Component Carrier Vertical Connection Structure Without Tapered Vias
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional component carriers face challenges in manufacturing reliable and robust electrical interconnections due to tapering vias from laser drilling, which affect signal integrity and require large landing pads, consuming significant space and being cumbersome to produce.
Innovation Solution
A component carrier with a stack comprising electrically conductive and insulating layers, featuring a vertical connection structure that continuously extends through multiple insulating layers with continuous sidewalls, eliminating the need for stacked blind vias and allowing for smaller, more efficient via formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If laser drilling is used to form through-holes, then through-holes can be created in dielectric layers, but the holes exhibit tapering (V-shape) which reduces via width along the thickness direction
Solution Approach 1:
The via formation process is segmented into multiple steps: first forming holes with controlled depth, then performing selective plating on the sidewalls, and finally filling with insulating material. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently, achieving vertical sidewalls without laser-induced tapering.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of drilling holes through the entire thickness and then managing the taper, the approach inverts the process by forming shallower holes that stop before penetrating completely, then building up conductive material on the sidewalls. This reversal eliminates the tapering problem inherent in through-drilling.
2Reliability
If stacked blind vias are used to achieve vertical connections, then continuous vertical connections can be formed, but the structure consumes large volume and requires large landing pads
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive material is extracted from the traditional filled-hole approach and applied selectively only on the sidewalls of the via. This extraction eliminates the need for large landing pads and reduces the overall via volume while maintaining electrical connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Conductive material is applied with local quality - specifically on the sidewalls where electrical connection is needed, rather than filling the entire via volume. This localized application reduces material consumption and via footprint while ensuring reliable connections.
3Reliability
If conventional stacked blind vias are used, then vertical connections can be established, but signal integrity is degraded due to discontinuous structure
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive sidewall structure provides continuous electrical connection along the vertical path through the dielectric layers. This continuity eliminates the discontinuities present in stacked blind via structures, maintaining signal integrity while establishing reliable vertical interconnections.
Data Source
AI summary
A component carrier including a stack having at least one electrically conductive layer structure and a plurality of electrically insulating layer structures. Methods are presented for manufacturing the component carrier where the at least one electrically conductive layer structure is arranged with a vertical connection structure continuously extending vertically through at least two of the plurality of electrically insulating layer structures.