Ball grid array (BGA) integrated circuit packages

A ball grid array package for an integrated circuit comprising:

• a heat spreader comprising a thermally and electrically conductive material;
• a body of the package for enclosing an integrated circuit chip in thermal contact with the heat spreader disposed on one side of the body;
• and disposed on an opposite side of the body a metallization layer defining conductive leads on which is disposed an array of solder balls, conductive interconnections extending through the body from solder balls of the array to lead bond pads for the integrated circuit;
• wherein the improvement comprises a conductive interconnection extending between the heat spreader through the body to selected solder balls the array, for interconnection of the heat spreader to a ground connection through the array of solder balls.

An assembly of a ball grid array package, an integrated circuit, and a substrate comprising a conductive layer providing a ground plane, comprising:

• the ball arid array package comprising a dielectric body, an electrically conductive heatspreader disposed on one side of the body, and an array of solder balls disposed on an opposite side of the body, the integrated circuit enclosed by the heatspreader and the dielectric body of the ball grid array package;
• and the heat spreader being in thermal contact with the integrated circuit;
• conductive interconnections extending from contact pads of the integrated circuit though conductive leads extending through the dielectric body of the ball grid array package to corresponding individual solder balls of an array of solder balls;
• each solder ball being conductively interconnected with a corresponding one of an array of bond pads provided on the substrate,
• and the heat spreader being interconnected through conductive interconnections to selected solder balls connected to the ground plane of the substrate.