Large area modular sensor array assembly and method for making the same

• US 8,345,508 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2010
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Wodnicki, Robert Gideon, Fisher, Rayette Ann, Woychik, Charles Gerard, Bansal, Shubhra, Byun, Albert Taesung
• Primary Examiner(s): PIHULIC, DANIEL T
• Application Number:
  US12/714,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20110071397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,040 Days
• Field of Search: 367/7, 367/11, 600/459, 288/179.1
• US Class Current: 367/7
• CPC Class Codes: B06B 1/0629 Square array
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 1/0016 Brazing of electronic components

Abstract

A modular and tileable sensor array with routing in the interposer carrying the signals from the sensors to the integrated circuits. In one embodiment a large area modular sensor array assembly includes one or more tileable modules coupled together. The tileable modules have a plurality of transducer cells forming a sensor, an interposer coupled on a first side to the plurality of transducer cells by a plurality, one or more integrated circuits coupled to a second side of the interposer, wherein the interposer is configured to form the connection of at least some of the transducer cells to the integrated circuits, and one or more input/output connectors coupled to the interposer and providing an external interface.

Claims

1. A large area modular sensor array assembly comprising:

at least one tileable module, said tileable module comprising;

a plurality of transducer cells forming at least one sensor;

an organic interposer bonded on a first side to the plurality of transducer cells;

one or more integrated circuits bonded to a second side of the interposer, wherein the interposer includes a plurality of electrical interconnections to at least some of the transducer cells and to at least some of the integrated circuits; and

at least one input/output connector having a length extending substantially orthogonal to the interposer and providing an external interface, wherein the length of the input/output connector is greater than a thickness of the integrated circuits; and

a substrate coupled to the tileable module and electrically coupled to the input/output connector.

2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a trenched sensor having a plurality of pillars coupled to the first side of the interposer.

3. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a solder bumped under bump metallurgy (UBM) pad deposited on a tip of the pillar and the bumped pillar is solder attached to the interposer.

4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the trenched sensor is a Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer (cMUT).

5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the organic interposer is comprised of polytetrafluoroethylene.

6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the input/output connector is a ball grid array (BGA) ball.

7. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein each tileable module comprises two or more sensors and two or more integrated circuits coupled to said interposer.

8. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is electrically coupled to at least one of a controller, a storage medium and an imaging circuit.

9. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a rigid or semi-rigid substrate.

10. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein a first tileable module is coupled to a second tileable module by a module interconnect in said interposer.

11. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a motherboard providing a base for the tileable modules and coupled to at least one of the input/output connectors.

12. The assembly according to claim 11, further comprising at least one connector and at least one cable coupled to the motherboard.

13. The assembly according to claim 12, further comprising an enclosure housing the tileable modules, motherboard and connector.

14. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a cable connector coupled to the substrate providing an interface to the external resources via cables to the cable connector.

15. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the assembly is configured to form at least one compression plate, each compression plate comprising a two-dimensional transducer array of the tileable modules and having an annular aperture for mammography scanning.

16. A method of forming a large area modular sensor array assembly, comprising:

providing a motherboard;

coupling one or more tileable modules to said motherboard, said tileable modules comprising;

bonding a plurality of transducer cells to a first side of an interposer by a plurality of first side bumps;

bonding at least one integrated circuit to a second side of the interposer by a plurality of second side bumps;

providing a plurality of electrical interconnections in said interposer coupling the transducer cells to the integrated circuits; and

forming an input/output connection on the interposer, wherein said input/output connection exceeds a thickness of said integrated circuit thereby providing an electrical connection to said motherboard.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising coupling at least one connector to said motherboard and connecting at least one cable to said connector.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising coupling one or more external resources to said motherboard.

19. A transducer sensor array, comprising:

a plurality of transducer cells with some of said transducer cells forming at least one trenched sensor;

one or more integrated circuits, each integrated circuit having a defined thickness;

an organic interposer sandwiched between the transducer cells and the integrated circuit, said transducer cells bonded to a first side of the interposer, the integrated circuits bonded to a second side of the interposer, wherein the interposer includes a plurality of electrical interconnections between at least some of the transducer cells and at least some of the integrated circuits;

at least one input/output connector bonded on the interposer on a same side as the integrated circuits and having a length greater than the defined thickness of the integrated circuit, wherein the input/output connector is electrically coupled to at least one of the transducer cells or the integrated circuits;

a substrate electrically coupled to the input/output connector; and

electrical connections from the substrate to external resources.

20. The transducer sensor array according to claim 19, wherein the interposer is comprised of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and the trenched sensor has a plurality of pillars bonded to the interposer.