Method and apparatus for non-conductively interconnecting integrated circuits
First Claim
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1. A modular electronic system comprising:
- a substrate;
a ground plane in said substrate;
a semiconductor chip;
means for powering said chip;
means for capacitively signalling between said chip and said substrate; and
signal leads connected on said substrate and said chip to said means for capacitively signalling.
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Abstract
Apparatus is described for capacitively signalling between different semiconductor chips and modules without the use of connectors, solder bumps, wire-bond interconnections or the like. Preferably, pairs of half-capacitor plates, one half located on each chip, module or substrate are used to capacitively couple signals from one chip, module or substrate to another. The use of plates relaxes the need for high precision alignment as well as reduces the area needed to effect signalling, and reduces or eliminates the requirements for exotic metallurgy.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A modular electronic system comprising:
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a substrate;
a ground plane in said substrate;
a semiconductor chip;
means for powering said chip;
means for capacitively signalling between said chip and said substrate; and
signal leads connected on said substrate and said chip to said means for capacitively signalling. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
a first multiplicity of said means for capacitively signaling between said chip and said substrate occupies a first area at a first pitch, a second multiplicity of means for conductively signaling occupies a second area of said substrate at a second pitch, a multiplicity of said transmission lines connects said first and second areas, and said second area is larger than said first area. -
23. A modular electronic system as defined in claim 19 wherein
a first multiplicity of said means for capacitively signaling between said chip and said substrate occupies a first area at a first pitch, a second multiplicity of means for conductively signaling occupies a second area of said substrate at a second pitch, a multiplicity of said transmission lines connects said first and second areas, and said second pitch is larger than said first pitch. -
24. A modular electronic system as defined in claim 19 wherein
a first multiplicity of said means for capacitively signaling between said chip and said substrate occupies a first area at a first pitch, a second multiplicity of means for capacitively signaling occupies a second area of said substrate at a second pitch, a multiplicity of said transmission lines connects said first and second areas, and said second area is larger than said first area. -
25. A modular electronic system as defined in claim 19 wherein
a first multiplicity of said means for capacitively signaling between said chip and said substrate occupies a first area at a first pitch, a second multiplicity of means for capacitively signaling occupies a second area of said substrate at a second pitch, a multiplicity of said transmission lines connects said first and second areas, and said second pitch is larger than said first pitch.
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26. An electronic system comprising:
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a semiconductor chip;
a substrate;
a ground plane in said substrate;
a plurality of electronic devices implemented on said chip, a signal lead of at least one of said plurality of electronic devices coupled to a first half-capacitor attached to said chip; and
,a second half-capacitor attached to said substrate and capacitively coupling a signal to said first half-capacitor.
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27. A modular electronic system comprising:
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a substrate;
a chip;
means for powering said chip;
means for capacitively signaling between said chip and said substrate comprising first and second coupled half-capacitors, said first half-capacitor being associated with said chip and said second half-capacitor being associated with said substrate, said first and second coupled half-capacitors comprising effectively overlapping conductive regions separated by a gap that is at least partially filled with a dielectric; and
a power connector extending through said dielectric.
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28. A modular electronic system comprising:
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a substrate;
a semiconductor chip;
means for powering said chip;
means for capacitively signalling between said chip and said substrate; and
signal leads connected on said substrate and said chip to said means for capacitively signalling;
wherein said means for capacitively signaling operates despite a substantial misalignment between said substrate and said chip.
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29. A modular electronic system comprising:
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a substrate;
a ground plane in said substrate;
a chip;
means for powering said chip;
means for capacitively signaling between said chip and said substrate comprising first and second coupled half-capacitors, said first half-capacitor being associated with said chip and said second half-capacitor being associated with said substrate, said first and second coupled half-capacitors comprising effectively overlapping conductive regions separated by a gap; and
an additional half-capacitor associated with one of said chip and said substrate.
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30. A modular electronic system comprising:
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a first module having a plurality of semiconductor electronic devices, a first half-capacitor and at least one signal lead connecting said electronic devices to said first half-capacitor;
a second module having a second half-capacitor, said modules being positioned such that said first and second half-capacitors provide a capacitive signal path between said first and second modules; and
contacts for supplying DC power to said first module from a source outside said first module. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A modular electronic system comprising:
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a substrate;
a ground plane supported by said substrate;
a semiconductor chip;
a first half-capacitor attached to said semiconductor chip;
a plurality of electronic devices implemented on said chip, a signal lead of at least one of said plurality of electronic devices coupled to said first half-capacitor; and
a second half-capacitor attached to said substrate and capacitively coupling a signal to said first half-capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (42)
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Specification