Methods and apparatus for integrated circuit ball bonding using stacked ball bumps
AssigneeAgere Systems Inc.
InventorPatrick J. Carberry
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An integrated circuit comprises at least one circuit element having at least one bond site and a passivation layer. The bond site is accessible through an aperture in the passivation layer. At least two ball bumps are disposed at the bond site. A first ball bump is bonded to the bond site, and each additional ball bump is bonded on a previously bonded ball bump so that the height of the ball bumps is greater than the thickness of the passivation layer above the bond site. A ball bond is bonded to an uppermost ball bump and has a wire formed integrally therewith.
Claims22
An integrated circuit comprising:
- at least one circuit element comprising at least one bond site and a passivation layer, wherein the bond site is accessible through an aperture in the passivation layer;
- at least two ball bumps, wherein a first ball bump of the at least two ball bumps is bonded to the bond site, and each additional ball bump of the at least two ball bumps is bonded on a previously bonded ball bump so that a height of the at least two ball bumps is greater than a thickness of the passivation layer above the bond site;
- and
- a ball bond, bonded to an uppermost ball bump of the at least two ball bumps, and having a wire formed integrally therewith.
An integrated circuit comprising:
- at least one circuit element comprising at least one bond site and a passivation layer, wherein the bond site is accessible through an aperture in the passivation layer;
- at least one ball bump, wherein the at least one ball bump is bonded to the bond site so that a height of the at least one ball bump is greater than a thickness of the passivation layer above the bond site;
- and
- a ball bond, bonded to the at least one ball bump, and having a wire formed integrally therewith.
An integrated circuit comprising:
- at least one circuit element comprising at least one bond site;
- at least two ball bumps, wherein a first ball bump of the at least two ball bumps is bonded to the bond site, each additional ball bump of the at least two ball bumps is bonded on a previously bonded ball bump and widest cross-sectional diameters of the at least two ball bumps in planes parallel to a surface of the bond site increase from the first ball bump to an uppermost ball bump above the bond site;
- and
- a ball bond, bonded to the uppermost ball bump of the at least two ball bumps, and having a wire formed integrally therewith.
A method for performing a wire-bonding operation in an integrated circuit, utilizing a bonding tool, the method comprising the steps of:
- bonding a first ball bump of at least two ball bumps to a bond site in the integrated circuit;
- bonding each additional ball bump of the at least two ball bumps on a previously bonded ball bump so that a height of the at least two ball bumps is greater than a thickness of a passivation layer above the bond site;
- and
- forming a ball bond, having a wire integral therewith, on an uppermost ball bump of the at least two ball bumps.
Apparatus for performing a wire-bonding operation in an integrated circuit, the apparatus comprising:
- a bonding tool;
- a memory;
- and
- at least one processor, coupled to the memory, and operative to control the bonding tool to perform the steps of:
- (i) bonding a first ball bump of at least two ball bumps to a bond site in the integrated circuit;
- (ii) bonding each additional ball bump of the at least two ball bumps to a previously bonded ball bump so that a height of the at least two ball bumps is greater than a thickness of a passivation layer above the bond site;
- and (iii) forming a ball bond, having a wire integral therewith, on an uppermost ball bump of the at least two ball bumps.
An article of manufacture for performing a wire-bonding operation in an integrated circuit, utilizing a bonding tool, comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:
- bonding a first ball bump of at least two ball bumps to a bond site in the integrated circuit;
- bonding each additional ball bump of the at least two ball bumps to a previously bonded ball bump so that a height of the at least two ball bumps is greater than a thickness of a passivation layer above the bond site;
- and
- forming a ball bond, having a wire integral therewith, on an uppermost ball bump of the at least two ball bumps.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.