interconnect structure having three dimensional interconnect structures configured to physically connect the package to a printed circuit board;

wherein the at least one of the integrated antenna structures is configured at greater center-to-center distance from the IC device than the three dimensional interconnect structures.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the bonding interconnect structure is configured to physically and electrically connect the IC device externally from the package molding compound layer to a printed circuit board (PCB) at an connection area located in a position that supports the package as a cantilevered structure, supported by the bonding interconnect structure, comprising at least part of one or more of the at least one integrated antenna structures outside of the connection area.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

forming a support structure physically coupled to the package and having no electrical connection between the printed circuit board and the package, wherein the support structure is configured outside of the connection area.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

laser dicing the package molding compound to form a plurality of packages respectively having a non-rectangular shape.