Sensor Node Module with Protruding Structure for Exposed Sensing Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a challenge in miniaturizing sensors while maintaining their sensitivity and integrating them with semiconductor chips, as existing methods struggle to expose active sensing surfaces for environmental interaction while ensuring protection and integration with electronic circuits.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the formation of protruding structures on a carrier, where sensor dies are placed and encapsulated with mold material, with the structures shielding the active sensing surfaces, allowing for their exposure after carrier removal, enabling wireless communication and environmental parameter detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sensor die is fully encapsulated with mold material for protection, then mechanical and chemical protection is improved, but the active sensing surface becomes covered and cannot interact with the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The encapsulation is segmented into two distinct regions: a protected region where mold material provides mechanical and chemical protection, and an exposed region where the active sensing surface remains uncovered for environmental interaction. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by allowing both protection and environmental access simultaneously through spatial division of the encapsulation structure.
2Volume of moving object
If the sensor die is miniaturized to reduce size, then device dimensions are improved, but the complexity of integrating with electronic circuits and exposing sensing surfaces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor die, electronic circuits, and encapsulation structure are merged into a single integrated module. The semiconductor chip contains both the sensing elements and electronic circuitry, while the mold material simultaneously provides protection and defines the exposed sensing regions. This merging reduces overall complexity by consolidating multiple functions into unified structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold material is applied in a preliminary encapsulation step that simultaneously achieves multiple objectives: protecting the sensor die, defining the exposed sensing surface regions, and integrating the electronic circuits. This preliminary action prevents the need for subsequent complex processing steps to achieve these functions separately.
3Measurement precision
If the active sensing surface is exposed for environmental interaction, then sensitivity is improved, but mechanical protection is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor die surface is segmented into exposed sensing regions and protected regions. The mold material selectively covers non-active areas while leaving active sensing surfaces exposed, achieving both sensitivity and protection through spatial segmentation of the encapsulation coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of manufacturing a sensor node module includes forming a protruding structure on a carrier. A sensor die is applied onto the protruding structure with an active sensing surface of the sensor die facing the carrier. The sensor die is encapsulated with mold material, wherein the protruding structure prevents the mold material from covering the active sensing surface. The carrier and the protruding structure are removed from the sensor die.