Substrate Interface Design for Leakage Path Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
The miniaturization of electronic devices exacerbates the issue of unwanted short circuits due to electrochemical migration at interfaces between conductive traces surrounded by dielectric materials, creating leakage paths that existing technologies struggle to prevent effectively.
Innovation Solution
A substrate design featuring conductive traces with exposed parts at an interface shaped with angles, edges, curvatures, bulges, or indentations, where a second dielectric layer partially covers the traces, increasing the length of potential leakage paths and mitigating the risk of short circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conductive traces are surrounded by dielectric material in conventional substrates, then electrical connection is achieved, but leakage paths form at interfaces due to electrochemical migration
Solution Approach 1:
The interface shape is modified from a conventional straight line to a three-dimensional structure with bulges and indentations. This dimensional change transforms the interface from a simple planar boundary to a complex spatial structure that increases the leakage path length without increasing the substrate area, thereby preventing electrochemical migration while maintaining electrical connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface incorporates curved features including bulges and indentations instead of straight linear boundaries. These curvature elements increase the path length for potential leakage currents, making it more difficult for electrochemical migration to occur between adjacent conductive traces, thus improving reliability while maintaining compact design.
2Volume of moving object
If electronic devices are miniaturized, then device size is reduced, but leakage path risk increases due to closer trace spacing
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the lateral distance between conductive traces (which would increase device size), the invention modifies the interface in the vertical dimension by creating bulges and indentations. This dimensional approach increases the leakage path length effectively while keeping the device footprint small, thus enabling miniaturization without compromising reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The dielectric layer is not uniformly distributed but is locally modified with bulges and indentations at specific interface regions between conductive traces. This local quality change creates longer leakage paths only where needed (at interfaces) without increasing the overall device volume, allowing miniaturization while maintaining short circuit prevention.
3Reliability
If interface shape is modified to prevent leakage, then reliability improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The interface is segmented into multiple sections with alternating bulges and indentations rather than using a single complex shape. This segmentation allows the interface to be constructed through sequential processing steps, making the manufacturing process more manageable while achieving the reliability benefit of increased leakage path length.
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate and method of fabrication is disclosed. In one example, the substrate includes a first dielectric layer, a first and a second conductive trace arranged over the first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer arranged between the first and second conductive traces and partially covering the first and second conductive traces, wherein an exposed part of the first and second conductive traces is exposed from the second dielectric layer at an interface and wherein a shape of the interface between the first and second conductive traces includes one or more of an angle, an edge, a curvature, a bulge, a step and an indentation.