Method of bonding a semiconductor die without an ESD circuit and a separate ESD circuit to an external lead, and a semiconductor device made thereby

[0001] This non-provisional application claims the priority of a Provisional Application Serial No. 60/358,17 filed on Feb. 20, 2002 and a Provisional Application Serial No. 60/380,033 filed on May 6, 2002, whose disclosures are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a method of bonding a semiconductor die without an ESD circuit and a separate ESD circuit to an external lead, and more particularly to a semiconductor device made thereby.

[0003] In a semiconductor device, which has a semiconductor die having an integrated circuit thereon, it is well known to have an ESD circuit to protect the input/output signal of the integrated circuit from electrostatic discharge. Typically, the ESD circuit is integrated with the integrated circuit onto the same single semiconductor die.

[0004] In U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,198,16 and 6,066,890, the references disclose the ESD circuit being a separate circuit apart from a semiconductor die and packaged together in a single package to protect and enhance the performance of the integrated circuit die. See, for example, FIGS. 3-5 and column 3, lines 29-50 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,890. However, one of the shortcomings of these references is that the particular order by which the external leads are bonded or connected to the various circuits is not disclosed. This is important in that since the ESD circuit is removed from the integrated circuit die, the die is exposed to the harmful effects of ESD, during the bonding process.

[0005] Further, the references do not disclose particular structures of chip carriers and semiconductor dies that may be connected to the separate ESD circuit advantageously. In particular, such a structure would be useful for packaging a semiconductor die with the integrated circuit as memory circuits. Finally, the references do not disclose the use of separate ESD circuits with terminating resistors outside of the semiconductor die but part of the package of the semiconductor device. These and other shortcomings are overcome by the present invention.

[0006] Other relevant art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,771,140; 6,385,021; and 5,859,758.

[0007] In the present invention, a method for bonding a semiconductor die without an ESD circuit and a separate ESD circuit to an external lead is disclosed. In the method of the present invention, the external lead is first bonded to the separate ESD circuit. Thereafter, the separate ESD circuit with the external lead bonded thereto is then bonded to the semiconductor die.

[0008] The present invention also relates to a semiconductor device which has a chip carrier, a semiconductor die, and an ESD circuit. The chip carrier has a first surface with a plurality of leads and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and an aperture between the first surface and the second surface. The semiconductor die has a mounting surface with a mounting pad thereon facing the second surface with the mounting pad in the aperture. The ESD circuit is on the mounting surface in the aperture. A first electrical connector connects one of the plurality of leads to the ESD circuit and a second electrical connector connects the ESD circuit to the mounting pad.

[0009] In addition, the present invention relates to a method of assembling a semiconductor device wherein a strip containing a plurality of ESD circuits are mounted on the mounting surface of the semiconductor die with the strip of plurality of ESD circuits mounted substantially adjacent to a plurality rows of mounting pads of the semiconductor die.

[0010] Finally, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device which has a semiconductor die with an input pad, an ESD circuit electrically connected to the input pad, and a terminating resistor switchably connected to the input pad. The ESD circuit and the resistor are external to the die, but packaged in the same package. An external lead is connected to the input pad.

[0011] FIG. 1A is a top view of a first embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device manufactured by the method of the present invention, with FIG. 1B being a cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 1A.

[0012] FIG. 2A is a top view of a second embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device manufactured by the method of the present invention, with FIG. 2B being a cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 2A.

[0013] FIG. 3A is a top view of a third embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device manufactured by the method of the present invention, with FIG. 3B being a cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 3A.

[0014] FIG. 4A is a top view of a fourth embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device manufactured by the method of the present invention, with FIG. 4B being a cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 4A.

[0015] FIG. 5A is a top view of a fifth embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device manufactured by the method of the present invention, with FIG. 5B being a cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 5A.

[0016] FIG. 6A is a top view of a sixth embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device of the present invention, also made by the method of the present invention, with FIG. 6B being a cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 6A.

[0017] FIG. 7a & 7b are schematic circuit diagrams of a plurality of semiconductor devices of the present invention each packaged with a terminating resistor switchably connectable by a control signal.

[0018] FIG. 8a & 8b are schematic circuit diagrams of a plurality of semiconductor devices of the present invention, each packaged with a series resistor switchably connectable by a first control signal and a second control signal.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1A there is shown a top view of an unpackaged semiconductor device 10 made in accordance with the method of the present invention. The device 10 comprises a semiconductor die or an integrated circuit chip 16. The chip 16 is typically substantially rectangular in shape having I/O pads 24 around the periphery or the perimeter thereof. The chip 16 can be any type of integrated circuit, such as memory, logic, processor, or analog. However, the chip or semiconductor die 16 does not have any ESD circuit associated with the input/output pads 24. The signals both input and output are supplied to the die 16 are supplied along these I/O pads 24. The die 16 is mounted on a glass substrate 14 which has a plurality of schottkey diodes 22 around its perimeter. Each of the schottkey diodes is well known in the art and provides the function of ESD protection. Finally, the glass substrate 14 with the schottkey diodes thereon is mounted on a chip carrier 12. The chip carrier 12 has a plurality of leads 20 which are electrical connections to various pins from which the packaged device 10 would supply signals and/or power to or from the device 10. Typically, the die 16 is mounted on the glass 14 by a die adhesive with the glass substrate 14 attached to the chip carrier 12 also by die adhesive.

[0020] In the method of the present invention, wire bonds are provided to electrically connect the external leads 20 to the schottkey diode 22 on the glass substrate 14 and to the bonding pads 24 on the semiconductor die 16. In particular, a first wire bond having a first end and a second end is first used to connect the external lead 20 to the schottkey diode 22. More particularly, the first end of the wire bond is first attached to the external lead 20. The second end of the first wire bond is then attached to the schottkey diode 22. Then a second wire bond having a first end is attached to the schottkey diode 22. The second end of the second wire bond is then attached to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16.

[0021] It should be noted that this order of first attaching the wire bond from the external lead 20 to the schottkey diode 22 and then to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16 is in reverse of the normal order. In the prior art, when a wire bond is used to attach the bonding pad 24 from the die 16 to the external lead 20, bond wires are first attached to the bonding pad 24 and then to the external lead 20. This is undesirable and can have a deleterious effect where the semiconductor die 16 does not have an ESD circuit designed therein. With the method of the present invention, the external lead is first attached to the schottkey diode 22. Then the connection from the schottkey diode 22 to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16 is made. In so doing, any ESD disturbance caused by the act of soldering the wire from the schottkey diode 22 to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16 can be absorbed by the schottkey diode 22.

[0022] Although a BGA-type package is disclosed in FIGS. 1A and 1B, any type of IC packaging may be used. Further, after the wire bonds have been attached, the device 10 is then packaged by having epoxy resin or ceramic either surround the sides or encapsulate the wire bonds or surround and encapsulate the entire structure. All of such packaging technique is well known in the art. Further, although the chip 16 is shown as being attached to the carrier 12 in a so-called face up configuration, i.e. the first and second bonding wires run along the side of the chip 16 and the side of the substrate 14, as will be seen, the method of the present invention is not so limited.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there is shown a top and cross-sectional view, respectively, of a second embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device 110 made by the method of the present invention. In the device 110, shown in FIG. 2A, the device 110 comprises a chip carrier 12, with a plurality of external leads 20. The chip carrier 12, again, can be a BGA-type carrier, but the method of the present invention may be used with any type of carrier 12. A substrate 14 with discrete schottkey diodes 22 mounted thereon is mounted onto the chip carrier 12. In this embodiment, the schottkey diodes 22 are discrete devices bonded to the substrate as an assembly. The chip carrier 12 may be attached to the substrate 14 by die adhesive or the like. A semiconductor die 16 of integrated circuit is mounted on the substrate 14. Again, the semiconductor die 16 can be of any type of integrated circuit, but without any ESD circuit thereon. The semiconductor die 16 can be attached to the substrate 14 by die adhesive.

[0024] Again, in the method of the present invention, a first bonding wire is used to bond the external lead 20 to the schottkey diode 22 on the substrate 14. A second bonding wire is provided with one end of the second bonding wire first attached to the schottkey diode 22 on the substrate 14, with the other end of the second wire then attached to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16. Again, the wiring of the external lead 20 to the bonding pad 24 is done in reverse of the normal order, such that by the time the bonding wire is wired to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16, the ESD circuit 22 will have already been electrically attached to the wire and can absorb any ESD disturbance caused during the bonding process.

[0025] Finally, after the device 110 has been bonded, it can be packaged by encapsulating just the bonding wires or encapsulating the entire structure, all in a manner well known in the art.

[0026] Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B there is shown respectively the top and cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of a semiconductor device 210 made by the method of the present invention. In this device 210, again there is a chip carrier 12 having plurality of leads 20. The carrier 12, again, can be a BGA-type carrier or can be any type of carrier. A semiconductor die 16 having integrated circuits thereon but without any ESD circuit, is mounted directly on the chip carrier 12 substantially at the central portion thereof. This again can be done by using die adhesive to attach the semiconductor die 16 to the chip carrier 12. One or more strips 14 of glass or semiconductor substrate having schottkey diodes 22 fabricated or mounted thereon are placed adjacent to the semiconductor die 16 and on the chip carrier 12. Thus, unlike the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the device 210, the semiconductor die 16 is not mounted directly on a glass or substrate 14 containing the schottkey diodes 22. Instead, the semiconductor die 16 is mounted directly on the chip carrier 12 and the glass or silicon substrate 14 with the schottkey diodes 22 are mounted on the chip carrier 12 along the periphery and spaced apart from the semiconductor die 16.

[0027] Again, the method of bonding the wires to the various components is as follows. A first bonding wire is used to attach the external lead 20 to the schottkey diode 22. A first end of the first bonding wire is first attached to the external lead 20. The other end of the bonding wire is attached to the schottkey diode 22. A second bonding wire has a first end that is then connected to the schottkey diode 22. The other end of the second wire is then used to bond to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16.

[0028] Again, with the method of the present invention, any ESD disturbance that occurs during the bonding process can be absorbed by the ESD circuit or the schottkey diode 22. Finally, the device 210 can be packaged in the usual or well known manner of packaging.

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, there is shown a fourth embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device 310 made in accordance with the present invention. The device 310 comprises a chip carrier 12 having a plurality of external leads 20 thereon. A semiconductor die 16 without any ESD circuit, is mounted on the chip carrier 12 by, e.g., die adhesive attaching the die 16 directly to the carrier 12. A ring-shaped polymer having a plurality of schottkey diodes 22 mounted thereon, is also mounted directly on the chip carrier 12 by, e.g., die adhesive attaching the polymer ring 14 to the carrier 12. Similar to the aforementioned methods, in the method of bonding the device 310, a first bonding wire is first attached to the external lead 20. Thereafter it is attached to the schottkey diode 22 which is on the polymer ring 14. A second bonding wire is first attached to the schottkey diode 22 and thereafter is attached to the bonding pad 24 on the semiconductor die 16. The device 310 can then be packaged in the usual or well known manner.

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, there is shown a top and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a fifth embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device 410 made by the method of the present invention. The device 410 is similar to the device 10 and 110 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. However, unlike the devices 10 and 110, the semiconductor die 16 is a so-called flipped IC chip 16. In that regard, the bonding pads 24 of the die 16 are on a mounting surface which directly faces the substrate 14. Thus, the bonding pads 24 mount directly onto the substrate 14 which has interconnections through the substrate 14 to the schottkey diode 22.

[0031] In the method of the present invention, a first bonding wire is used to bond the external lead 20 to the schottkey diode 22 on the substrate 12. Once all the bonding wires have been attached from the external leads 20 to the schottkey diodes 22, the entire flip chip 16 is then mounted with its bonding pads 24 connected to the substrate 14. In that manner, electrical connection is then made between the schottkey diode 22 and the integrated circuit on the die 16. Finally, well known packaging techniques are used to package the device 410.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 6A there is shown a sixth embodiment of an unpackaged semiconductor device 510 of the present invention, made by the method of the present invention. In device 510, a chip carrier 12 has a plurality of external leads 20 on a first surface thereof. The chip carrier 12 also has a second surface opposite the first surface on which are mounted the external leads 20. The semiconductor die 16 has a mounting surface having the bonding pads 24 thereon. The mounting surface is mated to the second surface of the chip carrier 12. This is a well known face down structure. Between the first surface and the second surface of the chip carrier 12 is an aperture 15. The input/output bonding pads 24 of the semiconductor die 16 are substantially located in the middle of the rectangularly-shaped die 16 and the die 16 is positioned with respect to the chip carrier 12 such that the bonding pads 24 are positioned within the aperture 15. A strip of glass or silicon substrate containing a plurality of schottkey diodes 22 are mounted on the mounting surface of the die 16 and are also positioned within the aperture 15. Alternatively, the diodes 22 could be mounted and pre-attached to bond leads of the package substrate. The die 16 is typically a memory circuit, such as a DDR DRAM memory circuit, but without ESD circuit integrated therewith. A lead is then used to bond the external lead 20 to the schottkey diode 22 and to the bonding pad 24 of the semiconductor die 16. Thus, in the method of the present invention, a first bond is created between the external lead 20 and the schottkey diode 22. Thereafter, the same external lead is extended and is used to connect between the external lead 20 and the bonding pad 24 on the semiconductor die 16.

[0033] Thereafter, packaging can be completed by simply encapsulating the aperture 15 and/or additionally encapsulating the chip carrier 12 and the die 16 together.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 7a there is shown a schematic diagram of a plurality of packaged integrated circuit semiconductor devices 610(a-i) of the present invention. The nine devices 610(a-i) are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. A plurality of control signals 60(a-c) access each device 610 in the same column. Each device 610 comprises a semiconductor die 16 without an ESD circuit integrated therewith. In the preferred embodiment, the integrated circuit die 16 is a DDR (DRAM) memory device. However, the present invention is not so limited and can be any type of device that requires operation at a high transmission rate. The die 16 is packaged along with a separate ESD circuit 22, such as a schottkey diode 22, in a package 30, in the manner described heretofore. The package 30 receives an external lead 20 and is connected to the schottkey diode 22 and to the bonding pad 24 of the die 16. In addition, however, the device 610 also comprises a terminating resistor 36 which is switchably connected by switch 32 to the external lead 20 and to the bonding pad 24. The terminating resistor 36 can be made of a thin film resistor and can be very precise. In a preferred embodiment, the terminating resistor 36 has 50 resistance (or any other amount of resistance). The switch 32 can be controlled by the control signal 60 supplied along the column line. Therefore, the switch 32 can be a transistor which can be electrically activated. Alternatively, the switch 32 can be a fuse which can be blown or not blown and thereby permanently connect or disconnect the resistor 36 to the external lead 20. The external leads 20 to each device 610 in the same row are all connected to the same row signal line 62.

[0035] With the device 610 of the present invention, if it is desired to operate the device 610 in a high performance mode, i.e., at a high frequency, the control signal 60 is selected to activate the switch 32 connecting the terminating resistor 36 to the external lead 20. In that event, signals supplied along the external lead 20 will have a 50 terminating resistance (or any other amount of resistance) which is typically the matched impedance for high frequency operation. This would be in the event the integrated circuit within the die 16 can be operated at such high frequency. At the same time, the schottkey diode 22 performs the function of ESD protection for the circuit of the die 16.

[0036] Alternatively, if the IC in the die 16 is deemed to be of low quality and is not able to perform at high frequency, then the control signal 40 may be used to deactivate the switch 32 thereby disconnecting the terminating resistor 36 from the external lead 20. Thus, with the device 610 of the present invention, the same circuit on the die 16 may be fabricated through the same fabrication line and only during the wafer sort can the high/low performance dies be selected. Thus, there need not be separate inventories kept for different performance IC dies 16.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 7b, there is shown a schematic circuit drawing of another embodiment of a plurality of packaged devices 610 of the present invention. Similar to the devices 610 shown in FIG. 7a, the devices 610 shown in FIG. 7b are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. The only difference between the embodiment shown in FIG. 7b and that shown in FIG. 7a is that the external lead 20 for each device 610 is individually supplied with the signal supplied on signal line 62(a-i), and is not supplied in common to the same row.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 8a there is shown a schematic circuit drawing of a plurality of packaged integrated circuit semiconductor devices 710(a-i) of the present invention. The nine devices 710(a-i) are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. A plurality of control signals 60(a-c) access each device 710 in the same column. Each device 710 comprises a semiconductor die 16 without an ESD circuit integrated therewith. In the preferred embodiment, the integrated circuit die 16 is a DDR (DRAM) memory device. However, the present invention is not so limited and can be any type of device that requires operation at a high transmission rate. The die 16 is packaged along with a separate ESD circuit 22, such as a schottkey diode 22, in a package 30, in the manner described heretofore. The package 30 receives an external lead 20 and is connected to the schottkey diode 22 and to the bonding pad 24 of the die 16. In addition, however, the device 710 also comprises a resistor 36, connected in series with the external lead 20, and which is switchably connected by switch 32b to the bonding pad 24. The resistor 36 can be made of a thin film resistor and can be very precise. In a preferred embodiment, the resistor 36 has 50 resistance. The switch 32b can be controlled by the control signal 60c supplied along the column line. Therefore, the switch 32b can be a transistor which can be electrically activated. In addition, the external lead 20 is supplied along a parallel path to a second switch 32a, which is activated by a signal from the control line 64c. If the switch 32a is activated, the signal from the external lead 20 is supplied directly to the bonding pad 24. The external leads 20 to each device 710 in the same row are all connected to the same row signal line 62.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 8b, there is shown a schematic circuit drawing of another embodiment of a plurality of packaged devices 710 of the present invention. Similar to the devices 710 shown in FIG. 8a, the devices 710 shown in FIG. 8b are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. The only difference between the embodiment shown in FIG. 8b and that shown in FIG. 8a is that the external lead 20 for each device 710 is individually supplied with the signal supplied on signal line 62(a-i), and is not supplied in common to the same row.