Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
  • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
  • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
  • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
  • G06K19/077—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W70/00—Package substrates; Interposers; Redistribution layers [RDL]
  • H10W70/60—Insulating or insulated package substrates; Interposers; Redistribution layers
  • H10W70/699—Insulating or insulated package substrates; Interposers; Redistribution layers for flat cards, e.g. credit cards
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W72/00—Interconnections or connectors in packages
  • H10W72/50—Bond wires
  • H10W72/531—Shapes of wire connectors
  • H10W72/536—Shapes of wire connectors the connected ends being ball-shaped
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W72/00—Interconnections or connectors in packages
  • H10W72/50—Bond wires
  • H10W72/531—Shapes of wire connectors
  • H10W72/5363—Shapes of wire connectors the connected ends being wedge-shaped
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W72/00—Interconnections or connectors in packages
  • H10W72/50—Bond wires
  • H10W72/541—Dispositions of bond wires
  • H10W72/5445—Dispositions of bond wires being orthogonal to a side surface of the chip, e.g. parallel arrangements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W72/00—Interconnections or connectors in packages
  • H10W72/50—Bond wires
  • H10W72/551—Materials of bond wires
  • H10W72/552—Materials of bond wires comprising metals or metalloids, e.g. silver
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W72/00—Interconnections or connectors in packages
  • H10W72/851—Dispositions of multiple connectors or interconnections
  • H10W72/874—On different surfaces
  • H10W72/884—Die-attach connectors and bond wires
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W74/00—Encapsulations, e.g. protective coatings
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10W—GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10W90/00—Package configurations
  • H10W90/701—Package configurations characterised by the relative positions of pads or connectors relative to package parts
  • H10W90/751—Package configurations characterised by the relative positions of pads or connectors relative to package parts of bond wires
  • H10W90/754—Package configurations characterised by the relative positions of pads or connectors relative to package parts of bond wires between a chip and a stacked insulating package substrate, interposer or RDL

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an integrated circuit device, an electronic module for a smart card using the integrated circuit device and a method of manufacturing said device.
• the present invention relates to the production of a semiconductor chip in which integrated circuits are produced, which has an architecture such that it allows the manufacture of electronic modules for smart cards of reduced thickness.
• the smart cards used in particular as a bank card, as an identification card, or even as a payment card for different services are essentially constituted by a body of plastic material of rectangular parallelepiped shape in which is inserted an electronic module constituted by more often by a semiconductor patch fixed on an insulating substrate provided with external electrical contact pads. These external areas allow the electrical connection between the circuits of the semiconductor chip and the circuits of a read-write device when the card is inserted into such a device.
• the card body must have a thickness of the order of 0.8 mm. It is understood that the thickness of the electronic module is therefore a critical parameter thereof in order to facilitate the insertion of the electronic module into the card body and to ensure the quality of the mechanical connection between the card body and the module as well as the mechanical integrity of the electronic module.
• FIG. 1 there is shown in vertical section an electronic module for a smart card produced according to a known technique.
• the electronic module 10 essentially consists of a semiconductor patch 12 in which integrated circuits are produced, this patch having an active face 14 provided with electrical connection pads 16.
• the semiconductor patch 12 is fixed on an insulating substrate 18 by a layer of adhesive 19.
• the external face 18a of the insulating substrate is provided with external electrical contact pads 20 intended to come into contact with the electrical contacts of the read-write device.
• the pads 16 of the patch 12 are connected to the external pads 20 by wire electrical conductors such as 24.
• the insulating substrate has windows 26 crossed by electrical conductors 24, which avoids the use of a double-sided printed circuit.
• a coating 26 is made of an insulating material such as an epoxy resin.
• the wired conductors can be replaced by other electrical conductive elements for connection between the pads of the patch and the external pads of the insulating substrate.
• an electronic module is obtained whose overall thickness is of the order of 0.6 mm, to be compared to the 0.8 mm which constitute the thickness of the body of the card.
• a first object of the present invention is to provide an integrated circuit device which allows the production of an electronic module for a smart card of reduced thickness while not having the drawbacks of the techniques set out above.
• the integrated circuit device is characterized in that it comprises an active layer comprising a semiconductor material in which the integrated circuits are produced and having an active face provided with a plurality of electrical connection pads and a second face, said layer having a thickness of less than 100 ⁇ m, and a complementary layer having a first face fixed to the active face of the active layer, a second face and a lateral surface, said complementary layer comprising a plurality of recesses, each recess occupying the entire thickness of the complementary layer and extending from the right of a contact pad to said lateral surface.
• the invention also relates to an electronic module for a smart card which uses an integrated circuit device of the type defined above and which further comprises an insulating substrate having an external face provided with external electrical contact pads and an internal face, said face integrated circuit device being fixed by the second face of the active layer on the internal face of the substrate, and a plurality of electrical conductors, each conductor having a first end connected to a contact pad and a second end connected to an external range of contact and being entirely disposed between the plane containing the second face of the complementary layer and the insulating substrate.
• the invention also relates to a method for manufacturing an integrated circuit device of the type defined above, which is characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
• An active layer having an active face provided with contact pads and a second face, said layer having a standard thickness; - the complementary layer is fixed on the active face of the active layer;
• the active layer is machined by its second face to give it a thickness of less than 100 ⁇ m.
• FIG. 1 already described, shows in vertical section an electronic module for a standard type smart card.
• Figures 2a and 2b show in vertical section two stages of production of the electronic module according to the invention
• Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the electronic module along line III-III of Figure 2b
• Figures 4a to 4c illustrate the different stages of the manufacturing process of the integrated circuit device.
• the integrated circuit device 30 essentially consists of an active layer 32 of semiconductor material, typically silicon, in which the various integrated circuits are produced.
• This active layer 32 has an active face 34 in which the electrical contact pads 36 and a fixing face 38 are made.
• the integrated circuit device 30 also includes a complementary layer 40 whose first face 42 is fixed by any suitable means, for example by an intermediate sealing layer formed of a polyimide, on the active face of the active layer 32 and whose upper face 44 is free.
• the complementary layer 40 can advantageously also be made of silicon, but other materials having physical characteristics close to those of silicon, in particular as regards its coefficient of thermal expansion, could be used.
• One of the functions of the complementary layer 40 is to produce a layer of protection against fraud attempts which could be carried out with respect to the integrated circuits of the active layer.
• the complementary layer 40 is provided with recesses such as 46 (in the example considered, there are five connection pads 36 and five recesses 46). Each recess 46 extends over the entire thickness of the complementary layer and goes from the contact pad 36 to the lateral surface 48 of the complementary layer 40. In other words, these recesses open laterally into the complementary layer.
• the thickness e, of the complementary layer is equal to 140 ⁇ m and the thickness e 2 of the active layer is equal to 40 ⁇ m.
• the total thickness of the integrated circuit device is equal to 180 ⁇ m, which corresponds to the thickness of a standard semiconductor chip. More generally, the thickness of the active layer is less than 100 ⁇ m, this reduced thickness being able to be obtained thanks to the implementation of the manufacturing process which will be described later. More preferably, the thickness e 2 of the active layer is between 5 and approximately 50 ⁇ m.
• the thickness of the complementary layer is thus significantly greater than that of the semiconductor wafer. This makes it possible in particular to obtain a finer module, the conductive wires being in a preferred embodiment of the invention actually housed in the total thickness of the assembly formed by the complementary layer and the semiconductor wafer constituting the active layer.
• the complementary layer substantially or completely covers the active face of the active layer, except, of course, with regard to the recesses. More specifically, the surface of the active face of the active layer is substantially equal to the surface of the first face of the complementary layer reduced by the surface corresponding to the recesses formed in said complementary layer. Therefore, it is possible to machine the active layer so as to thin it to the desired thickness.
• the active layer / additional layer assembly is more resistant to the mechanical stresses which are imposed on it, the additional layer protecting the active layer.
• the integrated circuit device 30 is fixed to an insulating support 50 using a layer of adhesive material 52, the external face 54 of the insulating substrate being provided with external electrical contact pads 56. windows such as 58 are provided in the insulating substrate in line with each of the pads 56.
• a wired electrical conductor 60 for example made of gold, is on the one hand fixed on a connection pad 36 and on the other hand on the rear face an external electrical contact pad 56 through the window 58. It is understood that thanks to the fact that the active layer 32 is of very reduced thickness, the pads 36 are close to the insulating substrate 50. This allows the entire wire bent conductor 60 is arranged below the plane PP 'which contains the upper face 44 of the complementary layer 40.
• the total thickness h of the coating is equal to 310 ⁇ m if the thickness of the adhesive layer between the substrate and the integrated circuit device is taken into account.
• the thickness e 3 of the insulating substrate being typically equal to 170 ⁇ m, an electronic module is obtained whose thickness is equal to 480 ⁇ m. This represents a reduction in thickness, compared to very significant standard electronic modules.
• FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C the main stages in the manufacture of the integrated circuit device 30 will be described.
• a silicon wafer is machined, by any suitable method, to obtain the complementary layer 40 with its recesses 46.
• This layer could be made from another material. It has a thickness e, which is preferably between 100 and 200 ⁇ m.
• the complementary layer 40 is fixed on the active face 72 of a semiconductor patch 70 fitted with connection pads 36.
• This patch has a standard thickness d of the order of 180 ⁇ m.
• the non-active face 74 of the patch 70 is machined, by any suitable method, to reduce the latter to a thickness e 2 typically equal to 40 ⁇ m which gives the active layer 32.
• the integrated circuit device 30 has a total thickness of the order of 180 ⁇ m in the example considered.
• a component is thus obtained which has sufficient mechanical strength although the active layer 32 itself has a thickness e 2 which does not give it these mechanical strength properties.
• the essential advantage of the component thus obtained is that the contact pads 36 are very close to the fixing face 38 of the component.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)
• Semiconductor Integrated Circuits (AREA)
• Internal Circuitry In Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Devices (AREA)
• Structures Or Materials For Encapsulating Or Coating Semiconductor Devices Or Solid State Devices (AREA)
• Encapsulation Of And Coatings For Semiconductor Or Solid State Devices (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=9541247

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Families Citing this family (7)

Citations (9)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 1999
  • 1999-01-27 FR FR9900858A patent/FR2788882A1/fr active Pending
• 2000
  • 2000-01-18 DE DE60036784T patent/DE60036784T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-01-18 ES ES00900602T patent/ES2293891T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-01-18 EP EP00900602A patent/EP1147557B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-01-18 US US09/890,226 patent/US7208822B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-01-18 JP JP2000596598A patent/JP2002536733A/ja active Pending
  • 2000-01-18 CN CNB008036047A patent/CN1207782C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2000-01-18 AT AT00900602T patent/ATE376254T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-01-18 WO PCT/FR2000/000098 patent/WO2000045434A1/fr not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (9)

Non-Patent Citations (4)

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