Manufacture of mountable capped chips

• US 7,754,537 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2004
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tessera, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Tessera, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Haba, Belgacem, Kubota, Yoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Fulk; Steven J
• Application Number:
  US10/786,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20050017348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,330 Days
• Field of Search: 438/113, 438/123, 257/723, 257/670, 257/E23.042
• US Class Current: 438/123
• CPC Class Codes: B81B 7/007 Interconnections between the MEMS and external electrical signals
• CPC Class Codes: B81C 2203/0109 Bonding an individual cap on the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• 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: H03H 9/058 for surface acoustic wave devices
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/059 consisting of mounting pads or bumps
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/1057 for microelectro-mechanical devices
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/1064 for surface acoustic wave [SAW] devices

Abstract

A wafer or a portion of a wafer including capped chips such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) chips is provided with terminals by applying a terminal-bearing element such as a dielectric element with terminals and leads thereon, or a lead frame, so that the terminal-bearing element covers the caps, and the leads are aligned with channels or other depressions between the caps. The leads are connected to contacts on the wafer, and the wafer is severed to form individual units, each including terminals supported by the cap and connected to the contacts by the leads. The resulting units can be handled and processed in the same manner as ordinary chips or chip assemblies.

Claims

1. A method of making mountable devices comprising the steps of:

(a) simultaneously mounting terminals of a terminal bearing element to a plurality of spaced-apart caps projecting upwardly from a main surface of at least a portion of a wafer having a plurality of individual spaced-apart active areas, each spaced-apart cap covering and protecting a respective spaced-apart active area of the wafer, the spaced-apart caps defining a plurality of channels between adjacent ones of the active areas and between adjacent ones of the caps; and

(b) electrically connecting the terminals mounted on said caps to the wafer by means of leads extending to contacts on the wafer disposed in said channels.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said terminal-bearing element also includes said leads, said step of electrically connecting including bonding said leads to said contacts.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said assembling step is performed so as to position said leads at least partially in alignment with said channels.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein, after said assembling step, said leads extend at a level above said contacts, and wherein said bonding step includes bending said leads downwardly into engagement with said contacts.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said leads are elongated and said assembling step is performed so that at least some of the leads are aligned with channels extending co-directionally with such leads.

6. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said channels include wide channels and narrow channels, said contacts being disposed in said wide channels, said assembling step being performed so as to align said leads with said wide channels.

7. A method as claimed in claim 2 further comprising the step of severing the wafer in said channels so as to form a plurality of units, each said unit including at least one of said caps, at least one of said terminals and at least one said contact.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein said terminal-bearing element includes a dielectric layer, said terminals and said leads being supported by said dielectric element prior to said assembling step.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein said terminal-bearing element includes a lead frame incorporating said leads and said terminals.

10. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein said terminal-bearing element has at least some of said terminals electrically connected to one another prior to said assembling step, said severing step being performed so as to sever at least some connections between said terminals.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wafer includes a plurality of acoustically-active devices associated with respective ones of the individual spaced-apart active areas, said caps covering said active areas associated with the respective acoustically-active devices.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wafer includes a plurality of MEMS devices associated with respective ones of the individual spaced-apart active areas, said caps covering said active areas associated with the respective MEMS devices.

13. A method of making electronic devices comprising the steps of:

(a) simultaneously mounting a plurality of terminals of a terminal-bearing element to a structure defining an upper surface above a main surface of at least a portion of a wafer having a plurality of individual spaced-apart active areas, the structure covering and protecting individual spaced-apart active areas of the wafer, the structure having depressions extending towards the main surface of the wafer from the upper surface and contacts in said depressions, wherein a plurality of said contacts are disposed within a first one of said depressions; and

(b) electrically connecting the terminals mounted on the upper surface to the wafer by means of leads extending to the contacts disposed in said depressions.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said terminal-bearing element also includes said leads, said step of electrically connecting including bonding said leads to said contacts.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14 wherein said assembling step is performed so as to position said leads at least partially in alignment with said depressions.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein, after said assembling step, said leads extend at a level above said contacts, and wherein said bonding step includes bending said leads downwardly into engagement with said contacts.

17. A method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising the step of severing the wafer so as to form a plurality of units.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein said terminal-bearing element includes a dielectric layer, said terminals and said leads being supported by said dielectric element prior to said assembling step.

19. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein said terminal-bearing element includes a lead frame incorporating said leads and said terminals.

20. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein said terminal-bearing element has at least some of said terminals electrically connected to one another prior to said assembling step, said severing step being performed so as to sever at least some connections between said terminals.

21. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said structure defining said upper surface includes a plurality of spaced-apart caps defining said depressions as channels extending between adjacent ones of the individual spaced-apart active areas between adjacent ones of said caps.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein said first depression has a wall extending away from said main surface, said contacts have edges and said edges adjacent to said wall are spaced apart from said wall.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein a portion of said main surface is exposed between said wall of said first depression and said adjacent edges of said contact.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein each of said contacts in said depressions extends upwardly away from the main surface of said wafer.