HK1143271B - Technique for accommodating electronic components on a multilayer signal routing device - Google Patents

Description

Techniques for incorporating electronic components into a multilayer signal routing device

This application is a divisional application of an invention patent application having an application date of 20/11/2003, an application number of 200380100137.4, and an invention name of "technique for mounting electronic components in a multilayer signal routing device".

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application No.10/716,599 filed on 20.11.2003, which U.S. patent application No.10/716,599 claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No.60/427,865 filed on 20.11.2002, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/716,599 is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application No.10/101,211, filed 3/20/2002, and U.S. patent application No.10/101,211 is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application No.09/651,188, filed 8/30/2000 (now U.S. patent No.6,388,890), which U.S. patent application No.09/651,188 claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No.60/212,387, filed 6/19/2000, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/716,599 is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application No.10/326,123 (now U.S. patent No.7,069,650) filed on 12/23/2002, the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/326,123 being a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/101,211 and U.S. patent application No.10/126,700 (now U.S. patent No.6,545,876) filed on 4/22/2002, the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/126,700 being a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.09/651,188, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/716,599 is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application No.10/326,079 filed on 23.12.2002, and the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/326,079 is a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/126,700 and a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/101,211, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/716,599 is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application No.10/407,460 (now U.S. patent No.7,069,646) filed on 7/4/2003, the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/407,460 being a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/126,700, a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/101,211, a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/326,123, and a continuation-in-part application of the above-mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/326,079, each of which.

This patent application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No.60/427,865 (client reference No.15725ROUS01P), filed on 11/20/2002, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application No.10/101,211 (attorney docket No.57983.000076, client reference No.14918ROUS01I), filed on 3/20/2002, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application No.09/651,188 (now U.S. patent No.6,388,890) (attorney docket No.57983.000010, client reference No.12623ROUS02U), filed on 30/8/2000, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No.60/212,387, filed on 19/6/2000, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This patent application is also a continuation of U.S. patent application No.10/326,123 (attorney docket No.57983.000071, client reference No.14850ROUS01I), filed on day 23, 12/2002, which was a continuation of the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.10/101,211 (attorney docket No.57983.000076, client reference No.14918ROUS01I), and U.S. patent application No.10/126,700 (now U.S. patent No.6,545,876) (attorney docket No.57983.000085, client reference No.12623ROUS03C), filed on day 22, 4/2002, which was a continuation of the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.09/651,188 (attorney docket No.57983.000010, client reference No.12623ROUS02U), all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This patent application is also a continuation of U.S. patent application No.10/326,079 (attorney docket No.57983.000073, client reference No.15057ROUS01I), filed on 23/12/2002, which was a continuation of the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.10/126,700 (attorney docket No.57983.000085, client reference No.12623ROUS03C), and U.S. patent application No.10/101,211 (attorney docket No.57983.000076, client reference No.14918ROUS01I), all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This patent application is also a continuation of U.S. patent application No.10/407,460 (attorney docket No.57983.000072, client reference No.15041ROUS01I), filed on 7/4/2003, which is a continuation of previously mentioned U.S. patent application No.10/126,700 (attorney docket No.57983.000085, client reference No.12623ROUS03C), U.S. patent application No.10/101,211 (attorney docket No.57983.000076, client reference No.14918ROUS01I), U.S. patent application No.10/326,123 (attorney docket No.57983.000071, client reference No.14850ROUS01I), and U.S. patent application No.10/326,079 (attorney docket No.57983.000073, client reference No.15057ROUS01I), all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to multilayer signal routing devices and, more particularly, to a technique for mounting electronic components on a multilayer signal routing device.

Background

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) have long been used to establish electrical connections between electronic components. A first such circuit board has only one signal routing layer on its top surface for carrying various electrical signals between the electronic components mounted thereon. These single transmission layer circuit boards have severe limitations on the number of electrical signals that can be transmitted between electronic components mounted on the same circuit board. That is, the number of electrical signals that can be transmitted between electronic components mounted on a circuit board of a single transmission layer is limited by the size of the area of the single transmission layer.

The area limitations associated with single transport layer circuit boards have led to the development of multilayer printed circuit boards. Such multilayer printed circuit boards may be single-sided or double-sided, and there may be a plurality of transmission layers on the surface of the multilayer printed circuit board, which may also be embedded in the multilayer printed circuit board. Accordingly, such a multilayer printed circuit board allows the number of electrical signals that can be transmitted between electronic components mounted on the same circuit board to be greatly increased.

The use of multilayer printed circuit boards is particularly advantageous when electronic components with high density packaging are used. That is, electronic components having high density packages typically require multiple layers in a multi-layer printed circuit board to establish electrical connections with other electronic components mounted on the same circuit board. In fact, the packing density of electronic components typically dictates the number of layers that must be provided by the multilayer printed circuit board on which the electronic components are mounted. While theoretically unlimited numbers of layers may be provided by a multilayer printed circuit board, reliability and other problems arise when the number of layers in a multilayer printed circuit board exceeds a reasonable number, particularly when attempting to transmit high speed electrical signals between electronic components. For example, when establishing electrical connections between different layers of a multilayer printed circuit board, a combination of conductive traces and conductive vias is often used. While conductive vias allow direct vertical electrical connections to be made between different layers of a multilayer printed circuit board, there are inherent parasitics associated with these conductive vias that may negatively impact the performance of signals passing therethrough. That is, these conductive paths have inherent parasitic resistances, capacitances, and inductances, which may negatively affect signal propagation along each conductive path. Furthermore, these intrinsic parasitic effects can also have a negative effect on the processability and thus on the cost of a printed circuit board. These inherent parasitics may also limit the signal propagation bandwidth along each conductive path, as they negatively impact signal performance. These negative effects only increase with increasing number of layers in a multilayer printed circuit board.

To mitigate at least some of the above-mentioned negative effects, it is often helpful to have resistive, capacitive, and/or inductive elements electrically connected in series and/or parallel with a conductive path that is also electrically connected to a signal driver contact (driver contact) of an electronic component. However, this is often difficult to do because the signal drive contacts may be located inside the contact array of the electronic component, so that there is no place to mount resistive, capacitive and/or inductive components. Even though the signal driver contacts are located at the periphery of the contact array of the electronic component, there may still be no place to mount resistive, capacitive, and/or inductive components since electronic components are now more compactly placed on the surface of printed circuit boards and other types of multilayer signal routing devices.

One proposed solution to the problem of mounting resistive, capacitive and/or inductive components is to embed or embed the resistive, capacitive and/or inductive components in a printed circuit board or other type of multilayer signal routing device because the electronic components are located close to the signal driving contacts of an electronic component. However, the cost and maturity of suitable technologies for this proposed solution make it impractical.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a technique for mounting resistive, capacitive and/or inductive components on a multilayer signal routing device in proximity to signal driving contacts of an electronic component that overcomes the above-described deficiencies and drawbacks.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with the present invention, a technique is provided for mounting various electronic components on a multilayer signal routing device. In a particular exemplary embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method for mounting various electronic components on a multilayer signal routing device. Such a method comprises: the method includes determining a component space required to accommodate a plurality of electronic components on a surface of a multilayer signal routing device, and then forming at least one signal routing channel on at least the surface of the multilayer signal routing device, wherein the at least one signal routing channel has a channel space equal to or greater than the component space. At least one signal routing channel formed on the surface of the multilayer signal routing device may have a vertical, horizontal, and/or diagonal portion along the surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

According to other aspects of this particular exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the step of determining the element space may advantageously comprise: the number of the plurality of electronic components to be mounted on the surface of the multilayer signal routing device is determined, followed by determining the space required for each number of the plurality of electronic components to be mounted on the surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

According to further aspects of this particular exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the step of forming at least one signal routing channel may advantageously comprise: in a multilayer signal routing device, at least two electrically conductive micro-vias are formed in alignment with one another coincident with the location of at least one signal routing channel formed on a secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

In accordance with additional aspects of this particular exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein the surface of the multilayer signal routing device is a second surface of the multilayer signal routing device, a plurality of electrically conductive pads may advantageously be formed on a first surface of the multilayer signal routing device opposite the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device. If such is the case, in a multilayer signal routing device, it may be advantageous to form at least two conductive micro-vias in alignment with each other that are electrically connected to at least two of the conductive pads while coinciding with the location of at least one signal routing channel formed on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device. At least a portion of the plurality of electronic components are mounted on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device in at least one signal routing channel formed on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device. Also, an electrically conductive pad may advantageously be formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device within at least one signal routing channel formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device. If such is the case, at least one of the plurality of electronic components may advantageously be mounted on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device and electrically connected to the electrically conductive pads formed on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device while coinciding with the location of the at least one signal routing channel formed on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device. Of course, an electrically conductive trace may also be advantageously formed on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device, the trace being electrically connected to an electrically conductive pad formed on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

In another particular exemplary embodiment, this technique may be implemented as a novel multilayer signal routing device. Such a novel multilayer signal routing device includes a first surface having a plurality of electrically conductive pads formed thereon, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive pad combinations establish electrical connections with a respective plurality of electrically conductive micro-vias formed on the multilayer signal routing device. Such a multilayer signal routing device further comprises a second surface having a signal routing channel formed thereon coincident with the location of the set of electrically conductive micro-vias, wherein the signal routing channel on the second surface has a channel area for housing an electronic component mounted on the second surface. The signal routing channels may have vertical, horizontal, and/or diagonal portions along the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

In accordance with other aspects of this particular exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the second surface may advantageously have an electrically conductive pad formed thereon and within the signal routing channel. If such is the case, electronic components may advantageously be mounted within the signal routing channels on the second surface and electrically connected to the conductive pads formed on the second surface. Of course, the second surface may advantageously have a conductive trace formed thereon, wherein the trace is electrically connected to a conductive pad formed on the second surface.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments, as shown in the accompanying drawings. While the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art having access to the teachings herein will recognize additional embodiments, modifications, and examples, as well as other fields of use, which are within the scope of the present invention as disclosed and claimed herein, and which would render the present invention of significant utility.

Drawings

In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are referenced with like numerals. These drawings should not be construed as limiting the present invention, but are intended to be exemplary only.

FIG. 1 shows a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having signal routing channels.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of a secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device of FIG. 1 having additional electronic components mounted in signal routing channels thereof, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A shows a portion of a secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device of FIG. 1 having additional electronic components, including logic devices, mounted in signal routing channels in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an alternate embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having additional electronic components mounted in horizontal signal routing channels in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having additional electronic components mounted in vertical signal routing channels in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having additional electronic components mounted in approximately horizontal signal routing channels in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having additional electronic components mounted in approximately vertical signal routing channels in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having additional electronic components mounted in signal routing channels configured as a pair of rectangular pockets or cavities, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having additional electronic components mounted in signal routing channels configured as a single rectangular pocket or cavity, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having signal routing channels configured in horizontal and vertical directions for accommodating additional electronic components in the horizontal and vertical directions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having signal routing channels configured in horizontal and diagonal directions for accommodating additional electronic components in the horizontal and diagonal directions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having signal routing channels configured in diagonal directions for accommodating additional electronic components along the diagonal directions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having signal routing channels configured in horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions for accommodating additional electronic components in the horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device having signal routing channels configured in horizontal, vertical and closed diagonal directions for accommodating additional electronic components in the horizontal, vertical and closed diagonal directions in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

At the outset, it is helpful to refer to techniques for reducing the number of layers in a multilayer signal routing device, which are basically described in the aforementioned patent documents: the entire contents of the aforementioned U.S. provisional patent application No.60/212,387, the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.09/651,188 (now U.S. patent No.6,388,890), the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.10/101,211, the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.10/126,700 (now U.S. patent No.6,545,876), the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.10/326,123, the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.10/326,079, and the aforementioned U.S. patent application No.10/407,460 are all incorporated herein by reference.

The aforementioned techniques are certainly advantageous for reducing the number of layers in a multilayer signal routing device. However, it would be advantageous if these techniques were used in combination with one or more of the several techniques described herein.

Referring to fig. 1, a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 100 is shown. The multilayer signal routing device 100 includes a plurality of electrically conductive pads 102 formed thereon, each of which is preferably electrically connected to an electrically conductive via (not shown) formed in the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. A plurality of electrically conductive pads 102 are electrically connected by respective electrically conductive paths to electrically conductive pads (not shown) formed on a first surface (i.e., the opposite surface) of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. The conductive pads formed on the first surface of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 are electrically connected to the conductive contacts of an electronic component mounted on the first surface of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, the electronic components mounted on the first surface of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 have a 20 x 20 array of conductive contacts formed thereon. As shown in fig. 1, some of the 20 x 20 array of conductive contacts formed on the electronic component are not electrically connected to respective ones of the conductive pads 102 formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. The electrically conductive contacts of the electronic component that are not electrically connected to respective ones of the electrically conductive pads 102 formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 can instead be electrically connected to additional electrically conductive pads formed on the primary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. These additional conductive pads formed on the first surface of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 are, in turn, electrically connected to micro-vias (not shown) formed on the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. These micro-vias may be arranged to form signal routing channels 104 on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 and on one or more internal layers of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100, as described in the aforementioned techniques for reducing the number of layers of a multilayer signal routing device.

In this regard, it should be noted that certain conductive contacts of those electronic components that are not electrically connected to respective ones of the conductive pads 102 formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 may not be electrically connected to any of the conductive pads formed on the primary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. For example, certain conductive contacts of an electronic component that are not electrically connected to respective ones of the conductive pads 102 formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 can be used to test the electronic component without the electronic component having been mounted to the multilayer signal routing device portion 100.

While the signal routing channels 104 are highly advantageous for reducing the number of layers of a multilayer signal routing device as described in the aforementioned techniques, the signal routing channels 104 may also be used to provide valuable space for mounting additional electronic components to the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100, according to one embodiment of the present invention. For example, referring to FIG. 2, a plurality of additional electronic components 106 are shown mounted on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 within the signal routing channels 104. As also shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of additional electronic components 106 are electrically connected to respective ones of the electrically conductive pads 102 formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 by electrical connection leads 108.

In this regard, it should be noted that the plurality of additional electronic components 106 may be discrete resistive, capacitive, and/or inductive components, as shown in fig. 2. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2A, the plurality of additional electronic components 106A may be active electronic components, such as logic circuits.

It should be noted that the electrical connection leads 108 may be conductive traces formed on the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. In this case, the plurality of additional electronic components 106 may have conductive contacts (e.g., surface mount pads) that are mounted on respective mating conductive pads (not shown) formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. Of course, the mating conductive pads formed on the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 can be electrically connected to the conductive traces.

Alternatively, the electrical connection leads 108 may be conductive pins associated with a plurality of additional electronic components 106. In this case, a plurality of additional electronic components 106 may be mounted to the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 with a non-conductive adhesive, while the conductive pins are individually electrically connected to respective ones of the conductive pads 102. Indeed, a plurality of additional electronic components 106 may even be mounted on top of surface mount components which are themselves mounted within the signal routing channels 104 of the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100, thereby forming a stacked component structure to further increase the component density on the multilayer signal routing device portion 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the signal routing channels 104 can be used to provide valuable space for mounting additional electronic components to the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100. An important benefit associated with mounting additional electronic components 106 to the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 is that signal integrity may be improved when additional electronic components 106 (e.g., resistive, capacitive, and/or inductive components) are mounted on the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 near a signal driver contact of the electronic component. An additional benefit associated with mounting these additional electronic components 106 to the secondary side of the multilayer signal routing device portion 100 is that these additional electronic components 106 can be mounted in an orderly and logical manner to facilitate fault location in a laboratory environment.

At this point, it should be noted that the amount of space required to house all of the additional electronic components 106 required for a particular design may be predicted. For example, assuming a worst-case signal-to-ground ratio of 2: 1, each signal must be connected to one of the additional electronic components 106, and the total number of additional electronic components 106 required to form an M N array of conductive contacts thereon is approximately (M N)/3. Thus, for a particular design, the total amount of space required to accommodate all of the additional electronic components 106 required is (M N)/3 (the space required for the additional electronic components 106, including the required clearance around the additional electronic components 106). Once the total amount of space is determined, the aforementioned techniques for reducing the number of layers in a multilayer signal routing device may be used to generate the required number and size of signal routing channels 104.

At this point, it should be noted that the signal routing channels 104 may be configured in a variety of ways to obtain the amount of space required to house all of the additional electronic components 106. For example, referring to FIG. 3, an alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 300 is shown. In the embodiment of fig. 3, the signal routing channels 104 are all configured in a horizontal orientation so as to enclose all of the additional electronic components 106 in an approximately horizontal orientation.

Referring to fig. 4, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 400 is shown. In the embodiment of fig. 4, the signal routing channels 104 are all configured in a vertical orientation so as to enclose all of the additional electronic components 106 in an approximately vertical orientation.

Referring to fig. 5, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 500 is shown. In the embodiment of fig. 5, the signal routing channels 104 are all configured in a horizontal orientation so as to enclose all of the additional electronic components 106 in an approximately horizontal orientation. Likewise, pairs of additional electronic components 106 are electrically connected together via electrical connection leads 108.

Referring to fig. 6, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 600 is shown. In the embodiment of fig. 6, the signal routing channels 104 are all configured in a vertical direction to enclose all of the additional electronic components 106 in an approximately vertical orientation. Likewise, pairs of additional electronic components 106 are electrically connected together via electrical connection leads 108.

Referring to fig. 7, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 700 is shown. In the embodiment of fig. 7, the signal routing channels 104 are configured as a pair of rectangular pockets or cavities surrounded by the conductive pads 102 so that all of the additional electronic components 106 are enclosed within the rectangular pockets or cavities. Likewise, pairs of additional electronic components 106 are electrically connected together via electrical connection leads 108.

Referring to fig. 8, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 800 is shown. In the embodiment of fig. 8, the signal routing channels 104 are configured as a single pocket or cavity surrounded by the conductive pad 102 (e.g., by combining multiple smaller width signal routing channels together) so that all of the additional electronic components 106 fit within the single rectangular pocket or cavity. Likewise, pairs of additional electronic components 106 are electrically connected via electrical connection leads 108.

Referring to fig. 9, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 900 is shown (although without additional electronic components 106 shown). In the embodiment of fig. 9, the signal routing channels 104 are all configured in both the horizontal and vertical directions so as to mount all of the additional electronic components 106 in both the horizontal and vertical directions.

Referring to fig. 10, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 1000 is shown (although without additional electronic components 106 shown). In the embodiment of fig. 10, the signal routing channels 104 are all configured in both the horizontal and diagonal directions so that all of the additional electronic components 106 are mounted in both the horizontal and diagonal directions.

Referring to fig. 11, another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 1100 is shown (although without the additional electronic components 106 shown). In the embodiment of fig. 11, the signal routing channels 104 are all arranged in diagonal directions so that all of the additional electronic components 106 are mounted in both diagonal directions.

Referring to fig. 12, there is shown another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 1200 (although without the additional electronic components 106 shown). In the embodiment of fig. 12, the signal routing channels 104 are all configured in horizontal, vertical, and diagonal directions so as to mount all of the additional electronic components 106 in the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal directions.

Referring to fig. 13, there is shown another alternative embodiment of a portion of a secondary side of a multilayer signal routing device 1300 (although without the additional electronic components 106 shown). In the embodiment of fig. 13, the signal routing channels 104 are all arranged in the vertical, horizontal and closed diagonal directions so as to enclose all of the additional electronic components 106 in the vertical, horizontal and closed diagonal directions.

The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments of and modifications to the present invention, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Accordingly, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the following appended claims. Also, although the present invention has been described herein in the context of a particular implementation in a particular environment for a particular use, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present invention can be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of uses. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present invention as disclosed herein.

Claims (15)

1. A method for mounting an electronic component onto a multilayer signal routing device, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a component space required to mount a plurality of electronic components on a surface of a multilayer signal routing device; and

forming at least one signal routing channel on at least the surface of the multilayer signal routing device, the at least one signal routing channel having a channel space equal to or greater than the component space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining an element space comprises the steps of:

determining a number of the plurality of electronic components to be mounted on the surface of the multilayer signal routing device, an

Determining the space required for each number of the plurality of electronic components to be mounted on the surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming at least one signal routing channel comprises the steps of:

in the multilayer signal routing device, at least two mutually aligned electrically conductive micro-vias are formed coincident with the location of at least one signal routing channel formed over the secondary surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface of the multilayer signal routing device is a second surface of the multilayer signal routing device, wherein a plurality of electrically conductive pads are formed on a first surface of the multilayer signal routing device opposite the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least two conductive micro-vias are formed in the multilayer signal routing device in alignment with each other such that the conductive micro-vias are electrically connected to at least two respective conductive pads and coincide with a location of at least one signal routing channel formed over the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

mounting at least a portion of the plurality of electronic components on the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device within the at least one signal routing channel formed on the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

forming an electrically conductive pad on the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device within at least one signal routing channel formed on the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

forming conductive traces on the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device, the conductive traces being electrically connected to conductive pads formed on the second surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

mounting at least one of said plurality of electronic components on said second surface of said multilayer signal routing device within at least one signal routing channel formed on said second surface of said multilayer signal routing device and in electrical connection with said electrically conductive pads formed on said second surface of said multilayer signal routing device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one signal routing channel formed on the surface of the multilayer signal routing device has at least one of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directional portions along the surface of the multilayer signal routing device.

11. A multilayer signal routing device, comprising:

a first surface having a plurality of conductive pads formed thereon, a set of the plurality of conductive pads being electrically connected to a set of conductive micro-vias formed in the multilayer signal routing device, respectively; and

a second surface having signal routing channels formed thereon, the signal routing channels coinciding with the locations of the set of electrically conductive micro-vias, the signal routing channels having channel areas on the second surface for housing electronic components mounted on the second surface.

12. The multilayer signal routing device of claim 11, wherein said second surface has conductive pads formed thereon within said signal routing channels.

13. The multilayer signal routing device of claim 12, wherein said second surface has conductive traces formed thereon that are electrically connected with said conductive pads formed on said second surface.

14. The multilayer signal routing device of claim 12, wherein said electronic component is mounted on said second surface within said signal routing channel and is electrically connected to said electrically conductive pads formed on said second surface.

15. The multilayer signal routing device of claim 11, wherein said signal routing channel has at least one of vertically, horizontally, and diagonally oriented portions along said second surface of said multilayer signal routing device.