Process for encapsulating electronic components in plastic

Claim 2

A process for encapsulating a miniaturized semiconductor device having a multiplicity of electrical terminals comprising the steps of: electrically connecting each of the electrical terminals of the device to an intermediate point of a conductor and mechanically attaching each component of the device to at least one of the conductors for support, disposing the device and the adjacent intermediate portions of the conductors in a mold cavity with the opposite ends of each of the conductors extending from generally opposite sides of the mold cavity, and holding the opposite ends of the conductors extending from the mold cavity while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity which will subsequently solidify, the fluid insulating material being injected into a portion of the mold cavity remote from the device and the means electrically connecting the terminals of the device to the conductors, whereby the fluid will not directly engage the device and electrical connection means at a high velocity and the conductors will be secured against appreciable displacement by the fluid which would be likely to break or displace a connection means in such a manner to cause a failure of the device.

Claim 3

A process for encapsulating a miniaturized semiconductor device having a multiplicity of electrical terminals comprising the steps defined in claim 1 wherein: the conductor wires are disposed generally in a common plane, the device and a major portion of the means making electrical connection between the terminals and the conductor wires are disposed generally on one side of the plane, and the fluid insulating material is injected into the mold cavity on the other side of the plane.

Claim 4

A process for encapsulating a miniaturized semiconductor device having a multiplicity of electrical terminals comprising the steps defined in claim 1 wherein: the conductor wires are disposed generally parallel, the device and a major portion of the means making electrical connection between the terminals and the conductor wires are disposed generally at transversely aligned points on the conductor wires, and the fluid insulating material is directed into the metal cavity generally normal to the conductor wires and at a point spaced longitudinally along the conductor wires from the point at which the device is disposed.

Claim 5

A process for encapsulating a miniaturized semiconductor device having a multiplicity of electrical terminals comprising the steps defined in claim 1 wherein: the conductor wires are disposed generally parallel and in a common plane, the device and a major portion of the means making electrical connection between the terminals and the conductor wires are disposed generally on one side of the plane and are aligned generally transversely of the conductor wires, and the fluid insulating material is directed into the mold cavity generally normal to the conductor wires and at a point longitudinally spaced along the conductor wires from the device and on the other side of the plane.

Claim 6

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: mechanically connecting a transistor wafer to a midpoint of a first conductor and electrically connecting a first active region of the transistor to the conductor, connecting a first whisker wire lead to a second active region of the transistor wafer and to a midpoint of a second conductor disposed generally parallel to the first conductor, connecting a second whisker wire lead to a third active region of the transistor and to a midpoint of a third conductor disposed generally parallel to the first and second conductors, placing the transistor wafer, the whisker wire leads and the adjacent portions of the conductors in a mold cavity with the opposite ends of the conductors extending from generally opposite sides of the mold cavity, and injecting a fluid material into the mold cavity which will subsequently solidify while holding the ends of the conductors to prevent excessive movement of the conductors and breakage of the whisker wire leads or connections thereof.

Claim 7

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: mechanically connecting a transistor wafer to a midpoint of a first conductor and electrically connecting a first active region of the transistor to the conductor, connecting a first whisker wire lead to a second active region of the transistor wafer and to a midpoint of a second conductor disposed generally parallel to the first conductor, connecting a second whisker wire lead to a third active region of the transistor and to a midpoint of a third conductor disposed generally parallel to the first and second conductors, placing the transistor wafer, the whisker wire leads and the adjacent portions of the conductors in a mold cavity with the opposite ends of the conductors extending from generally opposite sides of the mold cavity, and injecting a fluid material into the mold cavity which will subsequently solidify while holding the ends of the conductors to prevent excessive movement of the conductors and breakage of the whisker wire leads or connections thereof.

Claim 8

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: disposing three conductor wires generally in parallel relationship and connecting tabs to the ends of the wires to form an assembly securing the conductor wires in parallel relationship, attaching a transistor wafer to a midpoint of one of the conductor wires for support and for making electrical contact with an active region of the wafer, attaching a first whisker wire lead to another active region of the wafer and to another of the conductor wires, attaching a second whisker wire lead to the other active region of the wafer and to the other of the conductor wires, disposing the wafer, the whisker wire leads and the adjacent portions of the conductor wires in a mold cavity with opposite end portions of the conductor wires extending from the cavity, and injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity which will subsequently solidify while holding the conductor wires on opposite sides of the mold cavity to prevent excessive movement of the conductor wires which would tend to part the whisker wire leads or the connections thereof.

Claim 9

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: disposing three conductor wires generally in parallel relationship and connecting tabs to the ends of the wires to form an assembly securing the conductor wires in parallel relationship, attaching a transistor wafer to a midpoint of one of the conductor wires for support and for making electrical contact with an active region of the wafer, attaching a first whisker wire lead to another active region of the wafer and to another of the conductor wires, attaching a second whisker wire lead to the other active region of the wafer and to the other of the conductor wires, disposing the wafer, the whisker wire leads and the adjacent portions of the conductor wires in a mold cavity with opposite end portions of the conductor wires extending from the cavity, and injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity which will subsequently solidify while holding the conductor wires on opposite sides of the mold cavity to prevent excessive movement of the conductor wires which would tend to part the whisker wire leads or the connections thereof.

Claim 10

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: punching four generally parallel slots from a metallic plate to form a generally rectangular frame and three conductor wires disposed generally in parallel relationship and extending between two sides of the frame, attaching a transistor wafer to one of the conductor wires and electrically connecting an active region of the wafer to the conductor wire, attaching a first whisker wire lead to another active region of the wafer and to another of the conductor wires, attaching a second whisker wire lead to the other active region of the wafer and to the other of the conductor wires, disposing the wafer, the whisker wire leads and the adjacent portions of the conductor wires in a mold cavity with opposite ends of the conductor wires extending from the mold cavity, and injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity which will subsequently solidify while holding the conductor wires on opposite sides of the mold cavity to prevent excessive movement of the conductor wires which would tend to part the whisker wire leads or the connections thereof.

Claim 11

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: punching four generally parallel slots from a metallic plate to form a generally rectangular frame and three conductor wires disposed generally in parallel relationship and extending between two sides of the frame, attaching a transistor wafer to one of the conductor wires and electrically connecting an active region of the wafer to the conductor wire, attaching a first whisker wire lead to another active region of the wafer and to another of the conductor wires, attaching a second whisker wire lead to the other active region of the wafer and to the other of the conductor wires, disposing the wafer, the whisker wire leads and the adjacent portions of the conductor wires in a mold cavity with opposite ends of the conductor wires extending from the mold cavity, and injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity which will subsequently solidify while holding the conductor wires on opposite sides of the mold cavity to prevent excessive movement of the conductor wires which would tend to part the whisker wire leads or the connections thereof.

Claim 12

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: interconnecting the opposite ends of three conductor wires disposed generally in parallel relationship within a single plane by attaching the ends of the conductors to tabs to form an assembly having top and bottom sides, flattening the top sides of adjacent intermediate points of the three conductor wires generally in the plane of the wires, attaching a planar transistor wafer to the flattened top side of the center conductor wire such that the collector of the wafer will be electrically connected to the conductor wire, attaching a whisker wire lead to the base of the transistor and to the flattened top side of one of the outer conductor wires so as to extend generally normal to the conductor wires, attaching a whisker wire lead to the emitter of the transistor and to the flattened top side of one of the other conductor wires so as to extend generally normal to the conductor wires, disposing the wafer, the whisker wire leads and the flattened portions in a mold cavity formed by upper and lower dies with the conductor wires extending from generally opposite sides of the mold cavity and clamped between the upper and lower dies on opposite sides of the mold cavity and the wafer and whisker wire lead disposed in one-half of the mold cavity, injecting a fluid material which will subsequently harden and encapsulate the transistor into the other half of the mold cavity disposed adjacent the bottom side of the conductor wires at a point offset from the wafer and whisker wire leads and in a direction generally parallel to the whisker wire leads, and severing the tabs from the ends of the conductor wires to leave a length of each of the conductor wires extending in at least one direction from the encapsulating material.

Claim 13

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: interconnecting the opposite ends of three conductor wires disposed generally in parallel relationship within a single plane by attaching the ends of the conductors to tabs to form an assembly having top and bottom sides, flattening the top sides of adjacent intermediate points of the three conductor wires generally in the plane of the wires, attaching a planar transistor wafer to the flattened top side of the center conductor wire such that the collector of the wafer will be electrically connected to the conductor wire, attaching a whisker wire lead to the base of the transistor and to the flattened top side of one of the outer conductor wires so as to extend generally normal to the conductor wires, attaching a whisker wire lead to the emitter of the transistor and to the flattened top side of one of the other conductor wires so as to extend generally normal to the conductor wires, disposing the wafer, the whisker wire leads and the flattened portions in a mold cavity formed by upper and lower dies with the conductor wires extending from generally opposite sides of the mold cavity and clamped between the upper and lower dies on opposite sides of the mold cavity and the wafer and whisker wire lead disposed in one-half of the mold cavity, injecting a fluid material which will subsequently harden and encapsulate the transistor into the other half of the mold cavity disposed adjacent the bottom side of the conductor wires at a point offset from the wafer and whisker wire leads and in a direction generally parallel to the whisker wire leads, and severing the tabs from the ends of the conductor wires to leave a length of each of the conductor wires extending in at least one direction from the encapsulating material.

Claim 14

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps defined in claim 8 wherein: a plurality of assemblies are constructed and placed in side-by-side relationship between two dies having a mold cavity for receiving the wafer, whisker wire leads and flattened portion of each assembly and having an elongated mold cavity intersecting the conductor wires of all the assemblies, fluid material is injected into the elongated mold to form an elongated stringer interconnecting the conductor wires of all the assemblies, severing the tabs from the ends of the conductor wires such that the stringer will interconnect the several devices and the conductor wires will be electrically isolated one from the other such that the device can be tested, and then severing the conductor wires of each unit adjacent the stringer to separate the device from the stringer.

Claim 15

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: forming an assembly having a rectangular frame and three conductor wires disposed generally in parallel relationship and extending between two sides of the frame, attaching a transistor wafer having three active regions to one side of one of the conductor wires and making electrical connection between each of the active regions and one of the conductive wires, disposing the transistor wafer and the adjacent portions of the conductor leads in a mold cavity, injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold which will subsequently harden and encapsulate the wafer and conductor wires, and severing the conductor wires from the frame on either side of the encapsulating material.

Claim 16

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps of: forming an assembly having a rectangular frame and three conductor wires disposed generally in parallel relationship and extending between two sides of the frame, attaching a transistor wafer having three active regions to one side of one of the conductor wires and making electrical connection between each of the active regions and one of the conductive wires, disposing the transistor wafer and the adjacent portions of the conductor leads in a mold cavity, injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold which will subsequently harden and encapsulate the wafer and conductor wires, and severing the conductor wires from the frame on either side of the encapsulating material.

Claim 17

A process for manufacturing a transistor comprising the steps defined in claim 10 wherein: the assembly is formed by stamping four elongated slots from a sheet of metal to produce the rectangular frame and three conductor wires.

Claim 18

The process for encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: electrically connecting each of the electrical terminals of the device to a conductor and mechanically attaching a portion of said device to at least one of the conductors for support; disposing the conductors generally in a common plane; disposing the device and a major portion of the means for making electrical connection between the terminals and the conductors generally on one side of the plane; disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity; and holding the ends of the conductors extending from the mold cavity while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity on the other side of the plane to subsequently solidify and embed said device, the fluid insulating material being injected into a portion of the cavity remote from the device and the means electrically connecting the terminals of the device to the conductors, whereby the fluid will not directly engage the device and electrical connection means at high velocity, and the conductors will be secured against appreciable displacement by the fluid.

Claim 19

The process for encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: electrically connecting each of the electrical terminals of the device to a conductor and mechanically attaching a portion of said device to at least one of the conductors for support; disposing the conductors generally in a common plane; disposing the device and a major portion of the means for making electrical connection between the terminals and the conductors generally on one side of the plane; disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity; and holding the ends of the conductors extending from the mold cavity while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity on the other side of the plane to subsequently solidify and embed said device, the fluid insulating material being injected into a portion of the cavity remote from the device and the means electrically connecting the terminals of the device to the conductors, whereby the fluid will not directly engage the device and electrical connection means at high velocity, and the conductors will be secured against appreciable displacement by the fluid.

Claim 20

A process for encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: electrically connecting electrical terminals of the device to a plurality of conductors; disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity, and restraining the conductors while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity for subsequently solidifying and embedding said device; the fluid insulating material being injected into the mold cavity at a point offset from the semiconductor device and the electrical connections between the device and the conductors in a direction generally parallel to said connections, and into a portion of the cavity remote from the device and electrical connections between the terminals of the device and the conductors, so as to prevent direct high velocity engagement between the fluid and the device and the electrical connections thereto.

Claim 21

A process for encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: electrically connecting electrical terminals of the device to a plurality of conductors; disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity, and restraining the conductors while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity for subsequently solidifying and embedding said device; the fluid insulating material being injected into the mold cavity at a point offset from the semiconductor device and the electrical connections between the device and the conductors in a direction generally parallel to said connections, and into a portion of the cavity remote from the device and electrical connections between the terminals of the device and the conductors, so as to prevent direct high velocity engagement between the fluid and the device and the electrical connections thereto.

Claim 22

A process of encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: providing electrical connections between electrical terminals of the device and a plurality of conductors arranged in a substantially common plane, said device and the thusly provided electrical connections thereto being disposed on one side of said plane, disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity, and holding the conductors while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity for subsequently solidifying and embedding said device, the fluid insulating material being injected into a portion of the cavity on the opposite side of said plane to preclude direct high velocity engagement between the fluid and the device and the electrical connections thereto.

Claim 23

A process of encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: providing electrical connections between electrical terminals of the device and a plurality of conductors arranged in a substantially common plane, said device and the thusly provided electrical connections thereto being disposed on one side of said plane, disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity, and holding the conductors while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity for subsequently solidifying and embedding said device, the fluid insulating material being injected into a portion of the cavity on the opposite side of said plane to preclude direct high velocity engagement between the fluid and the device and the electrical connections thereto.

Claim 24

A process according to claim 14 wherein: said mold cavity includes at least one generally flat wall spaced from and substantially parallel to said common plane to provide a generally flat reference surface upon completion of solidification of said fluid insulating material.

Claim 25

A process according to claim 14 wherein: said plurality of conductors are further arranged in generally parallel relationship.

Claim 26

A process of encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: providing electrical connections between electrical terminals of the device and a plurality of conductors arranged substantially parallel to one another, said device and the thusly provided electrical connections thereto being provided on one side of said conductors, disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity, and holding the conductors while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity for subseqently solidifying and embedding said device, the fluid insulating material being injected into a portion of the cavity on the opposite side of said conductors to preclude direct high velocity engagement between the fluid and the device and the electrical connections thereto.

Claim 27

A process of encapsulating a semiconductor device comprising: providing electrical connections between electrical terminals of the device and a plurality of conductors arranged substantially parallel to one another, said device and the thusly provided electrical connections thereto being provided on one side of said conductors, disposing the device and portions of the conductors in a mold cavity, and holding the conductors while injecting a fluid insulating material into the mold cavity for subseqently solidifying and embedding said device, the fluid insulating material being injected into a portion of the cavity on the opposite side of said conductors to preclude direct high velocity engagement between the fluid and the device and the electrical connections thereto.