Wet-tack sintering method and apparatus

Abstract

To provide an improved wet-tack sintering method and apparatus, capable of avoiding entrapment of air between a component and a sintering paste when bonding a sintering unit (for example, a component) onto the sintering paste, thereby enhancing quality and performance of a sintered product.SOLUTION: Before sintering a component to a carrier, a sintering surface on a first side of the component or adjacent to the first side of the component is partially brought into contact with a sintering paste applied on the carrier, while a second side of the component opposite to the first side thereof is supported by a support mechanism such that the sintering surface of the component is inclined with respect to the carrier. A support member is then moved to gradually reduce a distance between the second side of the component and the carrier so as to bring a remaining portion of the sintering surface of the component into contact with the sintering paste. Accordingly, air present between the component and the sintering paste can be removed before the component is sintered to the carrier.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to sintering processes for microelectronic devices, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for performing wet tack sintering processes. [Background technology]

[0002] There are two primary sintering methods: dry-tack sintering and wet-tack sintering. While dry-tack sintering can be used to manufacture most products, wet-tack sintering offers several advantages due to its ease of handling, such as the ability to achieve uniform thickness. However, the difficulty in performing wet-tack sintering lies in precisely maintaining the position of the part being joined onto the liquid sinter paste, both horizontally and vertically, before the sinter paste hardens. Specifically, when a part is placed onto a carrier that has already been coated with liquid sinter paste, air can become trapped between the part and the sinter paste due to the surface tension of the sinter paste. This trapped air can ultimately lead to the formation of internal voids in the sintered package, resulting in reduced product quality and electrical performance.

[0003] It would therefore be beneficial to provide a new solution for the wet tack sintering process that can address the air entrapment problem faced by the conventional methods described above. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to seek to provide an improved wet-tack sintering method and apparatus that can avoid air entrapment between a sintered unit (e.g., a part) and the sintering paste when joining the part onto the sintering paste, thereby improving the quality and performance of the sintered product. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for sintering a component to a carrier, the method comprising the steps of: contacting a portion of a sintering surface on or adjacent to a first side of the component with sintering paste applied to a carrier while a second side of the component opposite the first side is supported by a support mechanism such that the sintering surface of the component is tilted relative to the carrier; moving the support mechanism from a first position, in which the support mechanism supports the second side of the component, toward a second position to gradually reduce the distance between the second side of the component and the carrier so that the remainder of the sintering surface of the component contacts the sintering paste, thereby removing any air present between the component and the sintering paste; and sintering the component to the carrier while the remainder of the sintering surface of the component rests on the sintering paste.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for sintering a component to a carrier, the apparatus including a support mechanism configured to support a second side of the component opposite the first side when a portion of the sintering surface on or adjacent to the first side of the component is in contact with sintering paste applied to the carrier such that the sintering surface of the component is tilted relative to the carrier, the support mechanism being movable from a first position in which the support mechanism supports the second side of the component to a second position in which the support mechanism gradually reduces the distance between the second side of the component and the carrier so that the remainder of the sintering surface of the component is in contact with the sintering paste, thereby removing any air present between the component and the sintering paste when the remainder of the sintering surface of the component rests on the sintering paste before the component is sintered to the carrier.

[0007] These and other features, aspects, and advantages will become better understood with regard to the description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.

[0008] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 shows a side view of an apparatus for sintering a part to a carrier according to a first embodiment of the invention; [Figure 2] 4 shows a side view of an apparatus for sintering parts to carriers according to a second embodiment of the invention; [Figure 3] Figure 3A illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in Figure 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3B illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in Figure 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3C illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in Figure 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3D illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in Figure 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3E illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in Figure 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4A] 3 illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4B] 3 illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4C] 3 illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4D] 3 illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4E] 3 illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4F] 3 illustrates a method for sintering a part to a carrier with the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] In the drawings, like parts are designated by like reference numerals.

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention provides a wet-tack sintering apparatus and method for sintering a part to a carrier. In the present invention, a movable support mechanism is used to tilt the part relative to the carrier when placing it on the sinter paste applied to the carrier to avoid air entrapment between the part and the sinter paste. As a result, the sinter package and product quality can be improved.

[0012] 1 shows a side view of an apparatus 100 for sintering a part 110 to a carrier 120 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 100 includes a movable support mechanism. In this embodiment, the movable support mechanism includes a single movable support member 140. In one example, the support mechanism can further include an actuator 150 coupled to the support member 140 to activate movement of the support member 140. The support mechanism can further include a mounting member 160 to which the actuator 150 is securely attached.

[0013] The component 110 has two opposing sides, A and B. During the sintering process, side B of the component 110 is placed on a support member 140, which is positioned in a first position and supports side B of the component 110, while a portion of the sintering surface 110a on or adjacent to side A of the component 110 is in contact with sintering paste 130 applied to the carrier 120. In this embodiment, sides A and B of the component 110 may be lowered onto the sintering paste 130 and support member 140 simultaneously, or may be lowered sequentially in a predetermined order, as described above. The apparatus 100 may further include a transfer arm (not shown in FIG. 1 ) for picking up the component 110 from a predetermined location, placing a portion of the sintering surface 110a on or adjacent to side A on the sintering paste 130, and placing side B of the component 110 on the support member 140.

[0014] 1 , side B of component 110 is supported by support member 140 in a first position at a greater height away from sintering paste 130, while side A is at a lower height, so that component 110 is tilted relative to sintering paste 130 and carrier 120. Therefore, sintering surface 110a is positioned at an angle relative to carrier 120. To bring the entire sintering surface 110a of component 110 into contact with sintering paste 130 before sintering component 110 to carrier 120, support member 140 is moved from the first position to a second position to gradually reduce the distance between side B of component 110 and carrier 120, gradually bringing the remainder of sintering surface 110a of component 110 into contact with sintering paste 130. Due to the movement of support member 140, sintering surface 110a remains tilted relative to carrier 120 until it fully contacts sintering paste 130, thereby avoiding air entrapment between component 110 and sintering paste 130. In other words, while the component 110 is being placed on the sintering paste 130, any air that may be trapped between the component 110 and the sintering paste 130 can be pushed out by tilting and lowering the support member 140. After the sintering surface 110a is fully in contact with the sintering paste 130, the component 110 is sintered to the carrier 120 in a sintering process, and while a load is being applied to the component 110, heat is applied to the sintering paste 130 to harden it.

[0015] In a first embodiment, the support mechanism only has one movable support member, however, in other embodiments, the support mechanism can have more than one movable support member configured to support the part during the sintering process.

[0016] 2 shows a side view of an apparatus 200 for sintering a component 110 to a carrier 120 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 200 includes a movable support mechanism. In this embodiment, the movable support mechanism includes movable first and second support members 141 and 142, actuators 151 and 152 coupled to the respective support members 141 and 142, and mounting members 161 and 162 for securely positioning the actuators 151 and 152. The actuators 151 and 152 may include rotary motors or linear motors.

[0017] In this embodiment, the first support member 141 is movable between a first position, in which the first support member 141 is configured to support side A of the component 110, and a second position, in which the first support member 141 is positioned away from the component 110, causing a portion of the sintering surface 110a of the component 110 on or adjacent to side A to contact the sintering paste 130 disposed on the carrier 120. The second support member 142 is movable between a third position, in which the second support member 142 is configured to support side B of the component 110, and a fourth position, in which the second support member 142 is positioned away from the component 110, causing a portion of the sintering surface 110a of the component 110 on or adjacent to side B to contact the sintering paste 130 disposed on the carrier 120.

[0018] During the sintering process, one of the support members 141 and 142 is operable to first move from the first or third position to the second or fourth position away from the carrier 120 to first bring a portion of the sintering surface 110a of the component 110 into contact with the sintering paste 130. The other of the support members 141 and 142 is then moved from the first or third position toward the second or fourth position away from the carrier 120 to bring the remainder of the sintering surface 110a of the component 110 into full contact with the sintering paste 130 so that the component 110 rests on the sintering paste 130. Thus, due to the movement of the two support members 141 and 142, the sintering surface 110a of the component 110 remains tilted relative to the carrier 120 before the component 110 comes into full contact with the sintering paste 130. This allows any air trapped between the sintering paste 130 and the sintering surface 110 a to be forced out before the sintering surface 110 a comes into full contact with the sintering paste 130 .

[0019] 1 and 2, to facilitate gradual lowering of part 110 by support members 140, 141, 142, support members 140, 141, 142 are wedge-shaped and have angled surfaces for contacting side A or side B of part 110. It should be noted that the shape of the support members is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to limit the scope of the present invention. In other embodiments, the shape of the support members can be changed to be rectangular without angled surfaces, and part 110 can be lowered simply by directly moving or lowering support members 140, 141, 142.

[0020] In the first and second embodiments, support members 140, 141, and 142 may be coupled to actuators 150, 151, and 152 by telescoping connecting rods 170, 171, and 172. Actuators 150, 151, and 152 are operable to move the connecting rods between a contracted state and an extended state, thereby moving support members 140, 141, and 142 to different positions between and toward their end positions.

[0021] 3A to 3E illustrate a method for sintering a component 110 to a carrier 120 in an apparatus 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3A to 3E, in this embodiment, the method for sintering a component 110 to a carrier 120 includes the following steps:

[0022] In step 301, the part 110 is placed on the first support member 141 and the second support member 142. The first support member 141 is positioned at position P1 to support side A of the part 110, and the second support member 142 is positioned at position P2 to support side B of the part 110. Sides A and B of the part 110 can be placed on both the first support member 141 and the second support member 142 simultaneously.

[0023] In step 302, a load, such as a block 180 having a predetermined weight, is placed on the part 110. The block 180 acts as a weight.

[0024] In step 303, the first support member 141 is moved from position P1 to position P1′ to reduce the distance between side A and the carrier 120 so that a portion of the sintering surface 110a on or adjacent to side A of the part 110 first contacts the sintering paste 130.

[0025] In step 304, the second support member 142 is moved from position P2 to position P2′, gradually reducing the distance between side B of the component 110 and the carrier 120 so that the remainder of the sintering surface 110a of the component 110 gradually contacts the sintering paste 130 as the orientation of the component 110 becomes more horizontal. As side B is gradually lowered during the movement of the second support member 142, the sintering surface 110a remains mostly tilted relative to the carrier 120, removing air between the component 110 and the sintering paste 130.

[0026] In step 305 , the part 110 is sintered to the carrier 120 and the block 180 can then be removed from the top surface of the part 110 .

[0027] 4A-4F illustrate a method or process for sintering a part to a carrier with apparatus 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. To automatically place part 110 onto support members 141, 142 and block 180 on top of part 110, apparatus 200 can further include a robotic transfer arm 190 for picking up and transferring part 110 and block 180.

[0028] 4A, in this embodiment, three sets of apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C are installed on a workbench T. Each of the apparatuses 200A, 200B, and 200C may have the same structure as the apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 and is configured to sinter one of three components 110A, 110B, and 110C to a carrier 120. Sintering pastes 130A, 130B, and 130C are applied to different areas of the carrier 120 for sintering the components 110A, 110B, and 110C to the carrier 120. In addition, a component storage unit 111 may be provided on the workbench T to hold the components 110A, 110B, and 110C. A load storage unit 181 may also be provided on the workbench T to hold at least one block for applying a respective load to the components 110A, 110B, and 110C during the sintering process. In this embodiment, the load storage unit 181 is configured to hold three blocks 180A, 180B, and 180C. Each block 180A, 180B, 180C is used to sinter one part 110A, 110B, and 110C to the carrier 120.

[0029] Sintering of parts 110A, 110B, 110C to carrier 120 in apparatus 200 according to this embodiment will be described using one part 110A as an example. The following steps 401 to 405 show the process for sintering part 110A to carrier 120.

[0030] 4A and 4B, in step 401, transport arm 190 picks up component 110A from component storage unit 111 and places component 110A on first support member 141 and second support member 142 of apparatus 200A. Support members 141 and 142 are then positioned at positions P1 and P2, respectively, to support two opposing sides A and B of component 110A.

[0031] Before performing this step, if the support members 141 and 142 are located at positions P1' and P2', respectively, the actuators 151 and 152 of the device 200A should move the support members 141 and 142 from positions P1' and P2' to positions P1 and P2, respectively.

[0032] In step 402, referring to FIG. 4C, transfer arm 190 picks up block 180A from load storage unit 181 and places block 180A on top of part 110A.

[0033] In step 403, referring to FIG. 4D, the first support member 141 of the apparatus 200A is moved from position P1 toward position P1' to allow a portion of the sintering surface 110a of the part 110A on or adjacent to side A to come into contact with the sintering paste 130A applied onto the carrier 120.

[0034] In step 404, referring to FIG. 4E, the second support member 142 of the apparatus 200A is moved from position P2 toward position P2′ to gradually reduce the distance between side B of the component 110A and the carrier 120 so that the remainder of the sintering surface 110a of the component 110A contacts the sintering paste 130A.

[0035] In step 405, referring to FIG. 4F, the transfer arm 190 picks up the block 180A from the top surface of the part 110A after the part 110A has sintered to the carrier 120 and returns the block 180A to the load storage unit 181.

[0036] Similarly, the device 200B can be used to sinter the component 110B to the carrier 120 via the sintering paste 130B, and the device 200C can be used to sinter the component 110C to the carrier 120 via the sintering paste 130C.

[0037] The apparatus and method provided in the described embodiments of the present invention enable gentle contact between the component and the sintering paste printed on the carrier by using a movable support mechanism. The support mechanism includes at least one movable support member configured to move between a support position supporting the component and an unsupported position. An advantage of this approach is that it keeps the sintering surface of the component tilted relative to the carrier during placement of the component on the sintering paste. Therefore, the method and apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention avoid air entrapment between the component and the sintering paste, thereby improving the quality and electrical performance of the sintering package and product.

[0038] Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 100 devices 110, 110A, 110B and 100C parts 110a sintered surface 111 Parts Storage Unit 120 Career 130, 130A, 130B and 130C sintering paste 140 Support member 141 first support member 142 second support member 150, 151 and 152 Actuators 160, 161 and 162 Mounting members 170, 171 and 172 connecting rods 180, 180A, 180B and 180C blocks 181 Load Storage Unit 190 Transfer Arm 200, 200A, 200B and 200C devices

Claims

1. 1. A method for sintering a part to a carrier, comprising: contacting a portion of a sintering surface on or adjacent to a first side of the component with sintering paste applied on the carrier while a second side of the component opposite the first side is supported by a support mechanism such that the sintering surface of the component is tilted relative to the carrier; moving the support mechanism from a first position, in which the support mechanism supports the second side of the component, toward a second position, gradually reducing the distance between the second side of the component and the carrier so that the remainder of the sintering surface of the component contacts the sintering paste, thereby removing any air present between the component and the sintering paste; sintering the component to the carrier while the remainder of the sintered surface of the component rests on the sinter paste; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the support mechanism includes a first support member and a second support member, and the method further includes supporting the first side of the part on the first support member and supporting the second side on the second support member before the portion of the sintering surface of the part on or adjacent to the first side contacts the sintering paste.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: moving the first support member from a third position, in which the first support member supports the first side of the component, toward a fourth position to gradually reduce the distance between the first side of the component and the carrier so as to bring the portion of the sintering surface at or adjacent to the first side of the component into contact with the sintering paste.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first support member and / or the second support member are wedge-shaped and have an angled surface for contacting the first side and / or the second side of the part.

5. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein moving the first support member and / or the second support member comprises driving the first support member and / or the second support member with an actuator coupled to the first support member and / or the second support member to move the first support member and / or the second support member.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of applying a load onto the component after the component is supported by the support mechanism.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of removing the load from the part after the part is sintered to the carrier.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising placing the load on the part and removing the load from the part using a transport arm.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the load comprises a weight.

10. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of placing the component on the support mechanism with a transport arm, wherein the step of placing the component on the support mechanism comprises the step of picking up the component with the transport arm and placing the component on the support mechanism.

11. 1. An apparatus for sintering a part to a carrier, comprising: a support mechanism configured to support a second side of the component opposite the first side of the component when a portion of a sintering surface on or adjacent to the first side of the component is in contact with sintering paste applied on the carrier such that the sintering surface of the component is tilted relative to the carrier; Including, The support mechanism is movable from a first position, in which the support mechanism supports the second side of the component, to a second position, so as to gradually reduce the distance between the second side of the component and the carrier so as to bring the remainder of the sintering surface of the component into contact with the sintering paste, thereby removing air present between the component and the sintering paste when the remainder of the sintering surface of the component rests on the sintering paste before the component is sintered to the carrier.

12. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the support mechanism includes a first support member and a second support member, the first support member operable to support the first side of the component while the second support member is configured to support the second side of the component before the portion of the sintering surface of the component on or adjacent to the first side contacts the sintering paste.

13. 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first support member is movable from a third position, in which the first support member supports the first side of the component, towards a fourth position to gradually reduce the distance between the first side of the component and the carrier so as to bring the portion of the sintering surface on or adjacent to the first side of the component into contact with the sinter paste.

14. 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first support member and / or the second support member are wedge-shaped and have an angled surface for contacting the first side and / or the second side of the part.

15. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an actuator coupled to the support mechanism, the actuator operable to drive the support mechanism to move from the first position to the second position.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising a transfer arm operable to place the component on the support mechanism.

17. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the transport arm is further operable to place a load on the component after the component is placed on the support mechanism.

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