Provision of substrate pillars to maintain chip standoff
AssigneeDelco Electronics Corporation
InventorJames A. Blanton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Pillars are formed on a substrate at the same time as electrical circuit components are formed thereon and of the same materials used to form the circuit, the pillars serving to maintain standoff of an integrated circuit chip during bonding of solder bumps on the chip underside to the formed substrate circuit. The pillars are provided without extra materials and steps, under the existing alignment requirements for providing the circuit components, during the applying of a series of discontinuous layers, e.g., by screen printing, onto the substrate to form the circuit, by also applying portions of the series of layers as stacked layers in spaced island areas to form the pillars at otherwise unused substrate sites.
Claims15
A substrate having an electrical circuit containing support surface provided with standoff pillars to space an integrated circuit above the support surface during solder flow bonding to discrete electrical circuit contact areas on the substrate support surface of solder contact deposits depending from the integrated circuit underside, comprising:
- a series of discontinuous layers formed on the substrate support surface, each layer comprising a selective circuit component material;
- the layers being disposed on the support surface individually in a selective pattern of circuit functioning areas and at least some of the layers commonly in at least three spaced-apart non-circuit island areas arranged as apexes of an imaginary polygon so as to provide on the substrate a circuit layer pattern composite of selectively electrically connected and selectively electrically insulated circuit component functioning areas defining an electrical circuit and including a contact layer portion of electrically conductive material of selective height containing discrete electrical circuit contact areas arranged for solder flow bonding thereto of corresponding integrated circuit solder contact deposits, and at least three laminar plateaus comprising at least some of the layers of the series stacked in the at least three island areas and defining standoff pillars of substantially common height selectively longer than the height of the contact layer portion containing the discrete contact areas.
A support member having a surface provided with a plurality of layers of individually selective materials including electrically conductive material, in layer portions defining a circuit that contains layer portion areas of electrically conductive material forming a plurality of electrical connection areas of selective height above the surface of the support member, and further defining at least three separated spacers of selective height above the height of the electrical connection areas of said layer portion areas and formed of layer portions of two or more of the same said layers that define said circuit, for mounting on the support member an electrical component having a plurality of solder deposits depending from a surface thereof with the surface of the electrical component in contact with the spacers and the solder deposits soldered to corresponding electrical circuit connection areas of said layer portion areas.
A combination comprising:
- a support member having a surface provided with a plurality of layers of individually selective materials including electrically conductive material, in layer portions defining a circuit that contains layer portion areas of electrically conductive material forming a plurality of electrical connection areas of selective height above the surface of the support member, and further defining at least three separated spacers of selective height above the height of the electrical connection areas of said layer portion areas and formed of layer portion of two or more of the same said layers that define said circuit;
- and
- an electrical component having a plurality of solder deposits depending from s surface thereof, the electrical component being mounted on the support member with the surface of the electrical component in contact with the spacers and the solder deposits soldered to corresponding electrical circuit connection areas of said layer portion areas.
An apparatus comprising:
- a support member having a surface;
- and
- a plurality of layers of individually selective materials including electrically conductive material, disposed in layer portions on the support member surface;
- said layer portions comprising:
- first layer portions of said electrically conductive material of selective height located on the support member surface and selected so as to facilitate soldered electrical connection thereto of corresponding solder deposits on a surface of an electrical component and depending a selective height from the electrical component surface;
- second layer portions comprising all of said layers of said individually selective materials located on the support member surface and selected so as to define a circuit electrically connected to said first layer portions;
- and
- third layer portions comprising two or more of the same said layers of said individually selective materials as said second layer portions and located on the support member surface and being stacked one on the other so as to form at least three separated spacers of selective height, said height of the spacers being greater than said height of the first layer portions and less than said height of the solder deposits from the electrical component surface such that when the solder deposits on the electrical component are melted and soldered to areas of said first layer portions, the spacers limit the distance between the electrical component surface and the support member surface to said height of the spacers.
A combination comprising:
- a support member having a surface;
- a plurality of layers of individually selective materials including electrically conductive material, disposed in layer portions on the support member surface;
- said layer portions comprising:
- first layer portions of said electrically conductive material located on the support member surface;
- second layer portions comprising all of said layers of said individually selective materials located on the support member surface and selected so as to define a circuit electrically connected to said first layer portions;
- and
- third layer portions comprising two or more of the same said layers of said individually selective materials as said second layer portions and located on the support member surface and being stacked one on the other so as to form at least three separated spacers;
- and
- an electrical component having a plurality of solder deposits depending from a surface thereof;
- the electrical component being mounted on the support member with the surface of the electrical component in contact with the spacers and the solder deposits soldered to corresponding first layer portions of said electrically conductive material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.