1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more specifically to a semiconductor device having a three-dimensionally laminate structure of a bare chip on a substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
To achieve higher density, compactness, and larger capacity in a semiconductor chip, particularly with regard to packaging of semiconductor memory devices, the method of three-dimensional lamination of chips is widely used. By using this structure, it is possible to achieve a great reduction in mounting surface area.
However, when three-dimensional mounting is done, because differences in coefficients of thermal expansion, stress and strain caused by thermal history, and subsequent failed connections can occur. In applications to spacecraft, it is necessary to consider immunity to vibration and shock as well, and several related methods have been proposed.
For example, as noted in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-275775 and shown in FIG. 3, there is a structure in which a chip 2 is mounted to a TAB (tape automated bonding) tape, to form a TAB device, this having a three layer laminated structure (17A through 17C) mounted on a motherboard 19.
In FIG. 3, the chip 2 is connected to carrier 10 via the lead 11 by a bump 13 or by the flip-chip method. The TAB tape side part of the chip 2 is covered by a protective resin 12. The TAB device is mounted on a module plate 14. The module plate 14 is made from a material that has good resistance to heat and that has as good a thermal conductivity as possible.
When-mounting the TAB device to the module plate 14, the TAB device is mounted within the depression 15 of the module plate 14, so that the rear surface of the chip 2 makes contact with the inside surface of the depression 15, using an adhesive material 6 that has good thermal conductivity. The outer lead part of the lead 11 of the TAB device is connected to a connection pattern on the outer surface of the module plate 14, thereby forming the module units 17A through 17C, which are made of TAB devices and module plates 14.
A plurality of modular units 17A through 17C are laminated with an intervening shock-absorbing element 18 therebetween. Because the shock-absorbing elements 18 are made of an anistropic electrically conductive resin or an anisotropic electrically conductive rubber and are configured so that there is conduction only in the up/down direction, the laminated modular units are electrically connected. By virtue of the above-noted structure, the shock-absorbing elements 18 absorb externally applied shock and vibration, thereby providing an improvement in the vibration immunity of the device.
Other prior art is disclosed in the Japanese Patent Publication H2-42739. As shown in FIG. 4(a), a elastic adhesive material layer 20 is formed on an insulating substrate 1. Pads 21 and a wiring pattern are formed on top of this elastic adhesive material layer 20. Next, a chip 2 is connected to the top of the pads 21 by means of the bumps 22.
As shown in FIG. 4(b), after forming an elastic adhesive material layer 20 on the top of an insulating substrate 1, parts other than the pads 21 and the wiring pattern are removed by etching. Then, a chip 2 is connected to the top of the remaining pads 21 using the bumps 22.
By adopting a structure such as described above, the elastic adhesive material layer 20 acts as a shock-absorbing layer which intervenes between the chip 2 and the substrate 1, thereby improving the connection reliability therebetween.
In the prior art that was disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-275775, modular units are laminated and the material used for the purpose of making electrical connections therebetween is an anisotropic electrically conductive resin or an anisotropic electrically conductive rubber. In general, anisotropic electrically conductive resin and anisotropic electrically conductive rubber present the problem of having a large electrical resistance compared with a metal, thereby making actual low-voltage applications, particularly to memory chips, difficult.
In the prior art that is noted in the Japanese Patent Publication H2-42739, solder is used for the connection between the substrate and the chip, and it is realistic to use flux for the purpose of making a reliable connection therebetween. However, if there are residual halogen ions remaining in the flux, it is known that an adverse affect will result on the bare chip.
For this reason, it is desirable to avoid the use of solder in precision equipment such as that used in spacecraft, and to use a material such as gold or the like which does not require flux. In the case of making a flip-chip connection using bumps made of gold, it is necessary to apply force and vibration as well as heat. When this is done, to achieve a reliable connection, it is necessary for the land to have some degree of hardness.
However, in the above-noted prior art, it is difficult to make a connection a bump made of gold or the like with a land on the substrate, because an elastic adhesive material is provided immediately below the land. Additionally, the manufacturing process is complex, and the cost is high.
In view of the above-described drawbacks in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device capable of improving immunity to vibration and shock and having an extremely simple structure.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device in which when a plurality of substrates are stacked, the connecting portion can be made with a greater electrical conductivity and can be driven with a relatively lower voltage level.