FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to a structure and a method of manufacturing of a substrate in the semiconductor packaging process, and more particularly to fine pitch flip chip substrates that demand high packaging precision.[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONDue to the increase of the number of I/Os in modern electronic products, the packaging technology has evolved from the early Plug-In method to the more advanced Surface Mounting Technology (SMT) in order to meet the new demands. There are two representative SMT, the Dual-In-Line Package (DIP), by Fairchild, and Flat Package (FP), by Texas Instrument Institute. Another packaging method drawing much attention is the Ball Grid Array (BGA), which uses protruding poles arranged in an array to replace the pins of conventional Pin Grid Array (PGA). PGA is a through hole packaging technology that is restricted by the pitch between the separate areas on the printed board. On the other hand, BGA is a surface packaging technology without such restriction. Thus, BGA is suitable for packaging compact products with high density of I/Os. With the emergence of Flip Chip used in high-level products, BGA is becoming the technology of choice in the modern packaging industry. However, in practice, when applying Flip Chip Ball Grid Array (FCBGA) on Flip Chip Substrate, the current BGA technology suffers from the problems of crowed routing space, substrate warpage, and the solder resist too thick to adhere the IC devices. It is necessary to develop a different packaging structure and method for solving the aforementioned problems.[0002]
As shown in FIG. 1A, a conventional Flip Chip Substrate includes 4 to 8 layers of printed circuit boards. The substrate could be made of ceramic or organic material. The communication between the layers of boards is through the tiny holes drilled mechanically or with laser. Wires are extended through the tiny holes and made into bump pads for connecting the IC bumps. The conventional approach usually requires a larger space; hence, restricts the density and the flexibility of routing. It is desirable to device a technology to fill the tiny laser-drilled holes with plating copper in order to form the communication between the layers of boards. This will improve the density and the flexibility of routing.[0003]
In the IC packaging process, the substrates are treated with a high temperature step which could sometimes deform the substrates. The deformed substrates, warped or twisted, are difficult for the IC chips to be adhered on. To avoid heat deformation, the present invention provides a Fine Pitch flip chip substrate with a mesh pattern to increase the stiffness of the substrates. The mesh pattern improves the resistance to heat deformation.[0004]
In a conventional IC packaging process, the flip chip substrates is coated with a photo solder resist made of Epoxy to prevent short-circuit of the tin bridge due to the flowing of melted soldering tin during the solder reflow. Also, a bump pad is formed at the area for connecting each solder bump of I/O on the IC chips in the packaging process. This step is difficult for the flip chip substrate that requires its alignment precision to be within 25 μm. Meanwhile, the thickness of the solder resist are usually controlled between 15 to 45 μm during manufacturing. Therefore, the bump pads buried in the solder resist will degrade the connection between the IC bumps and the pads on the substrate.[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a Fine Pitch flip chip substrate structure, as shown in FIG. 1B. A black oxide dam is formed on the metal wires between the bump pads to replace the conventional solder resist. The thickness of the dam can be easily controlled between 1-3 μm such that the bump pads will not be buried in the solder resist. As the present invention is no longer constrained by the alignment precision imposed by the solder resist in the IC connection area, it solves the misalignment problem faced by the conventional technology.[0006]
A similar technology to the present invention is to electro-plate a NiO layer to form the black oxide resist layer. The thickness of the NiO has to be controlled below 5 μm. The inherent shortcoming of this method is that the metal wires are not well adherent to the underfill, which is a glue used at the bottom of IC during the FCBGA process. Thus, the reliability is reduced. On the other hand, the present invention grows fur-shaped black oxide dam directly on the wire. This will enhance the adhesion to the underfill, and improve the long term reliability of the circuits. The use of NiO provides no such capability.[0007]
The present invention relates to a method comprising the following steps:[0008]
Step 1: providing a substrate:[0009]
Form a first metal layer on the substrate, on which a plurality of through holes are drilled. A first metal plated layer is formed on the first metal layer and the through holes.[0010]
Step 2: forming an inner circuit:[0011]
Transfer image on the dry film and to etch the first metal layer and the first metal plated layer according the image to form a plurality of traces, the remained portion becomes the inner circuit.[0012]
Step 3: black oxide inner circuit:[0013]
Form a black oxide inner circuit in the inner circuit by oxidizing the inner circuit.[0014]
Step 4: forming a mediate layer and a second metal layer;[0015]
Introduce dielectric substance into the traces and the through holes of the substrate and coat the entire inner circuit. A metal foil is formed on the dielectric layer and is laminated to become the second metal layer.[0016]
Step 5: forming vias in the dielectric layer by laser beams:[0017]
Form a laser mask by transferring an image on the dry film. Vias are drilled by laser drilling at the opening of the laser mask to form a plurality of dielectric layer vias. A second metal plated layer is formed in the dielectric layer vias, which are plated and filled by copper to form the surface of the second metal plated layer.[0018]
Step 6: forming a circuit layer:[0019]
Make a Ni/Au layer on the second metal layer by using a dry film as a mask and etch the second metal layer according to the image. The remained portion is the circuit layer.[0020]
Step 7: forming a plurality of solder resist areas:[0021]
Form the solder resist areas on the second metal layer excluding the bump pad area for IC connection.[0022]
Step 8: forming a plurality of black oxide dams:[0023]
Form the black oxide dams on the second metal layer by way of oxidization.[0024]
Step 9: packaging flip chip process:[0025]
Underfill the bottom of IC and connect the flip chip bumps with the Ni/Au layer. The through holes of the flip chip substrate is electrically connected to the mediate layer vias.[0026]
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method that improves the routing flexibility on the substrates and reduces the misalignment problem in manufacturing.[0027]
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.[0028]