U.S. patent application number 09/793367 was filed with the patent office on 2001-10-18 for saw-singulated leadless plastic chip carrier.
Invention is credited to Fan, Nelson, Mclellan, Neil, Sheppard, Robert P..
Application Number | 20010030355 09/793367 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22253652 |
Filed Date | 2001-10-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010030355 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Mclellan, Neil ; et
al. |
October 18, 2001 |
Saw-singulated leadless plastic chip carrier
Abstract
Leadless plastic chip carriers are formed from a matrix of lead
frames provided in a section of a metal strip. Each lead frame in
the matrix includes a die-attach pad and multiple leads disposed in
close proximity to the die-attach pad. After a semiconductor die is
attached to each of the die-attach pad and wire-bonded, the
leadless plastic chip carriers are formed by providing a plastic
encapsulation which exposes the bottom sides of the die-attach pad
and the leads. The bottom sides of the leads serve as solder pads
to be used for attaching the leadless plastic chip carrier to a
printed circuit board.
Inventors: |
Mclellan, Neil; (Hong Kong,
HK) ; Fan, Nelson; (Sham Tseng, HK) ;
Sheppard, Robert P.; (Red Bluff, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Thomas A. Gallagher
Suite 1111
601 California Street
San Francisco
CA
94108
US
|
Family ID: |
22253652 |
Appl. No.: |
09/793367 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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09793367 |
Feb 26, 2001 |
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09095803 |
Jun 10, 1998 |
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6229200 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
257/666 ;
257/668; 257/673; 257/676; 257/787; 257/E23.043; 257/E23.046;
257/E23.124; 438/123; 438/124; 438/127 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 2924/15747
20130101; H01L 2924/15747 20130101; H01L 23/49541 20130101; H01L
2924/01005 20130101; H01L 2924/01022 20130101; H01L 2224/45124
20130101; H01L 2224/32245 20130101; H01L 2224/49171 20130101; H01L
2224/73265 20130101; H01L 2924/014 20130101; H01L 24/97 20130101;
H01L 2224/48091 20130101; H01L 2223/6644 20130101; H01L 2224/1134
20130101; H01L 2224/45124 20130101; H01L 2224/48257 20130101; H01L
2224/97 20130101; H01L 2924/01028 20130101; H01L 2224/16 20130101;
H01L 2224/48247 20130101; H01L 2924/01074 20130101; H01L 2924/00013
20130101; H01L 2221/68377 20130101; H01L 2924/01078 20130101; H01L
2924/00013 20130101; H01L 2924/01013 20130101; H01L 2224/97
20130101; H01L 2924/01079 20130101; H01L 2224/48091 20130101; H01L
2224/45147 20130101; H01L 21/4832 20130101; H01L 2224/49171
20130101; H01L 2224/16245 20130101; H01L 24/48 20130101; H01L 24/17
20130101; H01L 2924/01047 20130101; H01L 2224/97 20130101; H01L
2224/97 20130101; H01L 2224/73265 20130101; H01L 2224/45144
20130101; H01L 21/568 20130101; H01L 2924/01033 20130101; H01L
2924/01027 20130101; H01L 2924/1815 20130101; H01L 21/561 20130101;
H01L 2924/19041 20130101; H01L 2924/19042 20130101; H01L 23/3107
20130101; H01L 2224/97 20130101; H01L 21/6835 20130101; H01L
2924/01082 20130101; H01L 23/49548 20130101; H01L 2924/181
20130101; H01L 2224/73265 20130101; H01L 24/49 20130101; H01L
2924/01046 20130101; H01L 2924/01006 20130101; H01L 2924/14
20130101; H01L 2224/45147 20130101; H01L 2924/00012 20130101; H01L
2924/01029 20130101; H01L 2224/48247 20130101; H01L 2924/00014
20130101; H01L 2224/13099 20130101; H01L 2224/32245 20130101; H01L
2924/00014 20130101; H01L 2224/32245 20130101; H01L 2224/85
20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L 2224/48247 20130101; H01L
2924/00014 20130101; H01L 2924/15311 20130101; H01L 2924/00
20130101; H01L 2924/00014 20130101; H01L 2224/73265 20130101; H01L
2224/73265 20130101; H01L 2224/48247 20130101; H01L 2924/00
20130101; H01L 2224/32245 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L
2924/00 20130101; H01L 2224/48257 20130101; H01L 2224/48257
20130101; H01L 2224/32245 20130101; H01L 2924/00 20130101; H01L
2924/15311 20130101; H01L 2224/45144 20130101; H01L 2924/181
20130101; H01L 24/45 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
257/666 ;
438/123; 257/668; 257/673; 257/676; 257/787; 438/124; 438/127 |
International
Class: |
H01L 021/44; H01L
021/48; H01L 021/50; H01L 023/495; H01L 023/28 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A plastic chip carrier, comprising: a semiconductor die having
bonding pads formed thereon; a die-attach pad having a bottom
surface and a top surface on which said semiconductor die is
attached; a plurality of leads, each having a bottom surface and a
top surface, said leads disposed in close proximity to said
die-attach pad; a plurality of wires each bonded to a selected one
of said bonding pads and a corresponding one of said leads; and an
encapsulation encapsulating said semiconductor die, said top
surface of said die attach-pad, said wires, and said top surfaces
of said leads, and exposing said bottom surface of said die-attach
pad and said bottom surfaces of said leads.
2. A plastic chip carrier as in claim 1, wherein said die-attach
pad is provided an interlocking lip at a portion of said die-attach
pad, said interlocking lip engaging said die-attach pad to said
encapsulation.
3. A plastic chip carrier as in claim 1, further comprising a
plurality of tie bars, each tie bar being attached to said
die-attach pad and extending from said die-attach pad to form a
peripheral heat pad for dissipating heat to the outside of said
encapsulation.
4. A plastic chip carrier as in claim 3, wherein one of said heat
pads has an appearance distinctive from other heat pads of said
chip carrier.
5. A plastic carrier as in claim 1, wherein said die-attach pad and
said leads are formed out of an array of lead frames integrally
formed on a portion of a metal strip.
6. A plastic carrier as in claim 1, wherein said die-attach pad is
plated with palladium.
7. A plastic carrier as in claim 1, wherein a distinctive pattern
is formed on said encapsulation.
8. A plastic carrier as in claim 1, further comprising solder balls
each attached to a bottom side of a corresponding one of said
leads.
9. A plastic carrier as in claim 1, wherein a soft solder attaches
said semiconductor die to said die-attach pad.
10. A plastic carrier as in claim 1, wherein said plurality of
leads are arranged as an annular row of inner leads and an annular
row of outer leads.
11. A process for forming a plastic carrier, comprising: forming a
matrix of lead frames out of a metal strip, each lead frame
including a die-attach pad and a plurality of leads disposed in
close proximity to said die-attach pad, said die-attach pad and
said leads each having a bottom surface and a top surface;
attaching to the top surface of each die-attach pad a semiconductor
die, said semiconductor die having a plurality of bonding pads
formed thereon; providing bond wires to electrically connect each
of said bonding pads to the top surface of a corresponding lead;
and encapsulating said die-attach pad, said semiconductor die, said
bond wires and said leads in a resin material such that said bottom
surface of said die-attach pad and said bottom surfaces of said
leads are exposed.
12. A process as in claim 11, wherein said die-attach pad is
provided an interlocking lip at the periphery such that said resin
material engages interlocking lip of said die-attach pad.
13. A process as in claim 11, wherein each of said lead frames
includes tie bars, said matrix of lead frames being formed with
each tie bar being attached to said die-attach pad and extending
from said die-attach pad to form a peripheral heat pad for
dissipating heat.
14. A process as in claim 13, wherein one of said heat pads has an
appearance distinctive from other heat pads in said lead frame.
15. A process as in claim 11, further comprising the operation of
plating said die-attach pad with palladium.
16. A process as in claim 11, wherein a distinctive pattern is
formed on said resin material by said encapsulating step.
17. A process as in claim 11, further comprising the operation of
attaching solder balls to the bottom sides of corresponding
leads.
18. A process as in claim 11, wherein said attaching step provides
a soft solder to attach said semiconductor die to said die-attach
pad.
19. A lead frame, comprising: a die-attach pad; an annular row of
inner leads; an annular row of outer leads connected to said
annular row of inner leads by a connecting portion, wherein said
die-attach pad is connected to said annular row of inner leads and
said annular row of outer leads by a plurality of tie bars.
20. A lead frame as in claim 19, wherein said connecting portion
has a thickness which is half the thickness of a lead in said
annular row of inner leads.
21. A lead frame as in claim 19, wherein leads in said annular row
of inner leads and said annular row of outer leads are arranged in
an alternating fashion.
22. A lead frame as in claim 19, wherein said lead frame is a lead
frame within a matrix of substantially identical lead frames, and
said matrix being one of multiple matrices of lead frames formed in
a metal strip.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to integrated circuit package
technology. In particular, the present invention relates to
resin-encapsulated integrated circuit packages.
[0003] 2. Discussion of the Related Art
[0004] Conventional lead frames are typically formed on a metal
strip which provides up to ten (10) units. A conventional lead
frame includes a "die pad" for accommodating a semiconductor die,
and inner leads and outer leads. A lead frame can be incorporated
in a variety of integrated circuit packages, such as a quad flat
pack (QFP) package and its many variations. In a QFP package, each
bond pad provided on the semiconductor die is wire-bonded to an
inner lead which, in turn, is electrically coupled to an outer
lead. The inner leads are typically provided mold-locking features
to allow proper positioning of the lead frame during the molding
step which provides a plastic or resin encapsulation of the
package. After encapsulation, the outer leads are trimmed and bent
using custom trim and form tools to complete the electrical
terminals or "leads" used for mounting the package on to a printed
circuit board. Precise forming of the leads is necessary to ensure
satisfactory board yield. Malformed leads can result in open or
shorted solder joints because of aplanarity or skewed leads. In
addition, even without such malformed leads, board yield in QFP
packages is also diminished by open solder joints resulting from
solder wicking up the leads.
[0005] The size of a prior art QFP package is limited by the
dimensions of the semiconductor die plus about 3 mm on each side.
For example, a 7 mm.times.7 mm QFP package can accommodate up to a
4 mm.times.4 mm semiconductor die. Clearance requirements on a
printed circuit board can add another 2 mm on each side to the
final foot print. Thus, a 7 mm.times.7 mm QFP typically has a
footprint of 9 mm.times.9 mm, thereby providing an effective board
density of approximately 20%.
[0006] Conventional QFP type packages are encapsulated in resin
both at the top and the bottom of the semiconductor die.
Consequently, conventional QFP packages cannot be made thinner than
1.4 mm. In addition, external lead "stand-off" requirements add to
the height of the final printed circuit board assembly.
[0007] One important quality measure for an integrated circuit
package is reliability. In a QFP package, a significant failure
mode is the delamination of the mold compound from the back of a
die pad. Delamination introduces moisture into the package and
causes moisture-related failures.
[0008] One performance measure in a conventional QFP or any plastic
package is thermal performance. Such a package is limited in its
thermal performance because of a lack of a thermally conductive
path to dissipate heat from the semiconductor die to the exterior.
In many applications, a heat sink is included in the package.
However, including a heat sink increases the material cost of such
a package. Further, even if a heat sink is included, there are
still typically multiple layers of epoxy through which heat must
flow from the semiconductor die to the exterior.
[0009] A conventional QFP package is typically manufactured in an
assembly process which requires a custom mold, a custom trim tool
and a custom form tool. Thus, the tooling cost for manufacturing a
new QFP package is high. For a given integrated circuit, rather
than providing a package that is optimized specifically for its
size and its number of input/output (I/O) terminals, a designer
typically selects a package by matching the size and I/O terminals
requirements of his integrated circuit as closely as possible to
one of a few available QFP packages for which the tooling
investment is already made. Clearly, the resulting QFP package is
optimized for neither density nor material cost.
[0010] What is desired is a low cost, high density, high
reliability integrated circuit package with flexible
configuration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention provides a plastic chip carrier and a
method for making the same. A plastic chip carrier of the present
invention includes: (a) a semiconductor die with bonding pads
formed on its surface; (b) a die-attach pad on which the
semiconductor die is attached; (c) leads disposed in close
proximity of the die-attach pad; (d) wires bonded to the bonding
pads and their corresponding leads to provide electrical
connections; and (e) an encapsulation sealing the semiconductor
die, the die attach-pad, the wires, and the leads from the
environment in such a manner as to expose only the bottom surfaces
of the die-attach pad and the leads.
[0012] The plastic chip carrier is formed using a process which
includes the operations: (a) forming a matrix of lead frames out of
a metal strip, with each lead frame having a die-attach pad and
leads disposed in close proximity of the die-attach pad; (b)
attaching a semiconductor die to each of the die-attach pad of the
lead frame; (c) wire-bond the semiconductor die to the leads, so as
to allow the leads to serve as electrical terminals to the
semiconductor die; and (d) encapsulating the die-attach pad, the
semiconductor die, the bond wires and the leads in a resin material
to form a package, in such a manner that only the bottom surface of
the die-attach pad and the bottom surfaces of the leads are
exposed.
[0013] In one embodiment, the plastic chip carrier has an
interlocking lip around the periphery of the die-attach pad, so as
to allow the encapsulation material to securely engage the
die-attach pad. In another embodiment, tie bars are provided
attached to the die-attach pad. Each tie bar extends from the
die-attach pad outwards to form a peripheral heat pad at the other
end. Heat from the operating semiconductor die is conducted by the
tie bar to the heat pad for dissipation out of the encapsulation.
One of the heat pads has an appearance distinctive from the other
heat pads of the chip carrier, thereby providing a convenient
marker on the chip carrier which can be used to identify an
orientation of the chip carrier or the location of a specified pin,
such as pin 1.
[0014] In one embodiment, the die-attach pad of the plastic chip
carrier is pre-plated with palladium to avoid silver migration. In
addition, the top surface of the encapsulation is provided a
distinctive pattern, which can be conferred to the encapsulation
from the molding cavity during the molding process. This pattern,
which can be a dimple array, for example, can be used to orient the
package after singulation. Alternatively, solder balls can be
attached to the exposed portions of the leads to provide some
clearance between the printed circuit board on which the package is
mounted and the plastic chip carrier. In one embodiment, a soft
solder attaches the semiconductor die to the die-attach pad to
provide improved thermal performance.
[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
plastic carrier includes a double-row lead frame having leads
arranged as an annular row of inner leads and an annular row of
outer leads. The lead frame includes (a) a die-attach pad; (b) an
annular row of inner leads; (c) an annular row of outer leads
connected to the annular row of inner leads by a connecting
portion. The connecting portion has a thickness which is half the
thickness of a lead in the annular rows of inner and outer leads.
In one implementation, the leads in the annular row of inner leads
and the annular row of outer leads are arranged in an alternating
fashion, to allow maximum density for wire bonds from the bonding
pads of the semiconductor die at the die-attach pad to the inner
and outer leads.
[0016] The double-row frame can be formed in a matrix of
substantially identical lead frames. Further, the matrix of lead
frames can be formed as one of multiple matrices of lead frames
formed in a metal strip.
[0017] The present invention is better understood upon
consideration of detailed description below and the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a strip 100, including six substantially
identical sections 101-1 to 101-6, which can be used to fabricate
packages of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 2a shows a 3.times.3 array of lead frames which can be
provided in any of the sections of strip 100.
[0020] FIG. 2b shows lead frame 201 including die-attach pad 202
suspended by tie bars 204, which are integrally formed with leads
203.
[0021] FIG. 3 shows FIG. 2a's 3.times.3 array 200 of lead frames,
after attachment of semiconductor dies to its die attach pads and
wire-bonding.
[0022] FIG. 4a shows a molded package 400 in a cross section along
one dimension of the die-attach pad.
[0023] FIG. 4b shows a side view of molded package 400.
[0024] FIG. 5a shows a 2.times.2 array 500 of lead frames,
including lead frames 501-1 to 501-4, which can be implemented in a
section of strip 100, in accordance with another embodiment of the
present invention.
[0025] FIG. 5b shows in further detail lead frame 501, which is one
of lead frames 501-1 to 501-4 of FIG. 5a.
[0026] FIG. 5c shows a cross section, along line A-A, of die-attach
pad 502 of FIG. 5b.
[0027] FIG. 5d shows a cross section of a lead in lead frame 501 of
FIG. 5b.
[0028] FIG. 6a shows a lead frame 600 for a "double-row" SSLPCC, in
accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 6b shows a cross-section of lead frame 600 of FIG. 6a,
along line A-A of FIG. 6a.
[0030] FIG. 6c shows a cross-section of lead frame 600 of FIG. 6a,
along line B-B of FIG. 6a.
[0031] FIG. 7 shows lines 701, 702 and 703 along which lead frame
600 is cut to sever half-etched portion 606 (thereby severing inner
leads 603 from outer leads 602) and for severing the leads in inner
leads 603 and outer leads 602 from each other.
[0032] FIG. 8a shows a cross-section of a double-row SSLPCC,
including lead frame 600 of FIG. 6a, along line A-A of FIG. 6a.
[0033] FIG. 8b shows a cross-section of a double-row SSLPCC,
including lead frame 600 of FIG. 6a, along line B-B of FIG. 6a
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0034] The present invention provides a saw-singulated leadless
plastic chip carrier (SSLPCC) and a method for assembling such a
chip carrier. The SSLPCC of the present invention is a low-cost,
high density, high reliability integrated circuit package with
superb thermal and electrical performances. To facilitate
cross-reference between figures, in the figures described below,
like elements are provided like reference numerals.
[0035] FIG. 1 shows a strip 100 including six substantially
identical sections 101-1 to 101-6, which can be used to fabricate
the packages of the present invention. Using such a strip allows
the assembly process to be carried out in conventional automated
assembly equipment and molds. Within each of sections 101-1 to
101-6 is an area 103 in which lead frames of the present invention
can be formed using a conventional process, such as a chemical
etching process or a stamping process. A 3.times.3 array of lead
frames, labeled 200 in FIG. 2a, can be formed in area 103, as shown
in FIG. 2a. On the periphery of area 103 are placed alignment
targets and tooling through-holes and other conventional features
(labeled, collectively, by reference numerals 102a) used in
automated assembly equipment.
[0036] FIG. 2a shows 3.times.3 array 200 of lead frames, including
lead frames 201-1 to 201-9, which can be formed in a section of
strip 100. Thus, in this configuration, 54 lead frames can be
formed strip 100. Each lead frame, e.g., lead frame 201-1, includes
a die-attach pad (e.g., die-attach pad 202a of lead frame 201-1)
and a group of leads (e.g., leads 203a of lead frame 201-1)
provided in close proximity to the die-attach pad. An exemplary
lead frame 201 is shown in further detail in FIG. 2b. As shown in
FIG. 2b, lead frame 201 includes die-attach pad 202 suspended by
tie bars 204, which are integrally formed with leads 203. In lead
frame 201, tie bars 204 each extend towards the periphery of lead
frame 201 to form a heat pad (e.g., any one of heat pads 208 and
209) at one corner of the molded package to be formed. Such a heat
pad provides a highly thermally conductive path for transferring
heat from die-attach pad 202 out of the molded package to be
formed. One such heat pad, labeled 208 in FIG. 2b is made slightly
different from the other heat pads (each labeled 209) formed in the
other tie bars. In this embodiment, die-attach pad 202 is 5 mm on a
side, and each of leads 203 is 0.4 mm wide and 0.13 mm thick.
Spacing between adjacent leads is also 0.4 mm. Lead frame 201 can
be pre-plated with palladium to avoid silver migration.
[0037] During the assembly process, a singulated semiconductor die
is conventionally mounted or attached by epoxy or any suitable
adhesive to each of die-attach pads (e.g., die attach pads
202a-202i). The semiconductor die can also be attached using a soft
solder to provide thermal conductivity between the semiconductor
die and the die-attach pad, thereby improving the thermal
performance of the resulting package. After the adhesive is cured,
if required, each semiconductor die is wire-bonded to the leads
(e.g., leads 203a) located at the periphery of the die-attach pad,
using conventional automated bonding equipment. Gold wires can be
used in this wire-bonding operation. FIG. 3 shows 3.times.3 array
200 of FIG. 2b, after die-attachment (note, for example,
semiconductor die 206a) and wire-bonding. Wire-bonds 205
electrically couple each bonding pad on semiconductor die 206a to a
corresponding one of leads 203a.
[0038] Following wire-bonding, strip 100 is conventionally molded
using a mold in which the bottom plate is a flat plate, so that the
molding compound exposes the bottom surfaces of the die-attach
pads, the heat pads of the tie bars, and the leads. The under side
of strip 100 is then deflashed to remove any molding compound
residues from the exposed surfaces of the lead frames, so as to
allow the leads and the die-attach pad to serve as solder pads for
attachment to the printed circuit board at a subsequent time. As
mentioned above, one of the heat pads formed on the tie bars is
provided a difference appearance from the other heat pads. This
different appearance can serve as a built-in marker to indicate a
designated pin (e.g., pin 1) of the package, or to help identify an
orientation of the package. optionally, strip 100 can then be
ink-marked and solder-plated to facilitate a subsequent
board-attach step. Solder plating is not necessary if strip 100 was
pre-plated with palladium. Solder balls can also be attached to the
exposed portions of the leads to provide a clearance when mounted
on a printed circuit board. Such clearance facilitates cleaning
(e.g., cleaning of solder flux).
[0039] Finally, strip 100 is mounted to a wafer saw ring by an
adhesive tape and saw-singulated using a conventional wafer saw.
Singulation can be guided by a pattern formed on the top side of
the package during molding. Such a pattern, e.g., a dimple array,
which can be easily transferred from the molding cavity of a mold,
is also useful for automated orienting or positioning of the
resulting singulated package. The singulated component is then
ready for mounting onto a printed circuit board. Since no trimming
or forming of leads are necessary, in addition to eliminating the
costs associated with such steps, the packages manufactured under
the present method described above do not suffer yield loss from
defective trimming and forming of the external leads.
[0040] FIG. 4a shows a molded package 400 in a cross section along
one dimension of the die-attach pad. As shown in FIG. 4,
semiconductor die 206 is attached to die-attach pad 202 as
described above. Conductive wires 205-1 and 205-2 are bonded to
bonding pads on semiconductor die 206 and their respective leads
203-1 and 203-2. Molded package 400 is encapsulated in
encapsulation material 401. In this embodiment, molded package 400
measures only 1.2 mm thick. A side view of molded package 400 is
provided in FIG. 4b. FIG. 4b shows heat pads 208 and 209 at the
corners of molded package 400. Since die-attach pad 202, leads 203
and heat pads 208 and 209 are all exposed, the thermal performance
of molded package 400 is expected to be much higher than
conventional QFP packages. Since die-attach pad 202 is exposed, the
delamination problem of a conventional QFP package is avoided.
Further, high reliability can be further enhanced in molded package
400 if the coefficient of expansion of molding material 401 is
matched to the coefficient of expansion of the printed circuit
board to which molded package 400 is to be mounted.
[0041] Unlike QFP packages of the prior art, because no additional
clearance between packages is needed to accommodate the outer
leads, a much smaller footprint is achievable in molded package
400. For example, in this embodiment, molded package 400 can
accommodate up to a 5 mm.times.5 mm semiconductor die on a 7
mm.times.7 mm footprint, thus providing a effective bond density of
25/49 or almost 50%. Further, since only the top sides of the
die-attach pad and the leads are molded, and since the exposed
portions of the leads serve as solder pads, thus obviating the need
for additional lead stand-off, a package of thickness 1.0 mm or
less can easily be achieved. A thin package not only reduces
material cost but provides additional thermal performance also. The
relatively short leads of molded package 400, as compared to the
inner leads-outer leads arrangements of conventional QFP packages,
are expected to have lower parasitics than leads of a conventional
QFP package. Thus, a package of the present invention provides
electrical performance superior to a conventional QFP package.
Also, as the manufacturing process described above requires little
custom tooling, custom packages optimizing to device size and
number of I/O terminals can be accommodated with minimal additional
cost. By avoiding the cost of custom tooling and the cost of
trimming and forming tools, and since molded package 400 requires
less molding compound and lead frame material, molded package 400
is expect to cost only 10% to 20% of a comparable conventional QFP
package.
[0042] FIG. 5a shows a 2.times.2 array 500 of lead frames,
including lead frames 501-1 to 501-4, which can also be implemented
in a section of strip 100, in accordance with another embodiment of
the present invention. FIG. 5b shows in further detail lead frame
501, which is one of lead frames 501-1 to 501-4, showing die-attach
pad 502, tie bars 503 and leads 504. In this embodiment, an
interlocking lip 507 is provided in under side of die-attach pad
502. Interlocking lip 507 is shown in FIG. 5c in the cross section
A-A of die-attach pad 502. Interlocking lip 507 allows the molding
compound to flow underneath a portion of the die attach pad 502 to
securely engage die-attach pad 502 to the encapsulation, thereby
preventing moisture introduction into the package. FIG. 5d shows a
cross section of a lead 504 in lead frame 501 of FIG. 5b. As shown
in FIG. 5d, an interlocking lip 509, similar to interlocking lip
507 of die-attach pad 502, is provided in lead 504. As in
interlocking lip 507, interlocking lip 509 allows the molding
compound to hold lead 504 in place and to prevent introduction of
moisture into the molded package.
[0043] FIG. 6a shows another embodiment of the present invention in
a lead frame 600 for a "double row" SSLPCC. As shown in FIG. 6a,
lead frame 600 includes a downset die-attach pad 601, which is
suspended by tie-bars 607a-607d at the four corners of die-attach
pad 601. At the other ends of tie bars 607a-607d are rectangular
pads 604a-604c and triangular pad 605. Rectangular pads 604a-604c
provide additional surfaces for heat dissipation. Triangular pad
605 is designed to be used for package orientation, such as
indicating the position of pin 1.
[0044] Lead frame 600 includes an annular row of outer leads 602
and an annular row of inner leads 603, initially attached by a
half-etched portion 606--i.e., the inner leads and the outer leads
are connected by portion 606 which has a thickness one-half that of
the leads. Half-etched portion 606 can be formed by etching the
lead frame from the top using a conventional chemical etching
process. In this embodiment, inner leads 603 and outer leads 602
each have a pitch of 0.5 mm, so that, with each lead being 0.25 mm
wide, the spacing between adjacent leads is 0.25 mm. In this
embodiment, each lead is 0.618 mm long. Annular inner leads 603 and
annular outer leads 603 are positioned in a staggered or
alternating manner to allow maximum room for wire-bonding from the
bonding pads on the surface of a semiconductor die to be placed in
die-attach pad 601 to each of the leads. Thus, very high pin
density can be achieved.
[0045] FIGS. 6b and 6c shows respectively cross-sections of lead
frame 600 along lines A-A and B-B. The cross-section shown in FIG.
6b cuts through outer leads 602, showing half-etched portion 606,
and die-attach pad 601. Similarly, the cross section shown in FIG.
6c cuts through inner leads 603, showing half-etched portion
606.
[0046] The assembly process for a double-row SSLPCC can follow the
assembly process described above. However, in addition to the
singulation step described above, an additional cut to sever
half-etched portion 606 from the lead frame is provided. FIG. 7
shows lines 701, 702 and 703 along which lead frame 600 is cut to
sever half-etched portion 606 (thereby severing inner leads 603
from outer leads 602) and for severing the leads in inner leads 603
and outer leads 602 from each other. Line 703 along the outer
periphery is the singulation path for singulating the double-row
SSLPCC from the adjacent packages. Line 701 and 702 severs
half-etched portion 606. Of course, the cuts along lines 701 and
702 need only be deep enough to cut through half-etched portion
606. Half-etched portion provides clearance to prevent inadvertent
damage to wire bonds between the bonding pads of the semiconductor
die to outer leads 602.
[0047] FIGS. 8a and 8b show cross sections of a double-row SSPLCC
package (after singulation) along lines A-A (through outer leads
602) and B-B (through inner leads 603). In this embodiment, the
loop heights of wire bonds 801 and 802 between the semiconductor
die 803 to outer leads 602 (FIG. 8b) and to inner leads 603 (FIG.
8a) are 15 mils and 10 mils, respectively. (A trapezoidal loop
profile can be selected for the wire bonds). For a thickness of 6
mils for each lead in outer leads 602 and inner leads 603, a 1 mil
die-attach epoxy bondline and a 10 mil thick semiconductor die, a
1.2 mm thick package would provide a 15 mil clearance between the
top of each bond wire loop to the top of the package. Half-cut to
sever connecting portion 606 can be made to a depth of 5 mils.
[0048] The above detailed description is provided to illustrate the
specific embodiments of the present invention and is not intended
to be limiting. Numerous modifications and variations within the
scope of the present invention are possible. The present invention
is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the following
claims.
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