TWI559461B - Apparatus and method for embedding components in small-form-factor, system-on-packages - Google Patents

Description

Apparatus and method for embedding components in small form factor, system integrated package Field of invention

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuit design and, more specifically, to improved performance, integrated thermal management, and interference mitigation within a small form factor (SFF)-system integrated package (SOP) environment. One or more of the SFF-SOP architecture.

Background of the invention

The size of the mobile platform is reduced and combined with more electronic wireless capabilities for efficient communication. In order to incorporate all of the desired electronic functions into the future Small Form Factor (SFF) mobile platform, an Embedded System Integrated Package (SOP) architecture is being developed.

Different active components and passive component embedding technologies are currently being developed using multilayer matrix materials and cavities. Device embedding technologies are being developed using low cost materials that are not well suited for embedding radio frequency (RF) functionality. Some approaches to embedding "integrated passive devices" are being developed, but may increase manufacturing and assembly costs, which may minimize the use of low cost material systems. Furthermore, it is still difficult to achieve RF performance and size reduction for multi-standard wireless systems. RF-integrated passive device (RF-IPD) is also used in 矽, low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC), glass or other materials and embedded in low cost material systems for RF bonding. This potentially significantly increases assembly and manufacturing costs, and degrades/changes the performance of complex passive structures after other components are embedded or shielded in close proximity.

On the other hand, high-performance materials with known higher-cost matrix materials are being utilized at higher cost. In a multi-layer material environment, these materials can be embedded in complex RF passive designs. The thermal issues and noise management issues in the current SOP structure have not been resolved. Conventional electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures for noise mitigation in this SFF-SOP environment will tend to consume a lot of space and will increase the overall SOP size. These two methods also have crosstalk heat problems.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus is specifically provided, comprising: a physical communication module configured to receive and process at least a radio frequency (RF) signal, the physical communication module comprising: configured as a stacked layer a small form factor platform comprising: a first layer of the stacked layer having a first conformal material; a second layer of the stacked layer having a second conforming material; having a third material a third layer of the stacked layer, wherein the first conformal material and the second conformal material are more flexible than the third material; and one or more electronic components are embedded in the stacked layer And wherein the one or more electronic components are configured to process the wireless signal at a frequency of a received wireless signal before the device is converted to a lower frequency.

100‧‧‧Non-homogeneous stack

105‧‧‧High-performance materials

110‧‧‧Inefficient materials

115‧‧‧Active IC components

120‧‧‧Power Amplifier (PA), GaAs PA

125‧‧‧RFIC and BB/MAC IC

130, 320‧‧‧ Passive components

135‧‧‧Antenna

140‧‧‧Metal wire

150‧‧‧ radiator material

205‧‧‧Molding layer

305‧‧‧IC1

310‧‧‧IC2

315‧‧‧IC3

325, 335‧‧ ‧ isolation structure

330‧‧‧Microvia structure

1 shows high performance and performance in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention Both of the low performance polymer layers are formed into a cross-sectional view of the SOP of a stack of materials.

2 shows another cross-sectional view of an SOP having both high performance and low performance polymer layers to form a stack of materials in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 3a shows a cross-sectional view of the SOP including embedded isolation structures in accordance with the various aspects disclosed herein.

Figure 3b shows vertical periodic microvia structures A and B taken along line A and line B of Figure 3a.

Figure 3c shows the horizontal periodic structure taken along line C of Figure 3a.

4 shows a specific embodiment of a device including a communication module having a SOP stack in accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

definition

High-performance materials: High-performance materials are materials that provide superior electrical properties, including low loss and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), compared to the properties of low-efficiency materials.

In accordance with various aspects disclosed herein, a device is disclosed that includes a small form factor mobile platform including a system integrated package architecture, the system integrated package architecture configured as a stacked layer body including: a first conformal material first a second layer having a second conformal material or any other rigid organic material; a third layer having a third material; and one or more electronic components embedded within the stacked layer, wherein the first One profile The material, the second conformable material, or both are assembled to permit high frequency signal path arrangements.

In accordance with various aspects disclosed herein, the apparatus can further include a heat dissipating component configured to dissipate heat generated by the one or more electronic components, wherein the heat dissipating component is disposed between the first layer and the second layer . The heat dissipating component can comprise a high conductivity material such as a metal, or a directional conductor. The high conductivity material may be selected from the group consisting of: copper, aluminum, KOVAR, a heat sink material, brass, tantalum carbide or other materials such as gold or silver, and directionality. The conductors can include graphite that is assembled to dissipate heat along a two-dimensional plane. Furthermore, the device may include a characteristic member described later, wherein the first conformal material and the second conformable material are the same material or different materials. Also, the apparatus may include a characteristic member described later, wherein the first conformable material, the second conformable material, or both comprise a polymer such as a liquid crystal polymer or may be a rigid organic or polymeric material.

In accordance with various aspects disclosed herein, the apparatus can further include a vertical filtering structure disposed between the one or more electronic components. The vertical filtering structure can include stacked via patterns arranged in a periodic arrangement of vertical filtering structures that can define filtering characteristics. The apparatus can include features as described below, wherein the vertical filtering structure is configured to filter or isolate radio frequency noise, harmonics of digital noise, or both generated by the one or more electronic components. The apparatus may include a characteristic member described later, wherein the third material is different from the first and second conformal materials.

In accordance with various aspects disclosed herein, a method is disclosed that includes forming a small form factor mobile platform including a system integrated package architecture, Configuring the system integrated package structure as a stacked layer includes: providing a first layer having a first conformal material; providing a second layer having a second conformal material or any other rigid organic material; providing a first a third layer of three materials; and embedding one or more electronic components within the stacked layer, wherein the first conformable material, the second conformable material, or both are assembled to permit high frequency signals Path arrangement.

In accordance with various aspects disclosed herein, the method can include disposing a heat dissipating component between the first and second conformal materials, wherein the heat dissipating component can be disposed between the first layer and the second layer. The first conformable material and the second conformable material may be the same material or different materials. For example, the first or second conformable material or both may comprise a polymer such as a liquid crystal polymer, or may be a rigid organic material or a polymeric material. The heat dissipating component may comprise a high conductivity material, such as a metal, or a directional conductor, wherein the high conductivity material may be selected from the group consisting of copper and aluminum, and the directional conductor may comprise graphite, which is It is assembled to dissipate heat along a two-dimensional plane.

In accordance with various aspects disclosed herein, the method can include configuring a vertical filter structure between the one or more electronic components, wherein the vertical periodic filter structure comprises a stacked via pattern. The vertical filter structure can be configured to be periodic and define a filter characteristic, wherein the vertical filter structure is configured to filter or isolate harmonics of radio frequency noise and digital noise generated by the one or more electronic components. Or both. Vertical filtering can combine horizontal periodic filtering as permitted by the small form factor SOP of interest.

These and other objects, features and characteristics of the present invention, as well as methods and functions of the related structural elements, and manufacturing parts and manufacturing economics Combinations of the present invention will become more apparent when referring to the appended claims. It is to be understood that the drawings are only for the purpose of illustration and description The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are used in the singular.

1 shows a cross-sectional view of an SOP having both high performance and low performance polymer layers to form a stack of materials in accordance with the various aspects disclosed herein. The non-homogeneous stack, generally shown at 100, includes one or more layers of high performance material 105, and one or more layers of low performance material 110. By way of non-limiting example, the high performance material 105 can be a polymer, such as a liquid crystal polymer (LCP), Rogers RXP, or have superior electrical properties over the electrical properties of the low performance material 110 over a wide frequency range. Any other material. The low loss tangent is a factor for the high performance material 105 and is directly related to circuit signal loss and quality or Q factor. Due to these characteristics, high performance materials such as LCP permit high frequency signal routing and passive components. The low performance material 110 can comprise a polymer such as Ajinomoto deposited film (ABF), FR4, BT or any other organic material.

The high performance material 105, such as an LCP, can be more flexible or bendable than the low performance material 110. This flexibility of the high performance material 105 allows the layers to conform to the electrical components such that the electrical components can be embedded between the two layers of high performance materials. In some aspects, a particular layer of the stack can include both the high performance material 105 and the low performance material 110. In this case, electrical components and / or The RF component can be configured between two layers of high performance materials and adjacent to a low performance material on a particular layer of the SOP.

By way of non-limiting example, the thickness of the stack as shown in Figure 1 can be less than 0.5 mm. The vertical dimension of the SOP can be reduced by thinning the substrate. In this case, the embedded IC design can be optimized to include the effects of a thin substrate and polymer material environment, if desired.

In some aspects, the stack can be a non-homogeneous stack that includes only one type of layer. For example, the stack can include a layer of high performance material or a layer of low performance material.

The stack may include different active IC components 115, including different electrical components and/or radio frequency (RF) components, which may be disposed between two layers of high performance material 105. By way of non-limiting example, different electrical ICs may include a power amplifier (PA) 120, such as GaAs PA. Furthermore, different RF ICs may include one of two highly integrated ICs, such as RFIC and BB/MAC IC 125, which operate in accordance with ICCC 802.11n and IEEE 802.11a/b/g standards. Other chipsets that operate in accordance with different wireless standards can also be used. Such ICs are not limited to ICs used in wireless applications, but may include ICs such as memory, general purpose processors, or application specific ICs and single chip systems (SOCs). The stack may also contain one or more passive components 130, which may be radio frequency (RF) components that consume energy (but do not generate energy), or components that do not have power gain. Examples of RF passive components may include capacitors, inductors, resistors, transformers, high-impedance multi-band RF filters, multiplexers, and baluns. Other passive components such as antenna 135 can be embedded between multiple layers of metal to achieve higher RF performance. RF signals from 矽 integrated single-chips such as RFIC 125 can be used efficiently The layer routing of the material 105 can be arranged, and the digital signal can be routed through the metal line 140 using layers of the low performance material 110.

In various aspects of the present disclosure, a roll-up version of a high performance liquid crystal polymer (LCP) material can be used to embed an RF active component and develop an embedded RF passive component using an LCP multi-metal matrix layered structure. The roll-up version of the LCP is typically less expensive than the original LCP material. The SOP form factor (all x, y, z directions) is minimized by designing a high performance passive component that is optimized to surround the embedded active component within the LCP type layer. The LCP type material will allow the base material to wrap around the embedded active component and reduce the need for any surface protection around the embedded active component. Thin layer of LCP type material (thickness 25 micron) can be used as a redistribution layer for efficient RF, analog, and digital signal distribution to achieve a small form factor. Lower cost ABF type materials can be used in the stack to embed additional digital functions.

In some aspects disclosed herein, if at least one dimension of the overall SOP stack is less than or equal to about 0.5 mm, then a multi-layered SOP stack (e.g., as shown in Figure 1) can be considered to have a "small form factor." In some aspects disclosed herein, if the thickness of each of the high performance material layer and/or the low performance material layer is less than or equal to about 25 microns, then a multilayer SOP stack (eg, as shown in FIG. 1) can be considered as having " Small form factor." However, the aforementioned stack dimensions and layer dimensions do not limit the establishment to be considered a "small" form factor. In several embodiments, the "small" of the SOP stack can be defined by the device (or device class) in which the SOP stack is embodied. For example, if the desktop or laptop computer is embodied inside a "small laptop" computer, the SOP stack can be considered to have a small form factor. For the same reason, for mobile devices, if it can be embodied Within a cell phone or wearable device (eg, glasses, wristwatch, etc.), the SOP stack can be considered to have a small form factor.

In some of the aspects disclosed herein, the layer of high performance material 105 and/or the layer of low performance material 110 in the (SOP) stack 100 may be sufficiently flexible such that the layers are in one or more dimensions (eg, One or more of the x, y, and z dimensions are fully foldable or partially foldable and do not break or break due to folding. In such embodiments, the active components and/or passive components (e.g., components 115, 130, etc.) arranged between the layers of the SOP stack may be assembled into a folded configuration in a similar manner to the layers themselves. The operational functions of the multi-layered and inter-layered components arranged in the folded configuration may remain the same as the unfolded configuration (eg, as shown in FIG. 1). One embodiment having a folded layer and folding assembly configuration can be used within an electronic device such as a mobile device (smart phone, tablet, etc.), which itself can be assembled to have different sizes or form factors. For example, such an electronic device can have a first form factor as a tablet (a screen size of about 8-10 inches) and can be assembled with a flexible/foldable screen and an outer body so that the device can be re The second form factor is assembled as a smart phone (screen size about 4 or 6 inches). Within the electronic device illustrated herein, the SOP stack can be configured in a first "flat" form factor that is tied to the unfolded configuration (eg, as shown in FIG. 1). In the second "smart phone" form factor, the multiple layers and the components disposed between the layers are in a folded configuration to be operable (with the same function) within and corresponding to the smaller form factor of the device.

In some aspects of the disclosure disclosed herein, a SOP stack (eg, as shown in FIG. 1) may be embodied in a radio receiver and/or other transmitter IC. The RF front end (or communication module) is shown in Figure 4. For example, the SOP stack can be embedded within an RF front end or communication module of a (multi-) radio receiver of a wireless device, such as a tablet, wearable computing device, cell phone (based on well-known cell technology, such as CDMA) , EDGE, UMTS, OFDM, LTE, etc.), Wi-Fi receivers (based on the well-known various IEEE 802.11 standards), and the like. In general, in a radio receiver circuit/module, the radio frequency front end can include circuitry between the antenna and the first intermediate frequency (IF) stage. The RF front end can include components in the receiver that previously input the RF processing signal before the signal is converted to a lower intermediate frequency. For example, the RF front end can include an impedance matching circuit, a band pass filter (BPF), an RF filter, an RF amplifier, a local oscillator (LO), a mixer, and/or other components. Moreover, in a radio receiver embodied in a wireless device such as a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a cell phone, a Wi-Fi receiver, etc., the radio frequency front end may include an antenna from the device to an analog to digital converter (ADC). A component that digitizes signals such as IF filtering, demodulation, and the like. Accordingly, in several embodiments, such radio front end components (e.g., in a multi-radio receiver) can be embodied within layers of the SOP stack, as discussed above with respect to FIG.

In accordance with the various aspects disclosed herein, an SOP as shown at 100 may be modified by including one or more heat dissipating elements. One or more heat dissipating elements may be arranged inside a stack of homogenous materials, such as only high performance materials or only low performance materials. One or more heat dissipating elements may also be arranged inside the stack of heterogeneous materials, such as a stack of either high performance materials or low performance materials. As shown in FIG. 1, one or more heat dissipating elements, such as heat sink material 150, may be arranged proximate to the high power active component to dissipate the generated by the master key. hot. In one non-limiting embodiment, the heat dissipating component is within the upper layer of the active component or is positioned directly above the active component. The heat dissipating component can be placed between two layers of high performance materials or can be placed between two layers of high and low performance materials. It can be disposed between two layers of high-performance materials, such as metal, and can include copper, aluminum, and KOVAR (Corfa is the trade name of Carpenter Technology Corporation). Nickel-cobalt iron alloy, designed to be compatible with the thermal expansion characteristics of borosilicate glass to permit direct mechanical bonding over a range of temperatures) or tantalum carbide (SiC), or directional conductors such as graphite in two dimensions (x -, y-) Plane heat dissipation. As detailed later, the combination of different heat sinks and through the pattern stack can be used to achieve an optimized heat dissipation structure. The need for an external heat sink can be reduced or eliminated by one or more heat dissipating components disposed within the small form factor SOP.

According to the various aspects disclosed herein, the sheet of hot material can be embedded in the LCP type material due to the conformal nature of the high performance LCP. Copper, graphite, coF, tantalum carbide, brass, and other materials with good thermal properties can be embedded under an IC with high power dissipation, such as power amplifier PA, to permit thermal management within the SOP architecture while still maintaining SFF properties. The LCP can be set to surround the materials to conform to the shape and form the SOP without any voids or gaps. The graphite material dissipates heat in the X-Y direction. In some cases, the graphite material can be embedded to dissipate heat to the heat sink/metal vias, as detailed later, to remove heat from the embedded SOP structure.

2 shows another cross-sectional view of various SOPs having both high performance and low performance polymer layers to form a stack of materials in accordance with the disclosure herein. Figure 2 is similar to Figure 1, but showing power amplifier 120, GaAs PA Mounted on top of the base. For small IC components such as GaAs PA, it does not need to be embedded because it does not occupy a large area on the substrate. Molding layer 205 can be disposed over the top mounting assembly to encapsulate and protect the SOP.

Figure 3a shows a cross-sectional view of various oriented SOPs in accordance with the disclosure herein, including an embedded isolation structure. Embedded isolation structures are assembled and configured to reduce noise coupling and crosstalk issues in very small form factor SOPs. Like the heat dissipation structure discussed above, the isolation structure can be disposed within a homogenous stack of materials, such as a material stack of only one of high performance materials or only low performance materials. Again, the isolation structure can also be disposed within one of the heterogeneous stacks of materials, such as a stack of both high and low performance materials. The IC is shown in Figure 3a, and IC1 (305), IC2 (310), and IC3 (315) are placed between the high-performance materials of the SOP. Again, one or more passive components 320 are shown embedded within the layer of high performance material. The isolation structure 325 can be embedded inside the SOP to reduce noise coupling and crosstalk in the SOP.

Figure 3b shows vertical periodic microvia structures A and B taken along line A and line B of Figure 3a. The microvia structure 330 is assembled and configured to reduce component-to-element noise coupling/crosstalk. The characteristics of crosstalk isolation can be adjusted by changing the periodicity of the vertical structure. Figure 3c shows the horizontal periodic isolation structure 335 taken along line C of Figure 3a. Both vertical and horizontal structures can be combined to form improved isolation in a complete SOP environment. These isolation structures can be used to surround radio or digital functional blocks to isolate RF noise and harmonics of digital noise.

In some of the aspects disclosed herein, Faraday cages and horizontal electronic band gap (EBG) structures that utilize patterned metals can be used to isolate structures. Furthermore, the vertical periodic structure can also combine horizontal EBG metal patterns to form a surround An effective noise reducer for the desired portion of the SOP.

Although the present invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration and description of the embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the details of the present invention are intended for illustrative purposes only, and the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but instead It is intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, it is contemplated that one or more features of any embodiment can be combined with one or more features of any other embodiments to the extent possible.

100‧‧‧Non-homogeneous stack

105‧‧‧High-performance materials

110‧‧‧Inefficient materials

115‧‧‧Active IC components

120‧‧‧Power Amplifier (PA)

125‧‧‧RFIC and BB/MAC IC

130‧‧‧ Passive components

135‧‧‧Antenna

140‧‧‧Metal wire

150‧‧‧ radiator material

Claims (15)

A communication device comprising: a physical communication module configured to receive and process at least a radio frequency (RF) signal, the physical communication module comprising: a small form factor platform configured as a stacked layer, comprising a first layer of the stacked layer body having a first conformal material; a second layer of the stacked layer body having a second conformal material; and the stacked layer body having a third material a third layer, wherein the first conformal material and the second conformal material are more flexible than the third material; and one or more electronic components embedded in the stacked layer body, wherein The one or more electronic components are configured to process the received wireless signal prior to being converted to a lower frequency at the device at a frequency of the wireless signal. The device of claim 1, further comprising: a heat dissipating component assembled to dissipate heat generated from the one or more electronic components. The device of claim 2, wherein the heat dissipating component is disposed between the first layer and the second layer. The device of claim 1, wherein the first conformable material and the second conformal type The materials are the same material. The device of claim 1, wherein the first conformable material and the second conformable material are different materials. The device of claim 1, wherein the first conformable material, the second conformable material, or both comprise a polymer. The device of claim 1, wherein the first layer, or the second layer, or both are less than or equal to 25 microns in thickness. The device of claim 1, wherein one of the stacked layers has a thickness of less than 0.5 mm. The device of claim 1, further comprising: an isolation structure disposed within the stacked layer and configured to reduce noise generated by any one of the one or more electronic components, Crosstalk between at least two of the one or more electronic components, or both. The device of claim 9, wherein the isolation structure comprises a plurality of components configured to be periodically configured, wherein an operational characteristic of the isolation structure is adapted based on a periodicity of the periodic configuration of the plurality of components . The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic components comprise an antenna, an impedance matching circuit, a band pass filter (BPF), an RF filter, an RF amplifier, and a local oscillator (LO) And at least one of the mixers. A method for communication, comprising: receiving and processing a radio frequency (RF) signal in a physical communication module, wherein the physical communication module comprises: a small form factor platform configured as a stacked layer body, comprising: a first layer of the stacked layer body having a first conformal material; and one of the stacked layer bodies having a second conformal material a second layer; a third layer of the stacked layer having a third material, wherein the first conformable material and the second conformable material are more flexible than the third material; and one or more An electronic component embedded in the stacked layer, wherein the one or more electronic components are assembled to receive the received signal at a frequency of one of the wireless signals before being converted to a lower frequency at the device wireless signal. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more electronic components comprise an antenna, an impedance matching circuit, a band pass filter (BPF), an RF filter, an RF amplifier, and a local oscillator (LO) And at least one of the mixers. The method of claim 12, wherein the first layer, or the second layer, or both are less than or equal to 25 microns thick. The method of claim 12, wherein one of the stacked layers has a thickness of less than 0.5 mm.