IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,751,289
Granted Patent B2
US 12,751,289 · App. 19/059,275 · Granted Sep 29, 2026

Semiconductor package and semiconductor package assembly with edge interconnection and method of forming the same

Inventors: Ho-Ming Tong (Taipei City, TW); Chao-Chun Lu (Hsinchu, TW)
Assignee: ETRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
H10W40/258H10W40/259H10W70/611H10W90/00H10W90/401H10B80/00H10W20/20
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,751,289
App. No.
19/059,275
Granted
Sep 29, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An IC stack includes: a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) structure horizontally separate with each other, wherein each IC structure comprises a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and four sidewalls with a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a third sidewall and a fourth sidewall; wherein the area of the bottom surface or the top surface is larger than that of any sidewall; a laterally extending RDL structure covering each first sidewall of the plurality of IC structures; and an upward extending thermal conductivity layer between two adjacent IC structures.

Claims (40)

1 . An IC stack comprising:

a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) structures horizontally separated with each other, wherein each IC structure comprises a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and four sidewalls with a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a third sidewall and a fourth sidewall; wherein an area of the bottom surface or the top surface is larger than that of any sidewall;

a laterally extending RDL structure covering each first sidewall of the plurality of IC structures, wherein the laterally extending RDL structure comprises:

a front interconnect surface with a set of front contacting pads coupled with the first sidewall of each IC structure; and

a back interconnect surface opposite to the front interconnect surface, wherein the back interconnect surface includes a set of back contacting pads and is configured to be electrically coupled to other components external to the IC stack through the set of back contacting pads; and

a set of upward extending thermal conductivity layers, wherein a corresponding upward extending thermal conductivity layer is disposed between every two adjacent IC structures, wherein each IC structure of the plurality of IC structures is a single semiconductor die.

2 . The IC stack of claim 1 , further comprising a laterally extending thermal conductivity layer covering each second sidewall of the plurality of IC structures and thermally coupling to the upward extending thermal conductivity layers, wherein the laterally extending RDL structure is opposite to the laterally extending thermal conductivity layer, and a thermal conductivity of the upward extending thermal conductivity layers and/or the laterally extending thermal conductivity layer is higher than that of Si.

3 . The IC stack of claim 2 , wherein the upward extending thermal conductivity layer or the laterally extending thermal conductivity layer comprises BN, AlN, W, SiC or copper.

4 . The IC stack of claim 1 , further comprising an upward extending RDL structure covering each third sidewall of the plurality of IC structures, wherein the upward extending RDL structure is electrically connected to the laterally extending RDL structure.

5 . The IC stack of claim 1 , wherein each IC structure comprises a DRAM semiconductor die, and the IC stack is an HBM compatible structure.

6 . The IC stack of claim 4 , further comprising a logic control chip under and electrically connected to the laterally extending RDL structure of the IC stack.

7 . The IC stack of claim 6 , wherein each of the IC structures comprises a DRAM semiconductor die comprising a plurality of memory I/O pads, the logic control chip comprises a plurality of logic I/O pads, and the plurality of memory I/O pads of each DRAM semiconductor die are electrically coupled to the plurality of logic I/O pads through the laterally extending RDL structure.

8 . The IC stack of claim 7 , wherein the memory I/O pads do not comprise an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit, or each DRAM semiconductor die further comprises a plurality of row address pads and a plurality of column address pads physically independent of the plurality of row address pads.

9 . The IC stack of claim 7 , wherein each DRAM semiconductor die further comprises a plurality of external bidirectional repeaters, wherein a bidirectional repeater of a second DRAM semiconductor die is electrically coupled to a corresponding bidirectional repeater of a first DRAM semiconductor die through a second metal line of the laterally extending RDL structure or the upward extending RDL structure, and the corresponding bidirectional repeater of the first DRAM semiconductor die is electrically coupled to a corresponding logic I/O pad of the logic control chip through a first metal line of the laterally extending RDL structure or the upward extending RDL structure.

10 . The IC stack of claim 7 , wherein each DRAM semiconductor die further comprises a plurality of external bidirectional repeaters, wherein a bidirectional repeater of a first DRAM semiconductor die is electrically coupled to a corresponding logic I/O pad of the logic control chip through a first metal line of the laterally extending RDL structure or the upward extending RDL structure, and a bidirectional repeater of a second DRAM semiconductor die is electrically coupled to the corresponding logic I/O pad of the logic control chip through a second metal line of the laterally extending RDL structure or the upward extending RDL structure.

11 . The IC stack of claim 1 , wherein a first IC structure of the plurality of IC structures comprises:

a first semiconductor body having a first primary surface and a first secondary surface, with the first primary surface being substantially perpendicular to the first secondary surface; and

an interconnection structure including a primary redistribution layer (RDL) over the first primary surface, with the primary RDL having a second secondary surface that is aligned with the first secondary surface of the first semiconductor body,

wherein the first secondary surface and the second secondary surface jointly form a secondary plane, wherein the primary RDL further comprises a first conductive element exposed through the second secondary surface of the primary RDL.

12 . The IC stack of claim 11 , wherein the first conductive element comprises a conductive pad on a surface of the primary RDL substantially parallel to the first primary surface, a conductive via connecting adjacent layers of the primary RDL, a stacked via traversing the primary RDL, or a combination thereof.

13 . The IC stack of claim 11 , wherein the first semiconductor body further includes at least a through-silicon via, a through-molding via, or an insulating element exposed through the first secondary surface.

14 . The IC stack of claim 11 , wherein the laterally extending RDL structure is electrically connected to the first conductive element of the primary RDL, to conductive vias, pillars or plugs in the first semiconductor body, or to a combination thereof; wherein the laterally extending RDL structure includes a hybrid bonding layer or a bump pad array.

15 . An IC stack comprising:

a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) structure horizontally separate with each other, wherein each IC structure comprises a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and four sidewalls with a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a third sidewall and a fourth sidewall; wherein an area of the bottom surface or the top surface is larger than that of any of the four sidewalls, and each IC structure comprises:

a first semiconductor body having a first primary surface and a first secondary surface, and the first semiconductor body includes a first edge connection aligned with the first secondary surface; and

an interconnection structure including a primary redistribution layer (RDL) over the first primary surface; wherein the primary RDL includes a second edge connection aligned with the first secondary surface of the first semiconductor body; and

a laterally extending RDL structure covering each first sidewall of the plurality of IC structures, the laterally extending RDL structure further electrically connected to the first edge connection and/or the second edge connection.

16 . The IC stack of claim 15 , further comprising:

a set of upward extending thermal conductivity layers, wherein a corresponding upward extending thermal conductivity layer is disposed between every two adjacent IC structures of the plurality of IC structures; and

a first laterally extending thermal conductivity layer covering each second sidewall of the plurality of IC structures and thermally coupling to the set of upward extending thermal conductivity layers.

17 . The IC stack of claim 16 , wherein each IC structure comprises a DRAM semiconductor die, and the IC stack further comprises a logic control chip under and electrically connected to the laterally extending RDL structure of the IC stack; wherein the IC stack is an HBM compatible structure.

18 . The IC stack of claim 16 , further comprising a second laterally extending thermal conductivity layer covering each third sidewall of the plurality of IC structures, wherein the second laterally extending thermal conductivity layer is thermally coupling to the set of upward extending thermal conductivity layers.

19 . An IC stack comprising:

a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) structures horizontally separated with each other, wherein each IC structure comprises a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and four sidewalls with a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a third sidewall and a fourth sidewall; wherein an area of the bottom surface or the top surface is larger than that of any sidewall;

a laterally extending RDL structure covering each first sidewall of the plurality of IC structures, wherein the laterally extending RDL structure comprises:

a front interconnect surface with a set of front contacting pads coupled with the first sidewall of each IC structure; and

a back interconnect surface opposite to the front interconnect surface, wherein the back interconnect surface includes a set of back contacting pads;

an upward extending thermal conductivity layer between two adjacent IC structures; and

a logic control chip under and electrically connected to the laterally extending RDL structure of the IC stack,

wherein each of the IC structures comprises a DRAM semiconductor die comprising a plurality of memory I/O pads, the logic control chip comprises a plurality of logic I/O pads, and the plurality of memory I/O pads of each DRAM semiconductor die are electrically coupled to the plurality of logic I/O pads through the laterally extending RDL structure, and wherein the plurality of IC structures are electrically coupled to the logic control chip through the set of back contacting pads of the back interconnect surface of the laterally extending RDL structure.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 15, 2025
From: TONG, HO-MING; LU, CHAO-CHUN
To: ND-HI TECHNOLOGIES LAB, INC.; ETRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 072260/0732 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation In Part 18471670 · Sep 21, 2023
Provisional Application 63716506 · Nov 5, 2024
Provisional Application 63409852 · Sep 26, 2022
Related Publication 20250233045A1 · Jul 17, 2025
References Cited (115)
US 5031072A · Malhi et al. · 1991 [cited by applicant]
US 5397747A · Angiulli et al. · 1995 [cited by applicant]
US 5561622A · Bertin et al. · 1996 [cited by applicant]
US 6381164B1 · Fan et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 8618659B2 · Sato · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 9263157B2 · Kilmer et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9490195B1 · Prabhu · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9865310B2 · Cantle et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10170456B2 · Sung · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10283492B2 · Gamini · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10665571B2 · Lee · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 11024603B2 · Chen · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11145526B2 · Wang · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11183484B2 · Okutsu · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 11233034B2 · Keeth · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11239169B1 · Kirby · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11270921B2 · Hou · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11302673B2 · Yang · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11373977B1 · Bean · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11482500B2 · Bowers · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11526302B2 · Smolka et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11552054B2 · Lin · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11557541B2 · Hossain · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11854921B2 · Yu · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 11869821B2 · Ko · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 11876076B2 · DeLaCruz et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 12027473B2 · Kwon et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 12230613B2 · Chang · 2025 [cited by applicant]
US 20070102801A1 · Ishida · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20080029884A1 · Grafe · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080083976A1 · Haba · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20080290493A1 · Tsunozaki · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090045444A1 · Huebner · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20090045524A1 · Mohammed · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100200959A1 · Sasaki et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20100327461A1 · Co · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20120049376A1 · Harada · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120211878A1 · Popovic · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120273961A1 · Kwon et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20130099393A1 · Jeong · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130299977A1 · Dayringer · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130341803A1 · Cheah · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140089609A1 · Kegel · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140185352A1 · Chow · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 20140210097A1 · Chen et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140264945A1 · Yap · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140376323A1 · Terada · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20150091179A1 · Shenoy · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20160064063A1 · Nomura · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20170018485A1 · Prabhu · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170018529A1 · Katkar · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170141063A1 · Lee · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170278833A1 · Park · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170338203A1 · Yuan · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180040587A1 · Tao · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180047706A1 · Upadhyayula · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180233452A1 · Lin · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20200006246A1 · Kong et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200006367A1 · Krutzik et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200343218A1 · Hu · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200411481A1 · Yang et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210242100A1 · Hou et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210305226A1 · Tsai · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20220328374A1 · Zhang · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20230029098A1 · Kim · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230042063A1 · Bae · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 20230059491A1 · Dokania · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230069969A1 · Boutaleb · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230178502A1 · Goh · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230238300A1 · Zhou · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230343769A1 · Karhade et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230369289A1 · Guo et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20240038724A1 · Karikalan · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240057351A1 · Chuang · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240063120A1 · Elsherbini et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240063179A1 · Elsherbini et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240087976A1 · Kim et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240099030A1 · Huang · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240128208A1 · Tong et al. · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20240170458A1 · Ji · 2024 [cited by applicant]
US 20250140741A1 · Mongia et al. · 2025 [cited by applicant]
US 20250286031A1 · Kawano · 2025 [cited by applicant]
CN 117766514A · 2024 [cited by applicant]
JP S59194460A · 1984 [cited by applicant]
JP 2016004896A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
KR 20180071138 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
KR 20240035240A · 2024 [cited by applicant]
KR 20240074354A · 2024 [cited by applicant]
WO 2021095083A1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
WO 2024135670 · 2024 [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by TIPO dated Apr. 21, 2025 for TW112136128. [cited by applicant]
English translation of the Search Report appended to Office Action issued by TIPO dated Apr. 21, 2025 for TW112136128. [cited by applicant]
Office Action of U.S. Appl. No. 19/062,467 issued by USPTO on May 21, 2025. [cited by applicant]
Office Action of U.S. Appl. No. 19/062,566 issued by USPTO on Feb. 25, 2025. [cited by applicant]
English abstract of JP2016004896A. [cited by applicant]
Anthony Agnesina et al., A COTS-Based Novel 3-D DRAM Memory Cube Architecture for Space Applications, IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems, Sep. 2020, vol. 28 No. 9. [cited by applicant]
Extended European Search Report with search report issued by the European Patent Office for European Patent Application No. 25159330.7 on Sep. 24, 2025 (8 pages). [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by KIPO dated Feb. 4, 2026 for Application No. KR10-2025-0023228. [cited by applicant]
English translation of the Search Report appended to Office Action issued by KIPO dated Feb. 4, 2026 for Application No. KR10-2025-0023228. [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by JPO dated Apr. 14, 2026 for Application No. JP2025-027233. [cited by applicant]
English translation of the Search Report appended to Office Action issued by JPO dated Apr. 14, 2026 for Application No. JP2025-027233. [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by EPO dated Feb. 19, 2026 for Application No. EP25202067.2. [cited by applicant]
Search Report appended to Office Action issued by EPO dated Feb. 19, 2026 for Application No. EP25202067.2. [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by EPO dated Feb. 20, 2026 for Application No. EP25202075.5. [cited by applicant]
Search Report appended to Office Action issued by EPO dated Feb. 20, 2026 for Application No. EP25202075.5. [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by EPO dated Mar. 27, 2026 for Application No. EP25159308.3. [cited by applicant]
Search Report appended to Office Action issued by EPO dated Mar. 27, 2026 for Application No. EP25159308.3. [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by KIPO dated May 13, 2026 for Application No. KR10-2025-0130745. [cited by applicant]
English translation of the Search Report appended to Office Action issued by KIPO dated May 13, 2026 for Application No. KR10-2025-0130745. [cited by applicant]
Notice of Allowance issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for U.S. Appl. No. 19/315,804 on May 12, 2026. [cited by applicant]
Office Action issued by the USPTO for U.S. Appl. No. 18/471,670 on Jun. 29, 2026. [cited by applicant]
Office Action from the Korean family application dated Jul. 23, 2026. [cited by applicant]
English translation of the Office from the Korean family application dated Jul. 23, 2026. [cited by applicant]
US20240128208A1 is the US counterpart to CN117766514A. [cited by applicant]
US20240087976A1 is the US counterpart to KR20240035240A. [cited by applicant]