Castellation wafer level packaging of integrated circuit chips
First Claim
1. A method of packaging and stacking integrated circuit chips fabricated on a same wafer, each of the integrated circuit chips having active circuit areas, the method comprising:
- coupling active circuit areas of a first integrated circuit chip on a wafer to active circuit areas of a second integrated circuit chip on the wafer with a plurality of first electrical contacts;
coupling a plurality of second electrical contacts to and on top of the plurality of first electrical contacts wherein the second electrical contacts are substantially thicker than the first contacts and are positioned between the first and second chips;
encapsulating the second electrical contacts such that the top surfaces of the second electrical contacts are left exposed;
cutting the wafer through the second electrical contacts between the first and second chips, the first and second chips being separated, the second electrical contacts having exposed top and side surfaces; and
stacking the first integrated circuit chip over the second integrated circuit chip such that (1) the active circuit areas of the first integrated circuit chip are in a plane substantially parallel to the active circuit areas of the second integrated circuit chip, and (2) the corresponding second electrical contacts of the first and second integrated circuit chips are in the same plane.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for packaging integrated circuit chips in castellation wafer level packaging are provided. The active circuit areas of the chips are coupled to castellation blocks and, depending on the embodiment, input/output pads. The castellation blocks and input/output pads are encapsulated and held in place by an encapsulant. When the devices are being fabricated, the castellation blocks and input/output pads are sawed through. If necessary, the wafer portion on which the devices are fabricated may be thinned. The packages may be used as a leadless chip carrier package or may be stacked on top of one another. When stacked, the respective contacts of the packages are preferably coupled. Data may be written to, and received from, packaged chips when a chip is activated. Chips may be activated by applying the appropriate signal or signals to the appropriate contact or contacts.
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Citations
61 Claims
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1. A method of packaging and stacking integrated circuit chips fabricated on a same wafer, each of the integrated circuit chips having active circuit areas, the method comprising:
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coupling active circuit areas of a first integrated circuit chip on a wafer to active circuit areas of a second integrated circuit chip on the wafer with a plurality of first electrical contacts;
coupling a plurality of second electrical contacts to and on top of the plurality of first electrical contacts wherein the second electrical contacts are substantially thicker than the first contacts and are positioned between the first and second chips;
encapsulating the second electrical contacts such that the top surfaces of the second electrical contacts are left exposed;
cutting the wafer through the second electrical contacts between the first and second chips, the first and second chips being separated, the second electrical contacts having exposed top and side surfaces; and
stacking the first integrated circuit chip over the second integrated circuit chip such that (1) the active circuit areas of the first integrated circuit chip are in a plane substantially parallel to the active circuit areas of the second integrated circuit chip, and (2) the corresponding second electrical contacts of the first and second integrated circuit chips are in the same plane. - 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, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of packaging and stacking integrated circuit chips, the integrated circuit chips each having active circuit areas, the method comprising:
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coupling a first electrical contact to an active circuit area of a first integrated circuit chip on a wafer;
coupling a second electrical contact to the first electrical contact wherein the second electrical contact is (a) large enough to be electrically coupled to solder, anisotropic conductive film, or anisotropic conductive paste, and (b) substantially encapsulated by an encapsulant;
coupling a third electrical contact to an active circuit area of a second integrated circuit chip on the wafer;
coupling a fourth electrical contact to the third electrical contact wherein the fourth electrical contact is (1) large enough to be electrically coupled to under bump material, and (2) substantially encapsulated by an encapsulant;
separating the wafer into two portions such that one portion includes the first chip and the other portion includes the second chip;
stacking the first chip over the second chip such that (i) the active circuit area of the first chip is in a plane substantially parallel to the active circuit area of the second chip, and (ii) the second electrical contact and the fourth electrical contact are in the same plane; and
coupling the second electrical contact and the fourth electrical contact with a fifth electrical contact, the fifth electrical contact being on the inside face of a printed circuit board which is in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the active circuit area of the first chip. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 47)
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- 42. The method of claim 42 further comprising activating the chip in response to an activation signal applied to the second electrical contact.
- 45. The method of claim 45 wherein the device is a motherboard.
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48. A method for packaging and stacking integrated circuit chips, each of the integrated circuit chips having active circuit areas, the method comprising:
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depositing first and second integrated circuit chips on a wafer;
depositing a first electrical contact large enough to be electrically coupled to solder, anisotropic conductive film, or anisotropic conductive paste on the wafer between the first and second chips;
encapsulating the first electrical contacts with an encapsulant such that the top surfaces of the first electrical contacts are left exposed;
coupling an active circuit area of the first chip to one of the first electrical contacts with a second electrical contact;
coupling an active circuit area of the second chip to one of the first electrical contacts with a third electrical contact;
cutting the wafer through the encapsulant and first electrical contacts between the first and second chips to separate the wafer into a first wafer portion arid a second wafer portion, the first wafer portion including the first integrated circuit chip and the second wafer portion including the second integrated circuit chip, the cutting exposing a side face of the cut first electrical contacts; and
stacking the first wafer portion over the second wafer portion such that the active circuit area of the first integrated circuit chip is in a plane substantially parallel to the active circuit area of the second integrated circuit chip.
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- 49. The method of claim 49 wherein the first electrical contact is a castellation block.
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53. The method of claim 53 wherein information is written to or read from a respective one of said chips when that chip is activated.
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54. The method of claim 54 further comprising activating said respective one of said chips in response to an activation signal.
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55. The method of claim 55 further comprising applying the activation signal to a portion of a first electrical contact coupled to an integrated circuit chip.
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56. The method of claim 56 wherein the activation signal is a “
- code”
or “
key”
signal. - View Dependent Claims (57)
- code”
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58. The method of claim 58 wherein the activation signal is a signal selected from the group consisting of a binary code, an analog signal, and combinations thereof.
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60. The method of claim 60 wherein the device is a motherboard.
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61. The method of claim 61 further comprising coupling the device to the first integrated circuit chip and second integrated circuit chip via a motherboard.
Specification