Abstract: The present disclosure relates to the field of fabricating microelectronic packages, wherein cavities are formed in a dielectric layer deposited on a first substrate to maintain separation between soldered interconnections. In one embodiment, the cavities may have sloped sidewalls. In another embodiment, a solder paste may be deposited in the cavities and upon heating solder structures may be formed. In other embodiments, the solder structures may be placed in the cavities or may be formed on a second substrate to which the first substrate may be connected. In still other embodiments, solder structures may be formed on both the first substrate and a second substrate. The solder structures may be used to form solder interconnects by contact and reflow with either contact lands or solder structures on a second substrate.

Abstract: One of the limitations to current usage of scanning thermal microscopes arises when one needs to obtain a thermal map of an electrically biased specimen. Current practice is for the conductive parts of the specimen to be passivated to prevent excessive current leakage between the tip and the conductive sample. The present invention eliminates the need for this by coating the probe's microtip with a layer of insulation that is also a good thermal conductor. Examples of both thermocouple and thermistor based probes are given along with processes for their manufacture.