Fan-Out Semiconductor Assembly Using Intermediate Carriers for Thin Chips
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor assembly processes face challenges in achieving high precision, throughput, and flexibility in placing and connecting components, particularly for thin and delicate chips, while ensuring structural support and thermal management.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using intermediate carriers to mount components with conductive studs, encapsulating them with a temporary carrier, and forming fan-out or fan-in interconnect structures to create a reconstituted panel, which includes applying a warpage compensation material and removing excess encapsulant to form a planar surface, allowing for precise and robust assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If intermediate carriers are used to mount thin components, then structural support is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediate carriers as mediator structures between the temporary carrier and the thin semiconductor components. These intermediate carriers provide the necessary structural support and mechanical strength to handle thin components (2-500 micrometers) during assembly processes, while the temporary carrier serves as the base substrate. This intermediary approach resolves the contradiction by adding support functionality without requiring the final package substrate to directly support the thin components.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple carriers are used for component mounting, then manufacturing precision is improved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the carrier function into two distinct parts: a temporary carrier for initial component mounting and an intermediate carrier for providing structural support. This segmentation allows each carrier to be optimized for its specific function - the temporary carrier for precise component placement and the intermediate carrier for mechanical support - thereby improving manufacturing precision while managing complexity through functional separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The temporary carrier enables preliminary action by providing a stable base for mounting components with conductive studs before the intermediate carrier is introduced. This preliminary mounting on the temporary carrier allows for precise positioning and initial assembly operations, with the intermediate carrier subsequently providing structural support for encapsulation and final package formation.
3Reliability
If encapsulant is applied over intermediate carriers, then component protection is improved, but material usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate carrier acts as a mediator that enables selective encapsulation. By providing a defined mounting area on the temporary carrier, the intermediate carrier allows the encapsulant to be applied only where necessary - covering the components and their interconnections - rather than requiring complete encapsulation of the entire temporary carrier surface. This reduces the quantity of encapsulant material needed while maintaining component protection and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of making a semiconductor assembly may include mounting a plurality of components to one or more intermediate carriers and disposing the one or more intermediate carriers over a temporary carrier. The intermediate carriers may comprise one or more conductive features and coupling the components to the conductive features. The method may further include disposing an encapsulant over the one or more intermediate carriers and over the plurality of components mounted to the temporary carrier to form a reconstituted panel. The encapsulant may be disposed around four side surfaces and over a front surface of each of the plurality of components and removing a portion of the encapsulant to form a planar surface above the front surface of the plurality of components and removing the temporary carrier.