Semiconductor device structure with adhesion-enhanced semiconductor die

Abstract

A semiconductor die includes a substantially oxide-free metal layer on at least a portion of a surface thereof. The substantially oxide-free metal may enhance adhesion of a packaging material, or mold compound, to the semiconductor die, prevent the occurrence of voids or presence of moisture between the packaging material and the adjacent surface of the semiconductor die, or otherwise prevent delamination of the packaging material from the adjacent surface of the semiconductor die. The substantially oxide-free metal may be copper, palladium, another substantially oxide-free metal, or a combination of substantially oxide-free metals.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10 / 852,632, filed May 24, 2004, pending, which application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10 / 309,643, filed Dec. 3, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,545, issued May 25, 2004, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09 / 873,581, filed Jun. 4, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,489,186, issued Dec. 3, 2002, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09 / 394,180, filed Sep. 10, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,292, issued Nov. 13, 2001, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08 / 963,395, filed Nov. 3, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,514, issued May 23, 2000, which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08 / 731,793, filed Oct. 18, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,468, issued Jun. 2, 1998, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08 / 306,024, filed Sep. 14, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,372, issued Dec. 10, 1996.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Inventi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] Advantageously, the metal layer on the die provides a uniform wetting surface for better adhesion of the die with the mold compound during encapsulation. The increased adhesion reduces delamination potential of the die from the package and, consequently, reduces cracking of the package.

Problems solved by technology

Although IC packaging is minimized in each of these packaging techniques that uses an adhesive tape, other problems surface.

One such problem in the LOC technique is the difficulty of obtaining a good, solid adhesive bond between the die and the package.

One reason a solid bond is not achieved is because the oxide on the silicon die substrate does not lend itself to uniform wetting, which is necessary for good adhesion with the liquid mold compound.

When a die does not bond well with the mold compound package, delamination may occur and the device may potentially be ruined during the manufacturing process or surface mount of the package.

When the moisture is converted to steam from heat processes and the steam pressure is greater than the strength of the adhesion couple between the mold compound and the die, the mold compound will crack or explode with a “popcorn” effect.

Although these techniques are commonly used in the semiconductor industry, they provide only a temporary solution.

Namely, when a semiconductor manufacturer ships a “dried” packaged device by following these techniques, the device may still absorb moisture at a customer's site after the device is removed from the shipping container materials.

Furthermore, if the die has delaminated even slightly, the package is subject to moisture penetration again and the package may subsequently crack if exposed to sufficient heat.

Although this method provides a working solution, it retains disadvantages by its use of aminopropyltriethox-silane as a coating on the die.

Obviously, the foregoing problems and solutions associated with providing a good bond between a die and a die package to avoid delamination and cracking of the package are undesirable aspects of conventional semiconductor packaging techniques.

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