Patent US5864946A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5864946A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method of making contact tip structures
Assignee: FormFactor Inc
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Filing: 1997-04-15
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Granted: 1999-02-02
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Expires: 2017-04-15
Abstract
Abstract Resilient contact structures are mounted directly to bond pads on semiconductor dies, prior to the dies being singulated (separated) from a semiconductor wafer. This enables the semiconductor dies to be exercised (e.g., tested and/or burned-in) by connecting to the semiconductor dies with a circuit board or the like having a plurality of terminals disposed on a surface thereof. Subsequently, the semiconductor dies may be singulated from the semiconductor wafer, whereupon the same resilient contact structures can be used to effect interconnections between the semiconductor dies and other electronic components (such as wiring substrates, semiconductor packages, etc.). Using the all-metallic composite interconnection elements of the present invention as the resilient contact structures, burn-in can be performed at temperatures of at least 150° C., and can be completed in less than 60 minutes.
Inventors
- 👤 Benjamin N. Eldridge
- 👤 Gary W. Grube
- 👤 Igor Y. Khandros
- 👤 Gaetan L. Mathieu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 10:12
CPC Classifications
H; H05; H05K; H05K7/00; H05K7/02; H05K7/10; H05K7/1053; H05K7/1061; H05K7/1069; B; B23; B23K; B23K1/00; B23K1/0008; B23K20/00; B23K20/002; B23K20/004; C; C23; C23C; C23C18/00; C23C18/16; C23C18/1601; C23C18/1603; C23C18/1605; C23C18/1633; C23C18/1646; C23C18/165; C25; C25D; C25D7/00; C25D7/12; C25D7/123; G; G01; G01R; G01R1/00; G01R1/02; G01R1/06; G01R1/067; G01R1/073; G01R1/07307; G01R1/07342; G01R31/00; G01R31/28; G01R31/2851; G01R31/2884; H05K3/00; H05K3/30; H05K3/306; H05K3/308; H05K3/32; H05K3/325; H05K3/326; H05K3/34; H05K3/341; H05K3/3421; H05K3/3426; H05K3/40; H05K3/4007; H05K3/4015; H10; H10P; H10P72/00; H10P72/70; H10P72/74; H10P74/00; H10P74/23; H10W; H10W70/00; H10W70/099; H10W72/00; H10W72/01; H10W72/0198; H10W72/071; H10W72/075; H10W72/20; H10W74/00; H10W74/01; H10W74/012; H10W74/10; H10W74/15; H10W90/00; H10W90/701; B23K2101/00; B23K2101/36; B23K2101/40; C25D21/00; C25D21/02; C25D5/00; C25D5/22; C25D5/60; C25D5/605; G01R31/2855; G01R31/2856; G01R31/286; G01R31/2863; G01R31/2886; H01; H01R; H01R12/00; H01R12/50; H01R12/51; H01R12/52; H05K1/00; H05K1/02; H05K1/14; H05K1/141; H05K2201/00; H05K2201/03; H05K2201/0332; H05K2201/0388; H05K2201/0397; H05K2201/06; H05K2201/068; H05K2201/10; H05K2201/10227; H05K2201/1031; H05K2201/10318; H05K2201/10378; H05K2201/10613; H05K2201/10621; H05K2201/10719; H05K2201/10734; H05K2201/10742; H05K2201/1075; H05K2201/10757; H05K2201/10878; H05K2201/10886; H05K2201/10909; H05K2201/10946; H05K3/10; H05K3/20; H05K3/36; H05K3/368; H05K3/4092; H10W46/00; H10W46/501; H10W70/01; H10W70/05; H10W72/012; H10W72/01204; H10W72/01221; H10W72/01223; H10W72/01225; H10W72/01251; H10W72/01255; H10W72/013; H10W72/01331; H10W72/019; H10W72/072; H10W72/07231; H10W72/07236; H10W72/074; H10W72/07531; H10W72/07532; H10W72/07533; H10W72/07551; H10W72/07554; H10W72/221; H10W72/222; H10W72/223; H10W72/241; H10W72/242; H10W72/251; H10W72/252; H10W72/255; H10W72/29; H10W72/30; H10W72/321; H10W72/325; H10W72/351; H10W72/352; H10W72/353; H10W72/354; H10W72/50; H10W72/521; H10W72/522; H10W72/523; H10W72/531; H10W72/533; H10W72/534; H10W72/541; H10W72/543; H10W72/547; H10W72/551; H10W72/552; H10W72/5522; H10W72/5524; H10W72/5525; H10W72/555; H10W72/59; H10W72/851; H10W72/853; H10W72/856; H10W72/90; H10W72/921; H10W72/923; H10W72/951; H10W72/952; H10W90/20; H10W90/22; H10W90/721; H10W90/722; H10W90/751; H10W90/754; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P70/00; Y02P70/50; Y10; Y10S; Y10S977/00; Y10S977/70; Y10S977/701; Y10S977/712; Y10S977/723; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49002; Y10T29/49004; Y10T29/49117; Y10T29/49124; Y10T29/4913; Y10T29/49144; Y10T29/49147; Y10T29/49149; Y10T29/49169; Y10T29/49171; Y10T29/49204; Y10T29/49208; Y10T29/4922; Y10T29/4981; Y10T29/49812; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/12; Y10T428/12389; Y10T428/12396; Y10T428/12493; Y10T428/12528
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
71 words
Method of pre-fabricating contact tip structures for joining to ends of elongate interconnection elements, comprising: depositing at least one layer of at least one conductive material on a surface of a silicon wafer; depositing a layer of masking material atop the at least one conductive layer; patterning openings in the masking material; depositing at least one layer of at least one conductive material into the openings; and removing the masking material.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
71 words
Method of pre-fabricating contact tip structures for joining to ends of elongate interconnection elements, comprising: depositing at least one layer of at least one conductive material on a surface of a silicon wafer; depositing a layer of masking material atop the at least one conductive layer; patterning openings in the masking material; depositing at least one layer of at least one conductive material into the openings; and removing the masking material.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
Method, according to claim 1, further comprising: depositing a joining material on the at least one layer of at least one conductive material previously deposited in the openings.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
Method, according to claim 2, further comprising: joining the tip structures to ends of contact structures.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
Method, according to claim 3, wherein: the contact structures are resilient contact structures.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
13 words
Method, according to claim 3, wherein: the contact structures are composite interconnection elements.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
Method, according to claim 3, wherein: the contact structures are resilient contact structures permanently mounted to unsingulated semiconductor devices.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
Method, according to claim 1, wherein: the elongate interconnection elements extend from at least one semiconductor die.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
Method, according to claim 1, wherein: the elongate interconnection elements extend from a plurality of semiconductor dies resident on a semiconductor wafer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
Method, according to claim 3, further comprising: after joining the tip structures to the ends of the elongate interconnection elements, removing the silicon wafer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
Method, according to claim 1, wherein: the contact tip structures comprise at least one layer of a conductive material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
68 words
Method, according to claim 1, wherein: each elongate interconnection elements comprises a relatively soft core and a relatively hard overcoat; and the core is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of: gold, aluminum, copper, and their alloys; silver, palladium, platinum; metals or alloys such as metals of the platinum group of elements; and solder constituted from lead, tin, indium, bismuth, cadmium, antimony and their alloys.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
79 words
Method, according to claim 1, wherein: each elongate interconnection element comprises a relatively soft core and a relatively hard overcoat; and the overcoat is at least one layer of a material selected from the group consisting of: nickel, and its alloys; copper, cobalt, iron, and their alloys; gold; silver; elements of the platinum group; noble metals; semi-noble metals and their alloys, elements of the platinum group and their alloys; tungsten and molybdenum; tin, lead, bismuth, indium and their alloys.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2002-02-01 | 2002-08-03 | 2003-02-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-02-01 | 2006-08-03 | 2007-02-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-02-01 | 2010-08-03 | 2011-02-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |