Magnetic shield for integrated circuit packaging

Abstract

Structures and methods for providing magnetic shielding for integrated circuits are disclosed. The shielding comprises a foil or sheet of magnetically permeable material applied to an outer surface of a molded (e.g., epoxy) integrated circuit package. The foil can be held in place by adhesive or by mechanical means. The thickness of the shielding can be tailored to a customer's specific needs, and can be applied after all high temperature processing, such that a degaussed shield can be provided despite use of strong magnetic fields during high temperature processing, which fields are employed to maintain pinned magnetic layers within the integrated circuit.

1 . A method of magnetically shielding a semiconductor die, comprising: 
 forming a molded unitary housing around the semiconductor die; and    applying a preformed film of magnetic shield material to at least one outer surface of the molded unitary housing, the preformed film being approximately parallel to a major surface of the semiconductor die.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming a molded unitary housing comprises encapsulating a plurality of semiconductor dies.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one outer surface of the molded unitary housing comprises a recessed region, into which region the preformed film of magnetic shield material is applied.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the preformed film of magnetic shield material to at least one outer surface of the molded unitary housing comprises applying the preformed film to both a top outer surface and a bottom outer surface of the molded unitary housing.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor die is attached to a plastic substrate before the molded unitary housing is formed, and the molded unitary housing encapsulates the semiconductor die on the plastic substrate.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the plastic substrate comprises a ball grid array substrate.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising bonding wires between the semiconductor die and electrical traces on the plastic substrate after the semiconductor die is attached to the plastic substrate and before forming the molded unitary housing.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising bonding solder bumps on the semiconductor die to electrical traces on the plastic substrate before forming the molded unitary housing.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the preformed film of magnetic shield material to at least one outer surface of the molded unitary housing comprises attaching the preformed film to the molded unitary housing with an epoxy-based adhesive.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the magnetic shield material is selected from the group consisting of mu metal and permalloy.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the preformed film of magnetic shield material is conducted after all high temperature processing.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising degaussing the preformed film of magnetic shield material before applying the preformed film to the at least one outer surface of the molded unitary housing.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising removing the preformed film of magnetic material from the outer surface of the molded unitary housing before degaussing and re-applying the preformed film.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein applying the preformed film of magnetic shield material further comprises retaining the preformed film of magnetic shield material within a recess formed in the molded unitary housing.  
   
   
       15 . A method of packaging an integrated circuit chip, comprising: 
 mounting the chip on a die carrier;    molding epoxy over the chip to form an encapsulant;    selecting a preformed magnetic shield layer having a thickness tailored to a strength of an external magnetic field of an intended environment; and    applying the selected preformed magnetic shield layer over the encapsulant.    
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising forming a recess in a major surface of the encapsulant, wherein applying comprises fitting the selected preformed magnetic shield layer within the recess.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising removing the selected preformed magnetic shield layer from the recess, conducting high temperature processing upon the packaged chip while the preformed magnetic shield layer is removed, and replacing the magnetic shield layer after high temperature processing.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising applying a strong magnetic field to the packaged chip during the high temperature processing.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein applying comprises adhering.