Reference plane of integrated circuit packages
View Patent ↗An apparatus including an integrated circuit including a plurality of devices and signal circuitry coupled to the plurality of devices, and a package substrate including a first surface coupled to the integrated circuit, a second surface having a plurality of externally accessible contact points coupled to the signal circuitry, and a continuous layer of conductive material coupled to a reference signal of the integrated circuit and disposed over an area of the second surface and electrically isolated from the contact points.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a package substrate comprising a first surface coupled to an integrated circuit having signal circuitry, a second surface having a plurality of externally accessible contact points coupled to the signal circuitry, and a continuous layer of conductive material coupled to a reference signal of the integrated circuit and disposed over an area of the second surface and electrically isolated from the contact points.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the reference signal is a power signal.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising conductive traces coupled to the contact points comprising a dimension extending over the second surface of the package substrate.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an externally accessible reference signal line disposed between the integrated circuit and the second surface.
5. An apparatus comprising:
a module comprising at least one package configured for electrically coupling to a bus on a system board, the at least one package comprising:
a package substrate comprising a first surface coupled to an integrated circuit having signal circuitry, a second surface having a plurality of externally accessible contact points coupled to the signal circuitry and the module, and a continuous layer of conductive material coupled to a reference signal of the integrated circuit and disposed over an area of the second surface and electrically isolated from the contact points.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the reference signal is a power signal.
7. The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising conductive traces coupled to the contact points comprising a dimension extending over the second surface of the package substrate.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the module comprises a plurality of memory packages arranged in a serially addressable configuration.
9. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the package further comprises an externally accessible reference signal line disposed between the integrated circuit and the second surface.
10. An apparatus comprising:
a module comprising at least one package electrically coupled to and addressable through a control circuit of a system board, the at least one package comprising:
an integrated circuit comprising a plurality of devices; and
a package substrate comprising a surface having a plurality of externally accessible contact points coupled to the devices and the module, and a continuous layer of conductive material coupled to a reference signal of the integrated circuit and disposed over an area of the surface and electrically isolated from the contact points.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the reference signal is a power signal.
12. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising conductive traces coupled to the contact points comprising a dimension extending over the surface of the package substrate.
13. The apparatus of claim 10 , the plurality of devices of the integrated circuit comprise a plurality of memory devices.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the module comprises a plurality of memory packages arranged in a serially addressable configuration.
15. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the package further comprises an externally accessible reference signal line disposed between the integrated circuit and the second surface.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the reference signal line is coupled to a ground.