US5682064A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Repairable wafer scale integration system
Assignee: Micron Technology Inc
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Filing: 1995-01-23
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Granted: 1997-10-28
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Expires: 2015-01-23
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for integrating wafer scale semiconductor integrated circuits and interfacing them with other systems. A wafer, partial wafer, die or plurality of same are mated to a printed circuit board (PCB) which electrically contacts the pads on each die using small conductive pillars. The PCB in turn is connected easily to other electronic systems. The entire apparatus is incorporated into other systems which utilize the dice in the apparatus. The apparatus may be fitted with heating elements and cooling channels to generate the necessary dice temperatures for burn-in, testing, and operation. The apparatus is easily adaptable to include more dice in a stacked configuration.
Inventors
- 👤 Glen G. Atkins
- 👤 Michael S. Cohen
- 👤 Karl H. Mauritz
- 👤 James M. Shaffer
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 14:41
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10W; H10W90/00; G; G01; G01R; G01R1/00; G01R1/02; G01R1/06; G01R1/067; G01R1/073; G01R1/07307; G01R1/07314; G01R31/00; G01R31/28; G01R31/2851; G01R31/2886; H10P; H10P74/00; H10P74/23; H10P74/232; H10W40/00; H10W78/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
230 words
A vessel for interfacing a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit dice, each of said dice having a plurality of contact pads, with other electronic systems, said vessel comprises: at least one printed circuit board (PCB); means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said PCB with respect to said dice; and, means for non-permanently electrically connecting said PCB to said contact pads, said means for non-permanently electrically connecting comprise: a plurality of electrically conductive pillars extending from said PCB; said pillars positioned to precisely contact said contact pads when said dice and PCB are brought together in alignment; wherein said means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position comprise: an upper plate; means for attaching said PCB to said upper plate; said upper plate sized and positioned to impart a substantially uniform vertical force across said PCB and thereby said pillars; a lower plate; means for non-permanently attaching said dice to said lower plate; said lower plate sized and positioned to impart a substantially uniform vertical force across said dice; and, means for rigidly and non-permanently maintaining a position of the upper plate with respect to the lower plate; wherein said means for non-permanently attaching said dice to said lower plate comprise: said lower plate having a plurality of recesses sized and dimensioned to accommodate dice of varying thicknesses such that the tops of said dice lie substantially within a plane.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
230 words
A vessel for interfacing a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit dice, each of said dice having a plurality of contact pads, with other electronic systems, said vessel comprises: at least one printed circuit board (PCB); means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said PCB with respect to said dice; and, means for non-permanently electrically connecting said PCB to said contact pads, said means for non-permanently electrically connecting comprise: a plurality of electrically conductive pillars extending from said PCB; said pillars positioned to precisely contact said contact pads when said dice and PCB are brought together in alignment; wherein said means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position comprise: an upper plate; means for attaching said PCB to said upper plate; said upper plate sized and positioned to impart a substantially uniform vertical force across said PCB and thereby said pillars; a lower plate; means for non-permanently attaching said dice to said lower plate; said lower plate sized and positioned to impart a substantially uniform vertical force across said dice; and, means for rigidly and non-permanently maintaining a position of the upper plate with respect to the lower plate; wherein said means for non-permanently attaching said dice to said lower plate comprise: said lower plate having a plurality of recesses sized and dimensioned to accommodate dice of varying thicknesses such that the tops of said dice lie substantially within a plane.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
The vessel of claim 1 wherein said means for attaching said PCB to said upper plate comprise: means for quickly detaching said PCB from said upper plate thereby allowing for replacement of said PCB depending the type of wafer and type of testing to be performed.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The vessel of claim 1 which further comprises: electronic means for generating signals and power necessary to test said dice.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
29 words
The vessel of claim 1 wherein said means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said PCB with respect to said dice comprise: a fiducial or optical targeting feature.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The vessel of claim 1 wherein said means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said PCB with respect to said dice further comprise: said lower plate having at least one tooling hole bored into an upper surface thereof, said hole being sized and dimensioned to precisely receive said dice.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
13 words
The vessel of claim 1 which further comprises: means for heating said dice.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
The vessel of claim 6 which further comprises: means for cooling said dice.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The vessel of claim 7 wherein said means for heating said dice comprise: a heating element integral with said lower plate.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
The vessel of claim 8 wherein said means for cooling said dice comprise: said lower plate having a channel, bored there through, said channel being sized and dimensioned to accommodate gaseous or liquid coolant being circulated through said channel.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The vessel of claim 9 which further comprises a thermal sensor for monitoring the temperature of said dice.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
The vessel of claim 1 wherein said means for non-permanently attaching said dice to said lower plate comprise: an adhesive layer between said dice and said lower plate.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
The vessel of claim 11 wherein said adhesive layer comprises: sticky tape or epoxy having the consistency of sticky tape.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The vessel of claim 1 wherein said means for non-permanently attaching said dice so said lower plate comprise: a wafer saw carrier frame (carrier); means for aligning said carrier with said lower plate; and, means for affixing said carrier to said lower plate.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
The vessel of claim 1 wherein said recesses are further sized and dimensioned to allow for thermal expansion of said dice and said vessel.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
116 words
A vessel for interfacing a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit dice, each of said dice having a plurality of contact pads, with other electronic systems, said vessel comprises: at least one printed circuit board (PCB); means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said PCB with respect to said dice; and, means for non-permanently electrically connecting said PCB to said contact pads; said means for non-permanently electrically connecting comprises: a plurality of electrically conductive pillars extending from said PCB; said pillars positioned to precisely contact said contact pads when said dice and PCB are brought together in alignment; wherein each of said pillars comprises: a metal land pattern; an epoxy portion; and a metal plated portion.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
116 words
A vessel for interfacing a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit dice, each of said dice having a plurality of contact pads, with other electronic systems, said vessel comprises: at least one printed circuit board (PCB); means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said PCB with respect to said dice; and, means for non-permanently electrically connecting said PCB to said contact pads; said means for non-permanently electrically connecting comprises: a plurality of electrically conductive pillars extending from said PCB; said pillars positioned to precisely contact said contact pads when said dice and PCB are brought together in alignment; wherein each of said pillars comprises: a metal land pattern; an epoxy portion; and a metal plated portion.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
20 words
The vessel of claim 15 wherein said pillars comprise laser sensitive materials, thereby allowing the pillars to be laser machined.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
The vessel of claim 15 wherein each of said pillars further comprises metal shavings thereby allowing said pillars to remove metal oxides from said contact pads during contact.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
The vessel of claim 15 which further comprises: an amount of glue applied between an end of each of a number of said pillars and each of a number of said contact pads.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
18 words
The vessel of claim 15 wherein: said pillars are of differing heights to accommodate dice of varying thicknesses.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
17 words
The vessel of claim 15, wherein said metal plated portion is not thicker than 10 (ten) microinches.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
132 words
A vessel for interfacing a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit dice, each of said dice having a plurality of contact pads, with other electronic systems, said vessel comprises: a first printed circuit board (PCB); means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said first PCB with respect to said dice; and, means for non-permanently electrically connecting said first PCB to said contact pads; said means for non-permanently electrically connecting comprises: a plurality of electrically conductive pillars extending from said first PCB; said pillars positioned to precisely contact said pads when said dice and said first PCB are brought together in alignment; wherein said first PCB is formed into a rigid plate; and said pillars extend from both a top surface of said first PCB and a bottom surface of said first PCB.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
132 words
A vessel for interfacing a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit dice, each of said dice having a plurality of contact pads, with other electronic systems, said vessel comprises: a first printed circuit board (PCB); means for non-permanently maintaining a precise position of said first PCB with respect to said dice; and, means for non-permanently electrically connecting said first PCB to said contact pads; said means for non-permanently electrically connecting comprises: a plurality of electrically conductive pillars extending from said first PCB; said pillars positioned to precisely contact said pads when said dice and said first PCB are brought together in alignment; wherein said first PCB is formed into a rigid plate; and said pillars extend from both a top surface of said first PCB and a bottom surface of said first PCB.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The vessel of claim 21 wherein: a plurality of PCB's engage dice attached to a plurality of plates in a stacked configuration.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
98 words
The vessel of claim 21 which further comprises: an upper plate; means for non-permanently attaching a first number of said dice to a lower surface of said upper plate; a lower plate; means for non-permanently attaching a second number of said dice to an upper surface of said lower plate; wherein a first number of said pillars extending from said top surface of said first PCB detachably contact said first number of said dice, and a second number of said pillars extending from said bottom surface of said first PCB detachably contact said second number of said dice.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-10-27 | 2001-04-28 | 2001-10-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-10-27 | 2005-04-28 | 2005-10-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-10-27 | 2009-04-28 | 2009-10-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |