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 processing semiconductor dies, comprising: 
 forming a plurality of substrate units within a film with each of said substrate units comprising a generally central cavity formed therethrough;    interfacing said substrate units with a respective one of a plurality of dies;    connecting leads from said dies to a corresponding one of said substrate units to electrically interface said dies and said substrate units such that said lead are connected over said dies to said substrate units;    adding support material at selected regions of said film so as to provide enhanced rigidity to said substrate units by connecting support edges to said film to thicken the edges of said film, wherein said adding support material further comprising connecting support cross bars to said film; and    removing at least a portion of said support material at the completion of at least a portion of a manufacturing process.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises transporting said support material, said substrate film and said dies through said manufacturing process.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises forming said support material with at least two discrete layers with each layer comprising a different material.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with at least one indexing hole that extends through said layers and said film.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said support material and said dies are connected to opposed surfaces of said film.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the surface on said film that said leads are connected to is the same surface to which said support material is connected to.  
     
     
         7 . A method of processing semiconductor dies, comprising: 
 providing a substrate film comprising a plurality of substrate units with each one of said substrate units comprising a substantially central cavity;    connecting a carrier to a first surface of said substrate film, said carrier comprising a pair of side bars connected to a plurality of cross bars and a pair of end bars;    electrically interfacing a plurality of dies with a respective one of said substrate units by connecting wires therebetween which pass through a respective one of said central cavities, said dies being connected to a second surface of said film which is opposed to said first surface of said film;    transporting said carrier, said substrate film and said dies 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.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein electrically interfacing a plurality of dies with a respective one of said substrate units by connecting wires therebetween comprises connecting said wires to a plurality of bonding pads on said dies and said substrate units.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein providing a substrate film comprises providing a substrate film with a plurality of substrate sets with each substrate set comprising a plurality of said substrate units.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said method further comprises positioning each of said cross bars near a substrate set.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier such that it comprises a plurality of layers.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said manufacturing process comprises a process for manufacturing semiconductor packages.  
     
     
         13 . A method of processing semiconductor dies, 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 an assembly, said temporary carrier comprising a plurality of cross bars with adjacent cross bars having at least one of said substrate units positioned therebetween;    interfacing a plurality of semiconductor dies with said substrate units utilizing said lead wires;    transporting said carrier, said flexible tape and said semiconductor dies through a manufacturing process to form individual die packages; and    separating said cross bars from said assembly during manufacture of said individual die packages such that each of said individual die packages comprises at least a portion of a single one of said substrate units and one of said semiconductor dies.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein constructing a generally flat flexible tape comprises providing cross rails to said flexible tape that are substantially aligned with said cross bars.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein forming at least a portion of an assembly comprises forming said flexible tape and said carrier as an integral unit.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein forming at least a portion of an assembly comprises molding said flexible tape and said carrier to form said integral unit.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , 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.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein constructing a generally flat flexible tape further comprises forming said flexible tape with first and second side rails, 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  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein said method further comprises forming said carrier with first and second side bars which are substantially aligned with respective first and second side rails of said flexible tape, 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.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said method further comprises connecting said dies to a second surface of said flexible film that is opposed to said surface of said flexible film to which said lead wires and said carrier are connected.