1. A method of fabricating an electronic device, the method comprising:
providing a wafer comprising a plurality of semiconductor layers;
forming a plurality of electrical contacts on a surface of the wafer, each electrical contact being in direct contact with at least one of the semiconductor layers thereunder, thereby defining a plurality of unsingulated chips each comprising a plurality of the electrical contacts;
thereafter, and without formation of a metallic or conductive layer on the electrical contacts therebetween, applying an anisotropic conductive adhesive (ACA) onto the surface of the wafer and in direct contact with each of the electrical contacts, thereby forming a composite wafer comprising (a) a semiconductor substrate (a) comprising one or more semiconductor materials and (b) processed into a plurality of at least partially unsingulated chips, each chip comprising (i) a plurality of exposed electrical contacts, (ii) a non-contact region disposed between the electrical contacts, a top surface of each of the electrical contacts being substantially coplanar with or recessed below a surface of the non-contact region disposed around the electrical contact, and (iii) a portion of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises a back surface opposite the plurality of electrical contacts, and (b) an ACA on the semiconductor substrate, the ACA being in direct contact with the electrical contacts and the non-contact region of each chip, wherein (i) each at least partially unsingulated chip is disposed between at least a portion of the ACA and the back surface of the substrate, (ii) none of the electrical contacts comprises a solder bump or a non-solder bump, and (iii) no solder bumps or non-solder bumps are disposed between the electrical contacts and the ACA;
thereafter, singulating the composite wafer into individual chips, each chip comprising first and second electrical contacts with the ACA thereover;
providing a substrate having first and second conductive traces on a first surface thereof in a bonding region, the first and second conductive traces being separated by a gap therebetween;
positioning first and second electrical contacts of one of the chips over the first and second conductive traces, a portion of the ACA being disposed between the electrical contacts and the traces; and
bonding the first and second electrical contacts of the chip to the first and second traces, respectively, thereby establishing electrical connection between at least one of (i) the first electrical contact and the first trace or (ii) the second electrical contact and the second trace, but without electrically bridging the traces together or electrically bridging the electrical contacts together.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ACA comprises an anisotropic conductive film.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein applying the ACA onto the surface of the wafer comprises laminating the anisotropic conductive film to the wafer.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each unsingulated chip, the top surface of each of the plurality of electrical contacts is absolutely coplanar with or recessed below the surface of the chip surrounding the electrical contact.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each unsingulated chip, the top surface of each of the plurality of electrical contacts is recessed below the surface of the chip surrounding the electrical contact by more than 3 \u03bcm.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the plurality of electrical contacts over the surface of the wafer comprises only a single deposition step.
7. A composite wafer comprising:
a semiconductor substrate (a) comprising one or more semiconductor materials and (b) processed into a plurality of at least partially unsingulated chips, each chip comprising (i) a plurality of exposed electrical contacts, (ii) a non-contact region disposed between the electrical contacts, a top surface of each of the electrical contacts being substantially coplanar with or recessed below a surface of the non-contact region disposed around the electrical contact, and (iii) a portion of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises a back surface opposite the plurality of electrical contacts; and
an anisotropic conductive adhesive (ACA) on the semiconductor substrate, the ACA being in direct contact with the electrical contacts and the non-contact region of each chip,
wherein (i) each at least partially unsingulated chip is disposed between at least a portion of the ACA and the back surface of the substrate, (ii) none of the electrical contacts comprises a solder bump or a non-solder bump, and (iii) no solder bumps or non-solder bumps are disposed between the electrical contacts and the ACA.
8. The wafer of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of trenches extending through only a portion of a thickness of the substrate and partially singulating the chips.
9. The wafer of claim 8, wherein a portion of the ACA is disposed over each of the trenches.
10. The wafer of claim 8, wherein the ACA comprises discrete portions separated approximately along the trenches.
11. The wafer of claim 7, wherein the ACA comprises an anisotropic conductive film.
12. The wafer of claim 7, wherein each chip comprises a light-emitting diode (LED) die.
13. The wafer of claim 12, wherein each LED die comprises an inorganic LED die.
14. The wafer of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of each LED die comprises a semiconductor material comprising at least one of silicon, GaAs, InAs, AlAs, InP, GaP, AlP, InSb, GaSb, AlSb, GaN, InN, AIN, SiC, ZnO, or an alloy or mixture thereof.
15. The wafer of claim 7, wherein each chip comprises a laser.
16. The wafer of claim 7, wherein a thickness of the ACA across the semiconductor substrate is substantially uniform.
17. The wafer of claim 7, wherein, for each at least partially unsingulated chip, the top surface of each of the plurality of electrical contacts is absolutely coplanar with or recessed below the surface of the chip surrounding the electrical contact.
18. The wafer of claim 7, wherein, for each at least partially unsingulated chip, the top surface of each of the plurality of electrical contacts is recessed below the surface of the chip surrounding the electrical contact by more than 3 \u03bcm.
19. The wafer of claim 7, wherein, for each at least partially unsingulated chip, each of the plurality of electrical contacts is in direct physical contact with (i) a semiconductor portion of the chip thereunder and (ii) the ACA.
20. The wafer of claim 7, wherein, for each chip, the top surface of at least one of the plurality of electrical contacts extends above, by 3 \u03bcm or less, the surface of the non-contact region disposed therearound.
21. The wafer of claim 7, wherein, for each chip, each of the plurality of electrical contacts comprises a metal silicide or metal nitride compound.
22. The wafer of claim 7, wherein, for each chip, each of the plurality of electrical contacts comprises a metal layer and a second layer comprising a metal silicide or metal nitride compound.
23. The wafer of claim 7, wherein, for each chip, each of the plurality of electrical contacts comprises at least one of Al, Cr, Ti, Au, Ni, Ag, or Mo.
24. The wafer of claim 7, wherein two of the electrical contacts of at least one of the chips are non-coplanar with respect to each other.
25. The wafer of claim 7, wherein the ACA is at least partially transparent.
26. The wafer of claim 7, further comprising a protective layer disposed over at least a portion of the ACA.
27. The wafer of claim 7, further comprising a wavelength-conversion material disposed over the chips.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A mobile communications device comprising:
a) a receiver configured to receive a broadcast signal from a wireless broadcast network, the broadcast signal including an overhead portion that includes a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal;
b) a processor configured to detect a first failure, if any, in the wide-area portion independent of detecting a second failure, if any, in the local-area portion; and
c) the processor further configured to control the receiver to reacquire the broadcast signal when either, or both, the first or second failures are detected.
2. The mobile communications device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to decode the overhead portion when reacquiring the broadcast signal.
3. The mobile communications device of claim 1, wherein the overhead portion includes at least one pilot signal used for timing synchronization.
4. The mobile communications device of claim 1, wherein:
the processor is further configured to identify if one or more errors occur when decoding the wide-area portion in order to detect the first failure.
5. The mobile communications device of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to determine if the one or more errors exceed a predetermined threshold.
6. The mobile communications device of claim 5, wherein the predetermined threshold is based on how the wide-area portion is encoded.
7. The mobile communications device of claim 1, wherein:
the processor is further configured to identify if one or more errors occur when decoding the local-area portion in order to detect the second failure.
8. The mobile communications device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to determine if the one or more errors exceed a predetermined threshold.
9. The mobile communications device of claim 8, wherein the predetermined threshold is based on how the wide-area portion is encoded.
10. The mobile communications device of claim 1, wherein the wide-area portion includes a first plurality of channels and the local-area portion includes a second plurality of channels.
11. The mobile communications device of claim 10, wherein:
the processor is further configured to determine a failure of each of the first plurality of channels independent of one another.
12. The mobile communications device of claim 10, wherein:
the processor is further configured to determine a failure of each of the second plurality of channels independent of one another.
13. The mobile communications device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control the receiver to reacquire the broadcast signal, independent of the first and second failures, based on a deterministic trigger event.
14. The mobile communications device of claim 13, wherein the deterministic trigger event is related to the mobile communications device awakening from an idle mode.
15. The mobile communications device of claim 13, wherein the deterministic trigger event is related to a user selecting content within either the wide-area portion or the local-area portion.
16. The mobile communications device of claim 13, wherein the deterministic event trigger is related to the mobile communications device being operated in a test mode.
17. A mobile communications device, comprising:
a) a receiver configured to receive a broadcast signal from a wireless broadcast network, the broadcast signal including an overhead portion and a data portion, wherein the overhead portion includes a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal; and
b) a processor configured to:
c) detect a failure, if any, in receiving the broadcast signal;
d) determine a part of the overhead portion to reacquire based on the failure; and
e) control the receiver to reacquire the part of the overhead portion of the broadcast signal.
18. The mobile communications device of claim 17, wherein the part of the overhead portion includes substantially all of the overhead portion.
19. The mobile communications device of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to determine if the failure is related to the overhead portion or the data portion.
20. The mobile communications device of claim 19, wherein if the failure is related to the overhead portion, then the part of the overhead portion is substantially all of the overhead portion.
21. The mobile communications device of claim 19, wherein if the failure is related to the data portion, then the part of the overhead portion is a section related to contents of the data portion.
22. The mobile communications device of claim 17, wherein the data portion comprises the wide-area portion and the local-area portion.
23. The mobile communications device of claim 22 wherein if the failure is related to the wide-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the first part related to contents of the wide-area portion.
24. The mobile communications device of claim 22, wherein if the failure is related to the local-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the second part related to contents of the local-area portion.
25. The mobile communications device of claim 17, wherein the overhead portion includes a pilot signal and if the failure is related to detecting the pilot signal, then the part of the overhead portion is a section related to the pilot signal.
26. A method of reacquiring a broadcast signal of a wireless broadcast network, comprising:
a) receiving the broadcast signal having an overhead portion that includes a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal;
b) detecting a first failure, if any, in the wide-area portion independent of detecting a second failure, if any, in the local-area portion; and
c) reacquiring the broadcast signal when either the first or second failures are detected.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein reacquiring the broadcast signal further includes:
detecting and decoding at least a portion of the overhead information included in the broadcast signal.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein the wide-area portion includes a plurality of first channels and the local-area portion includes a plurality of second channels.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein detecting the first failure further includes:
detecting, for each of the first channels, whether a respective error occurred when decoding each channel.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the respective error relates to one or more physical layer packets being erroneously decoded.
31. The method of claim 28, wherein detecting the second failure further includes:
detecting, for each of the second channels, whether a respective error occurred when decoding each channel.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein the respective error relates to one or more physical layer packets being erroneously decoded.
33. A method of reacquiring a broadcast signal of a wireless broadcast network, comprising:
a) receiving the broadcast signal having an overhead portion and a data portion, wherein the overhead portion includes a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal;
b) detecting a failure, if any, in receiving the broadcast signal;
c) determining, based on the failure, a part of the overhead portion to reacquire; and
d) reacquiring the part of the overhead portion.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein if the failure is related to the overhead portion, then the part of the overhead portion is substantially all of the overhead portion.
35. The method of claim 33, wherein if the failure is related to the data portion, then the part of the overhead portion is a section related to contents of the data portion.
36. The method of claim 33, wherein the data portion comprises the wide-area portion and the local-area portion.
37. The method of claim 36 wherein if the failure is related to the wide-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the first part related to contents of the wide-area portion.
38. The method of claim 36, wherein if the failure is related to the local-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the second part related to contents of the local-area portion.
39. A mobile communications device having a receiver configured to receive a broadcast signal from a wireless broadcast network, the broadcast signal including an overhead portion that includes a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal, the device comprising:
means for detecting a first failure, if any, in the wide-area portion independent of detecting a second failure, if any, in the local-area portion; and
means for controlling the receiver to reacquire the broadcast signal when either, or both, the first or second failures are detected.
40. A non-transitory computer-readable memory encoded with a computer program for reacquiring a broadcast signal of a wireless broadcast network, which upon execution cause one or more processors to:
a) receive the broadcast signal having an overhead portion including a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal;
b) detect a first failure, if any, in the wide-area portion independent of detecting a second failure, if any, in the local-area portion; and
c) reacquire the broadcast signal when either the first or second failures are detected.
41. The mobile communications device of claim 39, wherein the means for controlling the receiver to reacquire the broadcast signal is further configured to decode the overhead portion when reacquiring the broadcast signal.
42. The mobile communications device of claim 39, wherein the overhead portion includes at least one pilot signal used for timing synchronization.
43. The mobile communications device of claim 39, wherein the means for detecting the first failure is further configured to identify if one or more errors occur when decoding the wide-area portion in order to detect the first failure.
44. The mobile communications device of claim 43, wherein the means for detecting the first failure is further configured to determine if the one or more errors exceed a predetermined threshold.
45. The mobile communications device of claim 44, wherein the predetermined threshold is based on how the wide-area portion is encoded.
46. The mobile communications device of claim 39, wherein the means for detecting the first failure in the wide-area portion independent of detecting the second failure in the local-area portion is further configured to identify if one or more errors occur when decoding the local-area portion in order to detect the second failure.
47. The mobile communications device of claim 46, wherein the means for detecting the first failure in the wide-area portion independent of detecting the second failure in the local-area portion is further configured to determine if the one or more errors exceed a predetermined threshold.
48. The mobile communications device of claim 47, wherein the predetermined threshold is based on how the wide-area portion is encoded.
49. The mobile communications device of claim 40, wherein the wide-area portion includes a first plurality of channels and the local-area portion includes a second plurality of channels.
50. The mobile communications device of claim 49, wherein the means for detecting the first failure in the wide-area portion independent of detecting the second failure in the local-area portion is further configured to determine a failure of each of the first plurality of channels independent of one another.
51. The mobile communications device of claim 49, wherein the means for detecting the first failure in the wide-area portion independent of detecting the second failure is further configured to determine a failure of each of the second plurality of channels independent of one another.
52. The mobile communications device of claim 39, wherein the means for controlling the receiver to reacquire the broadcast signal is further configured to control the receiver to reacquire the broadcast signal, independent of the first and second failures, based on a deterministic trigger event.
53. The mobile communications device of claim 52, wherein the deterministic trigger event is related to the mobile communications device awakening from an idle mode.
54. The mobile communications device of claim 52, wherein the deterministic trigger event is related to a user selecting content within either the wide-area portion or the local-area portion.
55. The mobile communications device of claim 52, wherein the deterministic event trigger is related to the mobile communications device being operated in a test mode.
56. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 40 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
decode the overhead portion when reacquiring the broadcast signal.
57. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 40, wherein the overhead portion includes at least one pilot signal used for timing synchronization.
58. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 40 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
identify if one or more errors occur when decoding the wide-area portion in order to detect the first failure.
59. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 58 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
determine if the one or more errors exceed a predetermined threshold.
60. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 59, wherein the predetermined threshold is based on how the wide-area portion is encoded.
61. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 40 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
identify if one or more errors occur when decoding the local-area portion in order to detect the second failure.
62. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 61 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
determine if the one or more errors exceed a predetermined threshold.
63. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 62, wherein the predetermined threshold is based on how the wide-area portion is encoded.
64. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 40, wherein the wide-area portion includes a first plurality of channels and the local-area portion includes a second plurality of channels.
65. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 64 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
determine a failure of each of the first plurality of channels independent of one another.
66. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 64 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
determine a failure of each of the second plurality of channels independent of one another.
67. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 40 encoded with the computer program, which upon execution further cause the one or more processors to:
control the receiver to reacquire the broadcast signal, independent of the first and second failures, based on a deterministic trigger event.
68. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 67, wherein the deterministic trigger event is related to the mobile communications device awakening from an idle mode.
69. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 67, wherein the deterministic trigger event is related to a user selecting content within either the wide-area portion or the local-area portion.
70. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 67, wherein the deterministic event trigger is related to the mobile communications device being operated in a test mode.
71. An apparatus for reacquiring a broadcast signal of a wireless broadcast network, the apparatus comprising:
means for receiving the broadcast signal having an overhead portion and a data portion, wherein the overhead portion includes a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal;
means for detecting a failure, if any, in receiving the broadcast signal;
means for determining, based on the failure, a part of the overhead portion to reacquire; and
means for reacquiring the part of the overhead portion.
72. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein if the failure is related to the overhead portion, then the part of the overhead portion is substantially all of the overhead portion.
73. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein if the failure is related to the data portion, then the part of the overhead portion is a section related to contents of the data portion.
74. The apparatus of claim 71, wherein the data portion comprises the wide-area portion and the local-area portion.
75. The apparatus of claim 74 wherein if the failure is related to the wide-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the first part related to contents of the wide-area portion.
76. The apparatus of claim 74, wherein if the failure is related to the local-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the second part related to contents of the local-area portion.
77. A non-transitory computer-readable memory encoded with a computer program for reacquiring a broadcast signal of a wireless broadcast network, which upon execution cause one or more processors to:
receive the broadcast signal having an overhead portion and a data portion, wherein the overhead portion includes a first part related to contents of a wide-area portion of the broadcast signal and a second part related to contents of a local-area portion of the broadcast signal;
detect a failure, if any, in receiving the broadcast signal;
determine, based on the failure, a part of the overhead portion to reacquire; and
reacquire the part of the overhead portion.
78. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 77, wherein if the failure is related to the overhead portion, then the part of the overhead portion is substantially all of the overhead portion.
79. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 77, wherein if the failure is related to the data portion, then the part of the overhead portion is a section related to contents of the data portion.
80. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 77, wherein the data portion comprises the wide-area portion and the local-area portion.
81. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 80, wherein if the failure is related to the local-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the second part related to contents of the local-area portion.
82. The non-transitory computer-readable memory of claim 80 wherein if the failure is related to the wide-area portion, then the part of the overhead portion is the second part related to contents of the wide-area portion.