Carrier for substrate film

Abstract

The invention relates to a carrier for supporting a substrate film during the chip-substrate assembly and bonding process. The carrier provides enhanced rigidity to the substrate film. The degree of rigidity and/or flexibility provided can be controlled by selection of the carrier dimensions, configuration and material choice. Advantages of embodiments of the carrier include easier handling, reduced probability of defective end products, and increased control in choosing the thinness of the substrate film. For example, the substrate film carrier can be used for lead-over-chip (LOC) assemblies and lead-under-chip (LUC) assemblies to create ball grid arrays (BGA), pin grid arrays (PGA), dual in-line packages (DIP), and the like.

1 . A method of manufacturing an assembly, comprising: 
 providing a substrate film comprising a plurality of substrate units with said substrate units being grouped into substrate sets, each one of said substrate units comprising a substantially central cavity;    forming a carrier comprising a pair of side bars connected to a plurality of cross bars and a pair of end bars;    transporting said carrier and said substrate film through a manufacturing process, said carrier providing enhanced rigidity to said substrate film by being sized and configured to add material at selected regions of said substrate film; and    removing at least a portion of said carrier from said substrate film after at least a portion of said manufacturing process.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing a substrate film comprising providing a substrate film with three substrate units.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises positioning each of said cross bars near a substrate set.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises forming each one of said substrate units with a pair of adhesive tabs.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier such that it comprises a plurality of layers.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises passing at least one lead wire through at least one of said central cavities of said substrate units and electrically interfacing said at least one lead wire with said substrate film.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said manufacturing process comprises a process for manufacturing semiconductor packages.  
     
     
         8 . A method of manufacturing an assembly, comprising: 
 constructing a generally flat flexible tape comprising a plurality of substrate units with each being flanked by a pair of slots to facilitate removal and each having a cavity therebetween through which lead wires pass, said tape having a surface to which said lead wires are attached;    connecting a temporary carrier to said surface of said flexible tape to form at least a portion of said assembly, said temporary carrier comprising a plurality of cross bars with adjacent cross bars having at least one of said substrate units positioned therebetween;    transporting said carrier and said flexible table through a manufacturing process to form individual packages; and    separating said cross bars from said assembly during manufacture of said individual packages such that each of said individual comprises at least a portion of a single one of said substrate units.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein constructing a generally flat flexible tape comprises providing cross rails to said flexible tape that are substantially aligned with said cross bars.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein manufacturing an assembly comprises forming said flexible tape and said carrier as an integral unit.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein manufacturing an assembly comprises molding said flexible tape and said carrier to form said integral unit.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with side bars.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said method further comprises aligning said side bars with side rails of said flexible tape.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with a plurality of pairs of spaced teeth between adjacent slots such that each of said substrate units is generally circumscribed by a respective pair of said teeth and a respective pair of said slots.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said method further comprises interfacing said flexible tape with a plurality of dies.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said method further comprises using said lead wires to electrically interface said dies to said surface of said flexible tape and wherein said dies are connected to an opposed second surface of said flexible tape.  
     
     
         17 . A method of supporting a substrate film, comprising: 
 forming a substrate film comprising a first side rail, a second side rail and a plurality of substrate units therebetween, each of said substrate units including a plurality of bonding pads on a surface of said substrate film and a generally central cavity through which a plurality of wires pass through and are electrically interfaced with corresponding bonding pads of respective substrate units, said first side rail including a plurality of spaced first projecting portions and said second side rail including a plurality of spaced second projecting portions, a respective one of said first projecting portions and a respective one of a said second projecting portions generally defining two edges of a respective one of said substrate units; and    connecting a carrier to said surface of said substrate film to support said substrate film and provide rigidity during at least a portion of a manufacturing process, said carrier comprising a first side bar substantially aligned with said first side rail of said substrate film and a second side bar substantially aligned with said second rail of said substrate film, said first side bar including a plurality of spaced first teeth substantially aligned with said first projecting portions and said second side bar including a plurality of second teeth substantially aligned with said second projecting portions.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with BT resin.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said method further comprises fabricating said carrier with end bars.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with a plurality of layers.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein forming said carrier with a plurality of layers comprises forming said carrier with at least one of copper, polyimide and solder resist.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said method further comprises transporting said carrier and said substrate film through said manufacturing process.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said method further comprises removing at least a portion of said carrier from said substrate film after at least a portion of said manufacturing process.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with at least two discrete layers with each layer comprising a different material.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with at least one indexing hole that extends through said layers.