Area Array IC Package Interconnect with Additive Printing and Vertical Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional area array IC packages face limitations in terminal pitch, signal integrity, cost, reworkability, and reliability due to mechanical and electrical constraints, particularly as terminal counts increase and package size grows, making them less efficient for next-generation architectures.
Innovation Solution
The use of additive printing technology merges printed circuit and semiconductor packaging methods to create an area array IC package with direct writing of circuitry and dielectrics, allowing for stress decoupling and embedded functions, enabling high-frequency performance and reduced production costs by varying material sets layer-by-layer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional area array packaging methods are used to increase terminal count, then more connections are achieved, but package size grows and mechanical/electrical constraints worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements package-to-package stacking where multiple IC packages are vertically integrated through interconnect assemblies. The lower package contains an IC device with terminals on a first surface, while the upper package contains another IC device with terminals on a second surface. Contact members extend through the lower package substrate to electrically connect the upper package terminals to the lower package IC device, enabling high-density interconnection without increasing the footprint area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional planar packaging to three-dimensional vertical packaging by stacking multiple packages vertically. The interconnect assembly facilitates electrical connections in the vertical dimension through contact members that penetrate the substrate, allowing terminal counts to increase along the Z-axis while maintaining a compact XY-plane footprint.
2Reliability
If traditional solder-based area array connections are used, then electrical connections are established, but reworkability and repairability are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs contact members with compliant or spring-loaded mechanisms that provide dynamic mechanical-electrical connections. These contact members can be disassembled and reassembled, allowing the upper package to be removed and replaced without destroying the lower package or requiring solder reflow processes. This dynamic connection mechanism maintains reliable electrical contact while enabling reworkability and field repair.
3Manufacturing precision
If additive printing technology is used to create fine-line circuit structures, then signal integrity improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical PCB fabrication processes (photolithography, etching, drilling) with additive printing technology for creating conductive traces and circuit structures. The additive process directly deposits conductive materials in precise patterns, achieving fine-line resolution and complex three-dimensional circuit geometries without the multiple sequential steps required by conventional subtractive manufacturing methods.
Data Source
AI summary
An area array integrated circuit (IC) package for an IC device. The IC package includes a first substrate with conductive traces electrically coupled to the IC device. An interconnect assembly having a first surface is mechanically coupled to the first substrate. The interconnect assembly includes a plurality of contact members electrically coupled to the conductive traces on the first substrate. A second substrate is mechanically coupled to a second surface of the interconnect assembly so that the first substrate, the interconnect assembly, and the second substrate substantially surround the IC device. The second substrate includes conductive traces that are electrically coupled to the contact members in the interconnect assembly.