Miniature sensor cavities

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12203776-B2
Application number	US-202016950981-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 18, 2020
Priority date	Nov 18, 2020
Publication date	Jan 21, 2025
Grant date	Jan 21, 2025

Abstract

In examples, a sensor package includes a semiconductor die, a sensor on the semiconductor die, and a ring encircling the sensor. The sensor and an inner surface of the ring are exposed to an exterior environment of the sensor package. The sensor package includes a mold compound covering the semiconductor die and abutting an outer surface of the ring.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor package, comprising:
a semiconductor die;
a sensor on the semiconductor die;
a ring on the semiconductor die encircling the sensor, the sensor and an inner surface of the ring exposed to an exterior environment of the sensor package; and
a mold compound covering the semiconductor die and abutting an outer surface of the ring.

2. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein a greatest distance between an inner diameter of the ring and the sensor is 5 microns.

3. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein an inner diameter of the ring is less than 100 microns.

4. The sensor package of claim 1 , further comprising a plating seed layer positioned between the ring and the semiconductor die.

5. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the ring is a metal ring.

6. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the ring includes a stairstep pattern.

7. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the ring is slanted.

8. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the ring has a shape in a horizontal plane, the shape selected from the group consisting of: circular, ovoid, and rectangular.

9. A sensor package, comprising:
a semiconductor die;
a sensor on the semiconductor die; and
a mold compound covering the semiconductor die and having a cavity positioned over the sensor such that the sensor is exposed to an exterior environment of the sensor package,
wherein a diameter, length, or width of the cavity is less than 100 microns.

10. The sensor package of claim 9 , further comprising:
a second sensor on the semiconductor die, the mold compound having a second cavity positioned over the second sensor such that the second sensor is exposed to the exterior environment of the sensor package; and
a circuit to process a signal received from the sensor and a second signal received from the second sensor, the circuit formed on the semiconductor die.

11. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the ring includes one of copper, nickel, and aluminum.

12. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the sensor package is a quad flat no leads (QFN) package.

13. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor die is electrically connected to leads of the QFN package via wire bonds.

14. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein a top surface of the ring is above a plane along a top surface of the mold compound in a view of the sensor package.

15. The sensor package of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to measure one of humidity, light, sound, pressure, bulk acoustic waves, stress, temperature, current, voltage, power, motion, acceleration, and magnetic fields.

16. A sensor package, comprising:
a semiconductor die;
a sensor on the semiconductor die;
a ring on the semiconductor die encircling the sensor, the sensor and an inner surface of the ring exposed to an exterior environment of the sensor package; and
a mold compound covering the semiconductor die and abutting an outer surface of the ring, wherein a top surface of the ring is above a top surface of the mold compound in one view of the sensor package.

Assignees

• Texas Instruments Inc

Inventors

• Koduri Sreenivasan Kalyani
• Manack Christopher Daniel
• Stark Leslie Edward

Classifications

• H10W74/129

  forming a chip-scale package [CSP] · CPC title

• H10W74/016 Primary

  using moulds · CPC title

• H10W70/465

  Bumps or wires · CPC title

• H10W70/411

  Chip-supporting parts, e.g. die pads · CPC title

• H10W70/041

  Connecting or disconnecting interconnections to or from leadframes, e.g. connecting bond wires or bumps · CPC title