Development of high performance interfill materials for system chips technology

An innovative precisely interconnected chip (PIC) technology is currently under development at IBM to seek more effective means of creating system chips. The objective of this research is developing fabrication methods to permit the realization of high yielding large area chips, as well as chips that may contain very diverse technologies. This paper reports the use of a high-performance interfill material based on epoxy resin, which is used to connect the different chip sector macros that make up the system chip. This novel interfill material remains thermally stable through the subsequent processing temperature hierarchies during the interchip interconnection fabrication. Spherical SiO₂ powders are incorporated into the epoxy resin to improve its mechanical properties, reduce coefficient of thermal expansion, and increase thermal conductivity. Adhesion and rheology of the formulated interfill materials are evaluated. Microstructure of SiO₂ filled epoxy system is also investigated to confirm the reliability of the composite before and after thermal aging. Initial results indicate that the formulated EPOXY A resin composite is qualified for the system chip manufacturing process in terms of the dispensing processability, structural and mechanical integrity, and reliability