Investigation of Dual Electrical Paths for Off-Chip Compliant Interconnects

This paper presents a study on a dual-path compliant interconnect design which attempts to improve the balance between mechanical compliance and electrical parasitics by using multiple electrical paths in place of a single electrical path. The high compliance of the parallel-path compliant interconnect structure will ensure the reliability of low-K dies. Implementation of this interconnect technology can be cost effective by using a wafer-level process and by eliminating the underfill process. Although an underfill is not required for thermomechanical reliability purposes, an underfill may be used for reducing contamination and oxidation of the interconnects and also to provide additional rigidity against mechanical loads. Therefore, this paper also examines the role of an underfill on the thermomechanical reliability of a dual-path compliant interconnect.