Issue



2007 Finalist Showcase


07/01/2007







3D PACKAGING

Package-on-package
Fan-in package-on-package (FiPoP) accommodates multiple die and larger die sizes in a reduced footprint. Multiple logic, analog, and memory die can be stacked in the bottom PoP package. Smaller, conventional memory packages with center ball grid array (BGA) patterns can be stacked on top, due to an exposed array of land pads on the top, center surface of the package. The design provides a more stable base that improves final assembly yields by eliminating warpage in the bottom package. FiPoP may reduce form factor up to 25% in the bottom package; up to 65% in the top package. STATS ChipPAC, Boise, ID, www.statschippac.com.

TSV Alignment Method

Front-to-back-side alignment enables high-density vertical interconnects. The AP300 DSA lithography system uses front-side infrared (IR) to perform dual-side alignment. This feature is designed to achieve front-to-back overlay of less than 2 µm at 3 sigma over a 300-mm wafer. Features include machine vision alignment system, image processing, control hardware, and system-level software. Primary development involves illumination wavelength, illumination source type, image sensor type, and optical design, with an optimized combination of silicon image sensor and LED light source. Ultratech, San Jose, CA, www.ultratech.com.

DIE-ATTACH EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS

Inline Die-bonder Platform
The AD8912 inline die bonder consists of three major modules: the CPS12 automatic tape cut-and-paste module, AD8912SD automatic die bonder, and APS70 automatic press station. The inline system handles all stacked-die configurations, such as pyramid, cross, stair, arrow, and film-on-wires (FOW) stacking, in one module; it also performs thin-die bonding down to 1-mil die thickness for ultra-thin packaging. It offers strategic die-picking algorithms with a proprietary ejector system for such applications. The combination of CPS12, AD8912SD, and APS70 provides reportedly high accuracy, mixed process capability, and high throughput. ASM Assembly Automation Ltd., Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, www.asmpacific.com.

Die-attach Paste

Developed for small die on copper leadframes, Hysol QMI708 high-performance die-attach paste bonds 2.5- × 2.5-mm and smaller die in QFN and SOIC packages using copper-finished leadframes. The highly conductive paste is designed to dispense without tailing and offers low bond-joint resistance, fast setup, and consistent bondlines. It suits oven or snap cure. the electronics group of Henkel, Irvine, CA, www.henkel.com. Booth 8511.

DISPENSING/ENCAPSULATION/MOLDING/UNDERFILL EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS

Liquid Epoxy Molding
Liquid epoxy molding (LEM) encapsulation is said to facilitate greater functionality and performance in thinner packages for package-on-package (PoP) applications. This method directly compresses liquid epoxy with molding equipment and release film to form a functional package. The assembly technique reportedly reduces material waste and eliminates mold cleaning steps, which is environmentally friendly. It suits ultra-low-loop wire bonding with minimal voiding and non-disruptive compression. A low-stress additive prevents warpage in thin packages. Package benefits include tighter dimensional tolerances, lowered costs, improved substrate use and higher density, and reduced waste. ASM Technology Singapore, Singapore, www.asm.com.

Stencil/Dispense Converter

The Active Stencil system transforms inline screen printers with 29" × 29" frame capabilities into accurate fluid-dispensing systems, adding dispense capabilities to an SMT line without additional standing equipment. A proprietary servo robot cassette inserts into the printer, like an ordinary stencil, and users program dispense routines: importing, editing, and converting common image files. The dispense valves accommodate adhesives and solder pastes. An HD-stainless-steel roll cabinet houses the PC and display, and stores the robot and dispense supplies. Ovation Products, Bethlehem, PA, www.grid-lok.com.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MATERIALS

Cleaning Solvent
Micronox MX2302, a semi-aqueous cleaning solvent, suits semiconductor and wafer-level packaging applications. The solvent blend removes paste and adhesive residues - such as reflowed pastes, uncured SMT adhesives, lead-free pastes, tacky fluxes, OA fluxes, and conductive adhesives - from semiconductor wafer bumps in flip chips, chip-scale, and microBGA packages. MX2302 is applied as-received followed by a water rinse. Features include free rinsing in water, a high flash point, and use in S-U-I or ultrasonic cleaning systems. It is multi-metal safe and contains 1034.9 g/L VOC at 100%. It contains no CFCs or HAPs, and is non-corrosive. Kyzen Corporation, Nashville, TN, www.kyzen.com.

Zero-discharge Defluxing System

With single-, two-, three-, and four-chambered options, SMT1000-ZD automatic defluxing systems offer various throughput capabilities; enabling individual recipes to run simultaneously. Automatic operation includes wash, rinse, dry, and cleanliness testing. The system removes rosin, no-clean, water-soluble, and other fluxes, and is compatible with lead-free solder. Features include real-time cleanliness tests and a computer controller to automatically expand or contract cycle time. A built-in chemical management system automatically mixes and doses wash chemical into the wash-solution recycling system. Standard features include SPC data logging with network-compatible viewing, unlimited alpha-numeric recipe generation, ESD-safe adjustable board rack, and Focus-Wash defluxing technology. Aqueous Technologies Corp., Rancho Cucamonga, CA, www.aqueoustech.com.

FLIP CHIP EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS

RCP Packaging Technology
Redistributed chip packaging (RCP) claims up to 30% package area and package thickness shrinkage, along with 30% cost reduction due to the elimination of wirebonds, bumps, and PCB substrates. Die are repackaged in panel form using silica-filled epoxy encapsulation. The active surface is flush with the mold compound surface and the die bond pads are readily available for redistribution to the pad location for connection to the motherboard. Redistribution uses copper-plated circuitry and insulating dielectrics. RCP integrates the package using interconnect technology created by fab-like tools and processes. Materials are halogen- and lead-free and RoHS compliant. It suits end-product applications in portable, compact devices. Freescale Semiconductor, Orlando, FL, www.freescale.com.

Wafer Inspection System

The WS-3800 series wafer inspection system detects surface defects on 300-mm wafers with gold-bump technology. Using 2D topography, 3D capabilities, and custom lighting, it inspects bump height and performs production-speed gold-bump inspection for nodule and crater detection. A Windows-based interface uses a flat panel screen, graphical user interface (GUI), and security password levels. System capabilities cover macro defect inspection of unbumped wafers, probe marks, pre- and post-reflow solder bumps, and multi-process gold bumps. RVSI Inspection LLC, Hauppauge, NY, www.rvsi.com.

HANDLING EQUIPMENT & FIXTURES

Substrate Carrier Technology
Virtual Panel Carrier (VPC) substrate centering and carrier technology enables multiple component support and alignment during screen printing and subsequent assembly processes. Through a unique design that consists of a base carrier with a low-maintenance consumable foil, VPC provides the stability, centering, and alignment capabilities required to process multiple substrates or components in a single panel, dramatically improving throughput and UPH. Parts are placed in the carrier either manually or loaded with a placement system. Substrates are held in the carrier via a proprietary four-sided tensioning mechanism and then aligned within the carrier using an innovative centering system. Parts are referenced using two global fiducials. VPC is also scalable. DEK, San Jose, CA, www.dek.com.

Stencil-to-Dispense System

The Active Stencil system transforms inline screen printers with 29” × 29” frame capabilities into accurate fluid-dispensing systems, adding dispense capabilities to an assembly line without additional standing equipment. A proprietary servo robot cassette inserts into the printer, like an ordinary stencil, and users program dispense routines: importing, editing, and converting common image files. The dispense valves accommodate adhesives and solder pastes. A stainless-steel roll cabinet houses the PC and display, and stores the robot and dispense supplies. Ovation Products, Bethlehem, PA, www.grid-lok.com.

PACKAGE DESIGN SOFTWARE & EQUIPMENT

Chip/Package Co-design andOptimization
Combining chip and package design elements into a unified data model, RioMagic synthesizes the entire interconnect, from the chip’s I/O driver to package ball layout. Design tradeoffs enable a “correct by construction” solution. Prior to IC floor planning, the software can present different I/O placement strategies and various packaging options for cost estimates. During floor planning, its optimization capability provides constant feedback on the effect of changes. At verification, the product eliminates manual tasks for verifying chip and package connectivity. Co-optimization is said to reduce design costs, maximize die-space usage through I/O planning and power-distribution bumps, and reduce time-to-market. Rio Design Automation, Santa Clara, CA, www.rio-da.com.

Passives Design-in Software

Embedded Passive Designer offers automated planning, design, and implementation solutions that mitigate risks, reduce cycle time, and optimize material utilization and package cost. Users create libraries of suppliers’ material characteristics and manufacturing rules, then perform cost, performance, and size tradeoff analyses based on these libraries. Results are used to decide which passives to implement in discretes and which to embed in a product design. Those to be embedded are automatically synthesized to proper sizes, shapes, tolerances, and layers. The passives can then be placed and manipulated, and manufacturing data is automatically generated. Mentor Graphics, Wilsonville, OR, www.mentor.com.

SUBSTRATE/SUBMOUNT EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS

Ball-attach Paste
The BD solder paste series, developed for ball attach on BGAs, allows manufacturers to use solder-on-pad (SOP) substrates with reportedly high yields. Unlike flux-and-drop processes, BD solder balls can be dipped in solder pre-placement, preventing ball movement and increasing yield. Convex surfaces will not induce ball shifts. Heraeus Inc., W. Conshohocken, PA, www.heraeus.com.

Ball-attach Fluxes

The NC500 series offers low-viscosity, thixotropic, no-clean fluxes for ball attachment to substrates in BGA manufacturing. They are appropriate in applications requiring good solder wetting to high-oxide surface finishes, such as nickel. The fluxes also perform well in air reflow environments, and under high lead-free reflow temperatures. No hazardous cleaning chemicals are required. The NC500 series is suitable for joining the substrate and solder spheres in pin-grid and standard ball-grid array applications. Indium, Clinton, NY, www.indium.com.

SURFACE TREATMENT EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS

Four-chamber Cleaning System
Each of the four process chambers comprising the SMT1000-QUAD provides autonomous wash, rinse, cleanliness tests, and dry functions, allowing for synchronous or asynchronous batch defluxing. The chambers connect to a single, built-in wash-solution filtration and recycling system. The system removes all post-reflow flux residues for medium- to high-volume throughput environments, is designed to be environmentally sound, and can output SPC data. Aqueous Technologies Corp., Rancho Cucamonga, CA, www.aqueoustech.com.

Conformal Coating Jet

The SC-400 PreciseCoat conformal coating jet selectively applies materials onto small substrates or in tight tolerances. Using a needle design with non-contact jetting and pulse-width modulated control, the product delivers conformal coating in small volumes at widths down to 1.2 mm, and thicknesses of 15 µm with solvent-based materials. One applicator delivers multiple dot sizes for small sections and an available dual-valve configuration covers large areas. Asymtek, Carlsbad, CA, www.asymtek.com.

TEST-AND-INSPECTION EQUIPMENT & SERVICES

Cold Bump Pull
With enhanced cold bump pull (CBP) capability on the 4000HS high-speed bond tester, the load is symmetrical and almost pure tensile, reducing deformation and applying load over the entire bond interface. Loading is said to closely replicate drop testing on corner balls. The second-generation high-speed CBP suits detection of brittle fracture failures in lead-free materials and evaluates the effects of different alloys and pad finishes on solder joint reliability. It assures compliance with JEDEC high-speed shear and CBP testing standard. Dage Precision Industries, Fremont, CA, www.dageinc.com.

Burn-in Strip Socket

Executing burn-in and test in the leadframe format, the universal burn-in socket interconnects any strip layout of a given size to the burn-in board independent of device contact arrangement. Up to 800 devices can be loaded per burn-in board with the Strip Burn-in socket. A PariPoser contactor provides a high-performance interconnect for burn-in and test with one socket. The technology is said to reduce inventories of burn-in boards, allow more components per oven slot, and reduce energy consumption. The heat source and thermal feedback system are incorporated directly into the socket body for local thermal-environment control at each component, eliminating complex air-flow controls in the oven. Paricon Technologies Corp., Fall River, MA, www.paricon-tech.com.

THERMAL MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY

Thermal Material
Burn-in material, a reusable thermal interface material (TIM), provides repeatable thermal performance over many thousands of cycles, and offers an alternative to greases, phase change materials (PCMs), and gap pads in thermal module test applications. A tailored metallic alloy, coated on one side with a highly thermally conductive adhesive, promotes adhesion and reduces contact resistance. The adhesive layer also allows for simple application and requires no ancillary equipment; the device contact side is bare metal, delivering thermal interface performance without transferring residues to the component. The material can be re-used, reducing cleaning and waste. Honeywell Electronic Materials, Sunnyvale, CA, www.honeywell.com.

Thin-film Thermoelectric Components

The thin-film thermoelectric module eTEC is fabricated using semiconductor processing techniques, which enable scalability and embedding into applications for cooling, heating, and power generation. The miniature, thin-film eTECs offer a micro-refrigerator in a form factor as small as 0.3 × 0.3 × 0.1 mm. It enables active, solid-state temperature control or power generation in close proximity to a heat source, operating as point-specific heat pumps for rapid cooling or heating of semiconductors and other electronics. In cooling mode, the eTEC removes up to 40ºC and pumps a maximum heat flux of 175 W/cm2. Deployed as a thermoelectric generator (TEG), it can convert waste heat to more than 3 W/cm2 electrical power. Nextreme Thermal Solutions, Research Triangle Park, NC, www.nextremethermal.com

WAFER-LEVEL PACKAGING EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS

WLP to Tape Reel
The CS1250 wafer-level package (WLP)-to-tape-reel system’s dual pick-and-place arms pick, flip, and place bumped devices into tape pockets at 16,000 cph. A four-camera system monitors and corrects arm mechanics and part alignment. Two independent, four-axis robots pick devices from 300-mm wafers and place them into tapes as wide as 24 mm. The axes move less than 5 mm to maintain stability and speed. The vision system allows process control and product inspection at four points. Digital, progressive-scan GigE cameras are said to offer high speed and resolution, quality light sensitivity, and improved image-acquisition time. The compact machine includes a user interface with large map display and quick-touch camera icons. Laurier Inc., Londonderry, NH, www.laurierinc.com.

Electro-deposition Plating System

The Stratus S300 is a configurable, fully automated electro-deposition system designed for thick metal deposition for advanced packaging applications. The Stratus architecture permits a variety of process configurations with up to 22 process modules (44 wafer positions). The system checks wafer seal integrity upon wafer load. A contact ring provides a leak-tight, uniform, self-checking seal of the wafer in the wafer holder. ShearPlate technology creates fluid agitation less than 2 mm from the surface of the wafer. NEXX Systems Inc., Billerica, MA, www.nexxsystems.com.

WIRE BONDING EQUIPMENT

Copper Capillary
The CuPRAplus copper capillary was developed to meet challenges associated with fine-copper-wire packaging; it incorporates a geometrical design and material surface properties that increase 1st and 2nd bond pull strength. It is said to generate consistent and stable 2nd-bond quality in X and Y axes along the capillary life span while maintaining overall wire-bonding quality. Available in a range of wire diameters to address different wire bonding challenges, the CuPRAplus can handle fine copper wires from 0.8- to 1.5-mil thicknesses. It suits existing bonding platforms for fine-pitch wire bonding to low-pin-count devices. Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc., Ft. Washington, PA, www.kns.com.

Wedge Emulation

Model 8000 wedge emulation uses a ball bonder instead of a wedge bonder for low-profile interconnects, fine pitch, running-stitch interconnects, and die-to-die bonding in high-density packages. Chain bonding with stitch-stitch interconnects is said to maximize bonding speed at 7-12 wires per second. The chain bonds also offer improved reliability and reduced keep-out space typical of ball bonding. Wedge emulation controls interconnect geometries according to user-supplied inputs. With no tail-off, bond deformation is reportedly reduced, increasing destructive pull strength up to 5×. Throughput and ease-of-use are increased with all wires a single diameter. Machine software programs interconnects to begin with a stitch instead of ball, enabling the use of gold or other wires. Palomar Technologies, Inc., Carlsbad, CA, www.bonders.com.