Exposed Conductive Clip Thermal Dissipation in Semiconductor Packages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional semiconductor package designs face issues with conductive clip tilting, leading to incomplete thermal dissipation and increased manufacturing costs due to the need for additional support, which complicates the assembly and results in a larger form factor.
Innovation Solution
A thermally enhanced semiconductor package design that supports a conductive clip with both an inside and an outside pad, ensuring the clip remains parallel and is exposed during assembly, thereby preventing tilting and optimizing the package's form factor and thermal dissipation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the conductive clip is supported on a single side of the package, then the assembly process is simplified, but the conductive clip tilts inwards or outwards from the package molding, thus incompletely exposing the conductive clip and reducing yield
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into multiple discrete support points distributed across the package substrate. Instead of a single continuous support, the conductive clip is supported at multiple separated locations, which prevents tilting while maintaining manufacturing simplicity. Each support point independently stabilizes a portion of the conductive clip, ensuring complete exposure without complex assembly procedures.
2Manufacturing precision
If the conductive clip is supported on multiple areas of the package to reduce tilting, then the conductive clip exposure is improved, but the package form factor and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure implements local quality by providing targeted support only at specific critical locations where the conductive clip requires stabilization. Rather than uniformly supporting the entire package area, support elements are strategically positioned at discrete points along the conductive clip path, minimizing the occupied area while ensuring complete exposure and preventing tilting at the most critical locations.
3Ease of manufacture
If the conductive clip tilts from the package molding, then the assembly process remains simple, but thermal dissipation is reduced due to incomplete exposure of the conductive clip
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is designed to pre-establish the correct parallel orientation of the conductive clip before the molding process completes. By providing preliminary support at multiple discrete points, the conductive clip is held in the proper position and orientation during assembly, ensuring complete exposure is achieved in advance. This preliminary positioning action prevents subsequent tilting that would compromise thermal dissipation, while maintaining simple assembly procedures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively prevents conductive clip tilting, enhances thermal dissipation, and maintains a compact form factor by ensuring the conductive clip is fully exposed and securely supported, improving the reliability and efficiency of high-power semiconductor packages.
Implementation Method 1
by exposing the conductive clip to the outside of the package, enhanced thermal dissipation may be provided, for example by affixing a heat sink to the exposed area of the conductive clip
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 1D~1E
Figure 1F~1G
AI summary
One exemplary disclosed embodiment comprises a semiconductor package including an inside pad, a transistor (240,260), and a conductive clip (280) coupled to the inside pad (212c) and a terminal of the transistor. A top surface of the conductive clip is substantially exposed at the top of the package, and a side surface of the conductive clip is exposed at a side of the package. By supporting the semiconductor package on an outside pad (212e) during the fabrication process and by removing the outside pad during singulation, the conductive clip may be kept substantially parallel and in alignment with the package substrate while optimizing the package form factor compared to conventional packages. The exposed top surface of the conductive clip may be further attached to a heat sink for enhanced thermal dissipation.