Novel Bumping Process for Solder on Pad Technology

A novel bumping process using solder bump maker is developed for the maskless low‐volume solder on pad (SoP) technology of fine‐pitch flip chip bonding. The process includes two main steps: one is the aggregation of powdered solder on the metal pads on a substrate via an increase in temperature, and the other is the reflow of the deposited powder to form a low‐volume SoP. Since the surface tension that exists when the solder is below its melting point is the major driving force of the solder deposit, only a small quantity of powdered solder adjacent to the pads can join the aggregation process to obtain a uniform, low‐volume SoP array on the substrate, regardless of the pad configurations. Through this process, an SoP array on an organic substrate with a pitch of 130 μm is successfully formed.     

HV‐SoP Technology for Maskless Fine‐Pitch Bumping Process

Recently, we have witnessed the gradual miniaturization of electronic devices. In miniaturized devices, flip‐chip bonding has become a necessity over other bonding methods. For the electrical connections in miniaturized devices, fine‐pitch solder bumping has been widely studied. In this study, high‐volume solder‐on‐pad (HV‐SoP) technology was developed using a novel maskless printing method. For the new SoP process, we used a special material called a solder bump maker (SBM). Using an SBM, which consists of resin and solder powder, uniform bumps can easily be made without a mask. To optimize the height of solder bumps, various conditions such as the mask design, oxygen concentration, and processing method are controlled. In this study, a double printing method, which is a modification of a general single printing method, is suggested. The average, maximum, and minimum obtained heights of solder bumps are 28.3 μm, 31.7 μm, and 26.3 μm, respectively. It is expected that the HV‐SoP process will reduce the costs for solder bumping and will be used for electrical interconnections in fine‐pitch flip‐chip bonding.     

Novel Bumping Material for Solder‐on‐Pad Technology

A novel bumping material, which is composed of a resin and Sn3Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder power, has been developed for the maskless solder‐on‐pad technology of the fine‐pitch flip‐chip bonding. The functions of the resin are carrying solder powder and deoxidizing the oxide layer on the solder power for the bumping on the pad on the substrate. At the same time, it was designed to have minimal chemical reactions within the resin so that the cleaning process after the bumping on the pad can be achieved. With this material, the solder bump array was successfully formed with pitch of 150 µm in one direction.     

Optimization of Material and Process for Fine Pitch LVSoP Technology

For the formation of solder bumps with a fine pitch of 130 μm on a printed circuit board substrate, low‐volume solder on pad (LVSoP) technology using a maskless method is developed for SAC305 solder with a high melting temperature of 220°C. The solder bump maker (SBM) paste and its process are quantitatively optimized to obtain a uniform solder bump height, which is almost equal to the height of the solder resist. For an understanding of chemorheological phenomena of SBM paste, differential scanning calorimetry, viscosity measurement, and physical flowing of SBM paste are precisely characterized and observed during LVSoP processing. The average height of the solder bumps and their maximum and minimum values are 14.7 μm, 18.3 μm, and 12.0 μm, respectively. It is expected that maskless LVSoP technology can be effectively used for a fine‐pitch interconnection of a Cu pillar in the semiconductor packaging field.     

Interconnection Technology Based on InSn Solder for Flexible Display Applications

A novel interconnection technology based on a 52InSn solder was developed for flexible display applications. The display industry is currently trying to develop a flexible display, and one of the crucial technologies for the implementation of a flexible display is to reduce the bonding process temperature to less than 150°C. InSn solder interconnection technology is proposed herein to reduce the electrical contact resistance and concurrently achieve a process temperature of less than 150°C. A solder bump maker (SBM) and fluxing underfill were developed for these purposes. SBM is a novel bumping material, and it is a mixture of a resin system and InSn solder powder. A maskless screen printing process was also developed using an SBM to reduce the cost of the bumping process. Fluxing underfill plays the role of a flux and an underfill concurrently to simplify the bonding process compared to a conventional flip‐chip bonding using a capillary underfill material. Using an SBM and fluxing underfill, a 20 μm pitch InSn solder SoP array on a glass substrate was successfully formed using a maskless screen printing process, and two glass substrates were bonded at 130°C.