Managing thermal warpage of a laminate

1. A method of managing thermal warpage of a laminate comprising:

assembling a stiffener and an adhesive on the laminate, the stiffener being a material that has a higher modulus of elasticity than the laminate;

applying a force to deform the laminate a predetermined amount so as to drive the thermal warpage of the laminate at a solder reflow temperature of a semiconductor chip joined to the laminate during a subsequent semiconductor chip joining process to zero, plus or minus 20 μm, the predetermined amount related to the thermal warpage of the laminate due to the stiffener and the thermal warpage of the laminate due to the adhesive;

heating the laminate, stiffener and adhesive to a predetermined temperature at which the adhesive cures to bond the stiffener to the laminate; and

cooling the laminate, stiffener and adhesive to a temperature below the predetermined temperature, the laminate maintaining its deformed shape.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein applying the force causes the laminate to have a convex shape.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein applying the force causes the laminate to have a concave shape.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the stiffener is only on a periphery of the laminate.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising placing at least one shim underneath the laminate when applying the force.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the steps of applying the force, heating the laminate, stiffener and adhesive and cooling the laminate, stiffener and adhesive are in a fixture and further comprising:

removing the laminate, stiffener and adhesive from the fixture;

placing a semiconductor chip on the laminate; and

reheating the laminate to a temperature sufficient to cause the semiconductor chip to bond to the laminate substrate.

7. A method of managing thermal warpage of a laminate comprising:

assembling a stiffener and an adhesive on the laminate, the stiffener being a material that has a higher modulus of elasticity than the laminate,

wherein the laminate is an organic laminate having a glass transition temperature (Tg) and wherein the stiffener is a metallic stiffener that has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) within ±1 ppm/° K of the laminate at a temperature range above the glass transition temperature of the laminate;

applying a force to deform the laminate a predetermined amount, the predetermined amount related to the thermal warpage of the laminate due to the stiffener and the thermal warpage of the laminate due to the adhesive;

heating the laminate, stiffener and adhesive to a predetermined temperature at which the adhesive cures to bond the stiffener to the laminate; and

cooling the laminate, stiffener and adhesive to a temperature below the predetermined temperature, the laminate maintaining its deformed shape.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein cooling is to below the Tg temperature of the organic laminate.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the metallic stiffener is chosen from the group consisting of stainless steel, copper and aluminum.

10. A method of managing thermal warpage of an organic laminate, the method comprising:

assembling a metallic stiffener and an adhesive on the organic laminate to form a laminate assembly, the metallic stiffener being a material that has a higher modulus of elasticity than the laminate, the metallic stiffener chosen to have a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) within ±1 ppm/° k of the laminate at a temperature range above a glass transition temperature (Tg) of the organic laminate;

applying a force perpendicular to a plane of the laminate to deform by a predetermined amount the laminate in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the laminate;

heating the laminate assembly to a predetermined temperature above the Tg of the laminate at which predetermined temperature the adhesive cures to bond the stiffener to the laminate; and

cooling the laminate assembly to a temperature less than the Tg, the laminate maintaining its deformed shape after cooling to the temperature less than the Tg.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein applying the force causes the laminate to have a convex shape.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein applying the force causes the laminate to have a concave shape.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the stiffener is only on a periphery of the laminate.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising placing at least one shim underneath the laminate when applying the force.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the steps of applying the force, heating the laminate assembly and cooling the laminate assembly are in a fixture and further comprising:

removing the laminate assembly from the fixture;

placing a semiconductor chip on the laminate; and

reheating the laminate to a temperature sufficient to cause the semiconductor chip to bond to the laminate substrate.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the metallic stiffener is chosen from the group consisting of stainless steel, copper and aluminum.