US 8202741 B2
A compliant bonding structure is disposed between a semiconductor device and a mount. In some embodiments, the device is a light emitting device. When the semiconductor light emitting device is attached to the mount, for example by providing ultrasonic energy to the semiconductor light emitting device, the compliant bonding structure collapses to partially fill a space between the semiconductor light emitting device and the mount. In some embodiments, the compliant bonding structure is plurality of metal bumps that undergo plastic deformation during bonding. In some embodiments, the compliant bonding structure is a porous metal layer.
1. A method comprising:
disposing a compliant bonding structure between a semiconductor device and a mount, wherein the compliant bonding structure comprises a plurality of metal bumps; and
bonding the semiconductor device to the mount, wherein:
bonding causes the compliant bonding structure to collapse such that the compliant bonding structure electrically and mechanically connects the semiconductor device to the mount;
the compliant bonding structure remains in a solid phase during bonding; and
bonding causes the plurality of metal bumps to deform such that most or all of the area between the semiconductor device and the mount where the plurality of metal bumps are formed is filled with material from the plurality of metal bumps, leaving no gaps between adjacent bumps or gaps less than 2 microns wide between adjacent bumps.
2. The method of
3. The method of
a semiconductor structure comprising a light emitting region disposed between an n-type region and a p-type region;
an n-metal structure disposed on a portion of the n-type region; and
a p-metal structure disposed on a portion of the p-type region.
4. The method of
5. The method of
the plurality of metal bumps each have a width between 6 and 25 microns and a height between 6 and 25 microns;
nearest neighbor bumps are spaced between 6 and 25 microns apart.
6. The method of
7. The method of
the n-metal structure comprises a gold layer at least ten microns thick;
a portion of the plurality of metal bumps are formed on the n-metal structure;
the p-metal structure comprises a gold layer at least ten microns thick; and
a portion of the plurality of metal bumps are formed on the p-metal structure.
8. The method of
9. The method of
10. The method of
11. The method of
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The invention relates to the field of bonding semiconductor devices to other structures, and more specifically to compliant bonding structures for mounting semiconductor light emitting devices on other structures.
Semiconductor light-emitting devices including light emitting diodes (LEDs), resonant cavity light emitting diodes (RCLEDs), vertical cavity laser diodes (VCSELs), and edge emitting lasers are among the most efficient light sources currently available. Materials systems currently of interest in the manufacture of high-brightness light emitting devices capable of operation across the visible spectrum include Group III-V semiconductors, particularly binary, ternary, and quaternary alloys of gallium, aluminum, indium, and nitrogen, also referred to as III-nitride materials. Typically, III-nitride light emitting devices are fabricated by epitaxially growing a stack of semiconductor layers of different compositions and dopant concentrations on a sapphire, silicon carbide, III-nitride, composite, or other suitable substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), or other epitaxial techniques. The stack often includes one or more n-type layers doped with, for example, Si, formed over the substrate, one or more light emitting layers in an active region formed over the n-type layer or layers, and one or more p-type layers doped with, for example, Mg, formed over the active region. Electrical contacts are formed on the n- and p-type regions.
US Patent Application 2007-0096130 describes “a process for forming an LED structure using a laser lift-off process to remove the growth substrate (e.g., sapphire) after the LED die is bonded to a submount. To obviate the need to use an underfill between the submount and the LED die to support the die, the underside of the LED die has formed on it anode and cathode electrodes that are substantially in the same plane, where the electrodes cover at least 85% of the back surface of the LED structure. The submount has a corresponding layout of anode and cathode electrodes substantially in the same plane.
“The LED die electrodes and submount electrodes are interconnected together such that virtually the entire surface of the LED die is supported by the electrodes and submount. No underfill is used. Different methods for LED to submount interconnection can be used, such as ultrasonic or thermosonic metal-to-metal interdiffusion (Gold-Gold, Copper-Copper, other ductile metals, or a combination of the above), or soldering with different alloy compositions such as Gold-Tin, Gold-Germanium, Tin-Silver, Tin-Lead, or other similar alloy systems.
“The growth substrate, forming the top of the LED structure, is then removed from the LED layers using a laser lift-off process, which ablates the material at the interface of the growth substrate and the LED layers. The extremely high pressures created during the laser lift-off process do not damage the LED layers due to the large area support of the LED layers by the electrodes and submount. Other substrate removal processes can also be used.
An object of the invention is to provide an electrical, mechanical, and thermal connection between a semiconductor device and a structure on which the semiconductor device is mounted.
In accordance with embodiments of the invention, a compliant bonding structure is disposed between a semiconductor device and a mount. When the semiconductor device is attached to the mount, the compliant bonding structure collapses in the solid phase to partially fill a space between the semiconductor device and the mount. In some embodiments, the compliant bonding structure is plurality of metal bumps that undergo plastic deformation during bonding.
In devices with large-area metal contacts, as described above in US Patent Application 2007-0096130, large bonding pressure and ultrasonic power may be necessary during bonding, to overcome slight variations in the topography of the LED die electrodes and the submount electrodes. Aggressive bonding conditions can cause damage to the semiconductor material in the LED during bonding. Aggressive bonding conditions may be necessitated by the lack of compliance (i.e. deformation and collapse) in the electrodes during bonding, due to the large area of the electrodes.
In some embodiments of the invention, a compliant bonding structure is disposed between an LED die and a mount. The compliant bonding structure may be disposed on the LED die, on the mount, or on both the LED die and the mount. During bonding, the compliant structure collapses and reflows, resulting in a robust electrical, thermal, and mechanical connection that may not require aggressive bonding conditions and that may compensate for slight variations in the topography of the LED die and the mount.
An n-type region 12 is grown first over substrate 10. N-type region 12 may include multiple layers of different compositions and dopant concentration including, for example, preparation layers such as buffer layers or nucleation layers, which may be n-type or not intentionally doped, release layers designed to facilitate later release of the growth substrate or thinning of the semiconductor structure after substrate removal, and n- or even p-type device layers designed for particular optical or electrical properties desirable for the light emitting region to efficiently emit light.
A light emitting or active region 14 is grown over n-type region 12. Examples of suitable light emitting regions include a single thick or thin light emitting layer, or a multiple quantum well light emitting region including multiple thin or thick quantum well light emitting layers separated by barrier layers. For example, a multiple quantum well light emitting region may include multiple light emitting layers, each with a thickness of 25 Å or less, separated by barriers, each with a thickness of 100 Å or less. In some embodiments, the thickness of each of the light emitting layers in the device is thicker than 50 Å.
A p-type region 16 is grown over light emitting region 14. Like the n-type region, the p-type region may include multiple layers of different composition, thickness, and dopant concentration, including layers that are not intentionally doped, or n-type layers.
In some embodiments, substrate 10 is about 90 microns thick, and the device layers 12, 14, and 16 have a combined thickness less than 5 microns.
After growth of semiconductor regions 12, 14, and 16, one or more portions of p-type region 16 and light emitting region 14 are etched away to reveal portions of n-type region 12. An n-contact 26 is formed on the exposed portions of n-type region 12.
A multi-layer p-contact is formed over p-type region 16. In the example shown in
A dielectric layer 22 may isolate n-contact 26 from the p-contact 18, 20.
A p-bond pad 24 is formed over and electrically connected to the p-contact. An n-bond pad 28 is formed over and electrically connected to the n-contact. Bond pads 24 and 28 support the device layers 12, 14, and 16 during removal of growth substrate 10, and conduct heat away from the device layers. Bond pads 24 and 28 may be formed from any metal with high thermal conductivity, such as, for example, gold, copper, or aluminum. Bond pads may be, for example, electroplated to a thickness between 6 and 30 microns in some embodiments, between 15 and 25 microns in some embodiments. Air gaps 30 may electrically isolate n- and p-bond pads 28 and 24, as illustrated in
N- and p-bond pads 28 and 24 cover at least 60% of the area of the LED (i.e., the area of semiconductor material on the LED) in some embodiments, at least 85% of the area of the LED in some embodiments.
Details of steps that may be conventional or well known in the art of forming III-N LEDs do not need to be described, and there may be many ways of forming the same structure shown in the figures. Such details that may be conventional or well known include cleaning, deposition techniques (e.g., sputtering, CVD, electro-plating, etc.), lithographic techniques, masking techniques, etching techniques, metal lift-off techniques, photoresist stripping techniques, and separating dice from a wafer.
After the processing illustrated in
During ultrasonic bonding, LED die 5 is positioned on mount 40. A bond head is positioned on the top surface of LED die 5, often the top surface of sapphire growth substrate 10 in the case of a III-nitride device grown on sapphire. The bond head is connected to an ultrasonic transducer. The ultrasonic transducer may be, for example, a stack of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) layers. When a voltage is applied to the transducer at a frequency that causes the system to resonate harmonically (often a frequency on the order of tens or hundreds of kHz), the transducer begins to vibrate, which in turn causes the bond head and LED die 5 to vibrate, often at an amplitude on the order of microns. The vibration causes atoms in the metal lattice of microbumps 32 and 42 to interdiffuse, resulting in a metallurgically continuous joint. Heat and/or pressure may be added during bonding. During ultrasonic bonding, compliant bonding structures such as microbumps 32 and 42 collapse and reflow.
In some embodiments, the characteristics or arrangement of microbumps located at different parts of the device may have different properties. For example, microbumps may be larger and/or spaced more closely together in areas of the device that need more support during substrate removal. For example, in the areas near where the mesas are etched to expose the n-type region, the remaining p-type material may be thinned slightly, due to the mesa etch. In these areas, microbumps may be larger and/or more closely spaced, to provide more support to the thinner semiconductor material.
Microbumps 32 may be formed by other techniques, such as, for example, using a photoresist mask and a metal lift-off method, or by mechanically patterning a deposited or plated large-area, thick bonding pad. Mechanical patterning techniques include, for example, stamping, laser machining, chemical or dry etching, or mechanical roughening. In some embodiments, multiple, stacked layers of microbumps which are offset from each other may be used. Multiple layers of microbumps may result in bonding compliance in both lateral and vertical directions.
In some embodiments, microbumps 32 and 42 are replaced with a different compliant, electrically, and thermally conductive structure.
A compliant structure such as microbumps or a porous metal structure may compensate for slight surface non-planarities between the bond pads on the LED die and the surface of the mount on which the LED die is mounted, without requiring high pressure or temperature during bonding. The ability of microbumps to deform may reduce the pressure and/or temperature required to form a bond with robust thermal, mechanical, and electrical connections, and may reduce the occurrence of cracking or other damage during bonding to the mount.
After bonding LED die 5 to mount 40, growth substrate 10 may be removed, for example by laser lift off, etching, or any other technique suitable to a particular growth substrate. After removing the growth substrate, the semiconductor structure may be thinned, for example by photoelectrochemical etching, and/or the surface may be roughened or patterned, for example with a photonic crystal structure. A lens, wavelength converting material, or other structure known in the art may be disposed over LED 5 after substrate removal.
In some embodiments, the microbumps along the edge of LED die 5 are configured to form a seal during bonding. In the device illustrated in
Since the continuous linear edge seal 50 a illustrated in
In some embodiments, an edge seal 50 is configured to deform in more than one direction during bonding. In some embodiments, the shape of edge seal 50 is selected such that the compliance of edge seal 50 matches the compliance of microbumps 32.
During ultrasonic bonding, described above, the transducer generally vibrates in a single direction. For example, the transducer may vibrate along axis 56, illustrated in
Though the above-described examples and embodiments refer to flip clip III-nitride light emitting devices, the compliant bonding structures and edge seals described herein may be used with any suitable device, which need not be a flip chip, a III-nitride device, an LED, or even a light emitting device.
Having described the invention in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, given the present disclosure, modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit of the inventive concept described herein. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described.