Integrated circuits are what power many of today's consumer electronics, for instance, cellphones, video cameras, portable music players, computers, etc. Integrated circuit manufacturing can generally be divided into front-end process steps and back-end process steps. Typical front-end integrated circuit fabrication process steps may take as many as six to eight weeks and may involve hundreds of process steps.
Back-end integrated circuit manufacturing can be further divided into two distinct processes, final assembly and packaging. Integrated circuit final assembly usually involves the separation of known good die from a wafer, followed by attaching the die to a leadframe or substrate. Interconnections, such as wire bonds, are used to electrically connect the die to the leadframe or substrate. After final assembly, integrated circuit packaging most commonly encapsulates the die/substrate combination in a resin package, such as a plastic molding compound. This resin package, including the die/substrate combination, provides environmental protection from various conditions, such as moisture, temperature, and mechanical vibration, while providing leads for connection to the next higher level of assembly. Unfortunately, many of these packages suffer from increased package profile and/or poor thermal dissipation.
Thus, a need still remains for a low profile integrated circuit package system that exhibits good thermal dissipation. In view of the ever increasing commercial competitive pressures, increasing consumer expectations, and diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is increasingly critical that answers be found to these problems. Moreover, the ever-increasing need to save costs, improve efficiencies, and meet such competitive pressures adds even greater urgency to the critical necessity that answers be found to these problems.
Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds