Abstract: A via structure is obtained by etching a through-hole in a substrate on the via location and placing transmission lines on declining or sloping sidewalls of the hole. The lines continue to conductors on the other surface of the substrate through vias located in a free portion of a thin film structure at the bottom side of the substrate. The free portion is so strong and large, that several vias can be made therein for connection to a plurality of parallel lines forming e.g. a bus structure. The large free portion can be additionally supported by a thick support layer applied on top of the layers in the hole. By applying an isolated ground plane and a dielectric layer between the substrate and the transmission lines, the transmission lines on the sloping sidewalls of the via hole structure can be made impedance matched. The sloping sidewalls of the via hole can easily be obtained using a V-groove etch for a monocrystalline Si-substrate.

Abstract: This invention relates to a manufacturing process for making elastic bumps in the micro-electronic field. It solves the problem to mould micrometer sized elastic features by means of a micro-machined mould. The method is a reproducible moulding technology to achieve elastic bumps being a perfect replication of the mould. The mould is made of one or several grooves etched in a silicon wafer. The method includes the steps of: cleaning the surface of the mould (100) from dust and other particles; depositing a release agent on the mould and the release agent, e.g. Parylene or silane, forming a conformal self-assembled layer (118) on the surface of the mould; putting on a curable elastomer, to form an elastomeric structure (208) on the mould; curing the mould and the structure; and separating the structure from the mould.

Abstract: A self-aligning, flexible high density and impedance adjusted electrical connectors for use in microelectronic systems for overcoming the problem of having electrical connection and alignment at the same time is disclosed. The connector comprises a first part (204) consisting of two metal layer structures, a first signal path (212) and a first ground path (210) covering a V-groove (202), and a second part (208) consisting of corresponding metal layers of the first part, a second signal path (224) covering an elastic bump (206) and a second signal ground plane (226) which fits into the V-groove (202). The first and the second signal paths are in contact with each other when the first and the second parts are brought together and the contact is self-aligning when put together. The electrical contact will remain despite displacement due to thermal expansion.

Abstract: A mounting structure for a self-aligned flip-chip with elastic contacts. The mounting structure provides non-permanent joints combined with auto-aligning structures, and offers a symmetrical elastic alignment ensuring continued centering of the parts. This is done by using a flip-chip structure 200, which is based on a substrate 202 with an elastomer bump structure 204, molded by using anisotropically etched silicon as a mold. The pattern of elastic bumps 204 on the substrate correspond to a pad pattern 210 on a flip-chip 214. The bumps 204 can be coated with gold, and serve both as electrical contacts 206 and for vertical positioning. A guiding frame 212 of an elastomeric material with inclined frame walls 220 is provided around the bumps and is the same shape as the inclined walls 222 of the flip-chip 214.