Lithographically defined microelectronic contact structures
First Claim
1. An electronic component comprising:
- a substrate including a conductive area;
masking material formed on said substrate, said masking material patterned to form an opening corresponding to at least a portion of said conductive area and a main body portion;
conductive material deposited on said masking material within said opening and on said main body portion, said conductive material composing a contact structure comprising;
a base region electrically connected to said conductive area and formed within said opening,a main body region formed on said main body portion of said masking material, said main body region being integrally formed with said base region and displaced away from said substrate, anda contact tip structure on at least a side of said main body region that faces away from said substrate, said contact tip structure configured to contact and thereby make an electrical connection with another electronic component.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Microelectronic contact structures (260, 360, 460) are lithographically defined and fabricated by applying a masking layer (220, 320, 420) on a surface of a substrate (202, 302, 402) such as an electronic component, creating an opening (222, 322, 422) in the masking layer, depositing a conductive trace of a seed layer (250, 350, 450) onto the masking layer and into the openings, and building up a mass of conductive material on the conductive trace. The sidewalls of the opening can be sloped (tapered). The conductive trace can be patterned by depositing material through a stencil or shadow mask (240, 340, 440). A protruding feature (230, 430) may be disposed on the masking layer so that a tip end (264, 364, 464) of the contact structure acquires a topography. All of these elements can be constructed as a group to form a plurality of precisely positioned resilient contact structures.
64 Citations
16 Claims
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1. An electronic component comprising:
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a substrate including a conductive area; masking material formed on said substrate, said masking material patterned to form an opening corresponding to at least a portion of said conductive area and a main body portion; conductive material deposited on said masking material within said opening and on said main body portion, said conductive material composing a contact structure comprising; a base region electrically connected to said conductive area and formed within said opening, a main body region formed on said main body portion of said masking material, said main body region being integrally formed with said base region and displaced away from said substrate, and a contact tip structure on at least a side of said main body region that faces away from said substrate, said contact tip structure configured to contact and thereby make an electrical connection with another electronic component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification