In the News: Companies align to tout the benefits of ceramic interconnect technology
08/01/2000
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.
Project 2000, a public relations program geared toward educating the industry on the benefits of hybrid circuit design technology, was spear-headed shortly after a Microelectronics Marketing Research Council speaker challenged the members of the International Society for Hybrid Microelectronics (ISHM, now IMAPS) to take a coordinated and active role in reviving the industry. Project 2000 is underwritten by IMAPS and a handful of IMAPS corporate members.
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More recently, a number of IMAPS member companies, including DuPont Electronic Materials, InterChip Systems and CMAC Industries, have formed the Ceramic Interconnect Inititative (CII) to extend the scope of Project 2000 and IMAPS' general public relations efforts. The initiative focuses on growing the market for ceramic interconnects by concentrating on OEM designers who make technology decisions, but who are often uninformed about the advantages of ceramic solutions.
The goals of the Ceramic Interconnect Initiative are:
- To work with IMAPS and Project 2000 to publicize case studies that illustrate the benefits of ceramic interconnection technology
- To create awareness of the benefits of ceramic technology
- To develop tools to help designers achieve optimum ceramic circuit designs using state-of-the-art high-density technology
- To organize and conduct seminars that train designers and OEM decision-makers on how to best use these tools
- To create and maintain a Web site for identifying and sharing resources among circuit manufacturers, design support suppliers and materials suppliers.
There are several purported benefits to ceramic technology that the CII hopes to communicate to the industry. Among these advantages are cost-effectiveness, improved density, high operating temperature, good high-frequency performance, integral resistors and functional trimming, direct attach of bare chips, and high reliability.
The efforts of the initiative currently focus on a number of areas:
- Updating and publishing a 2000 version of the Ceramic Interconnect Roadmap as part of the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) industry roadmap. The roadmap is developed by a team representing 15 to 20 companies from all levels of the supply chain and is one of the key areas of cooperation between companies that compete on a day-to-day basis.
- Driving an IMAPS-funded public relations program geared toward OEM designers. The program presently focuses on OEM designers working in the wireless
adio frequency arena. Public relations efforts include press releases highlighting industry activities, as well as events such as the press round table that was held at IMAPS last fall. - Organizing and conducting workshops at key meetings that are attended by a large number of OEM designers. Last year, the CII sponsored workshops or packaging sessions at the IEEE MTT-S meeting and at the Winter and Fall Wireless Symposium. In mid-June of this year, more than 170 people attended a packaging workshop conducted by the CII at the 2000 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Convention in Boston.
- Supporting the CII home page on the IMAPS Web site, with a focus on applications. (www.imaps.org)
- Giving presentations at selected workshops. Here, the focus has been on the wireless and high-frequency industry. CII members have cooperated to develop a number of presentations made at workshops that are attended by OEMs in the wireless sector. The most recent was a presentation at the Next Generation Wireless Handset Packaging meeting in Kansas City in March 2000. The presentation can be found at www.dupont.com/mcm/nextgen-handsets/handsets1.html.
The Ceramic Interconnect Initiative will co-sponsor, with IMAPS and the International Wireless Packaging Consortium, a packaging workshop at the Penton Wireless Symposium on September 27, 2000 in Chicago. This track will bring together experts who will address advances in materials and packaging technology for portable wireless devices and infrastructure equipment.
For more information on the Ceramic Interconnect Initiative, contact Samuel Horowitz at DuPont Microcircuit Materials, [email protected].
TI's new socket supports wireless market
MANSFIELD, MASS. - Texas Instruments Interconnection has announced the availability of its high-volume burn-in test solution for memory and logic ICs that use the new ultra-fine 0.5-mm-pitch chip-scale package. TI's new socket will support the growing market of wireless devices, such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants, which increasingly rely on fine-pitch semiconductors to achieve high performance in a small package.
With the new socket, semiconductor designers, manufacturers and product developers can take advantage of next-generation chipsets. As wireless and digital devices shrink in size, the industry is looking to take advantage of the smaller 0.5-mm-pitch semiconductors and create chipsets that integrate multiple components, such as memory, logic and DSP semiconductors. Manufacturers will use the new socket to burn-in and test various 0.5-mm-pitch components that will eventually ship in system-on-chip, embedded memory (SRAM, flash and DRAM), multi-chip packaging and chipsets.
The new socket is designed to overcome the barriers of testing the ultra-fine 0.5-mm CSP. The new socket features a clamshell design for easy insertion and compression-style micro-spring contacts to provide robust, yet sensitive, contact with the solder balls. The micro-springs touch the side of the solder ball, instead of approaching the ball from the bottom like pogo-stick or y-contact test sockets, ensuring a reliable electrical contact without causing damaging probe marks. The result is better solder ball integrity, which is vital to the ball's subsequent assembly to the PWB.
To ensure a robust connection during testing, the socket is held onto the burn-in board with screws that compress the contact elements and provide a semi-permanent interconnect.
Because the sockets use existing test equipment and standard processing, such as burn-in boards and ovens, market adoption should be strong.
Motorola's flip-chip PBGA reduces die size, increases device speed
TEMPE, ARIZ. - An industry-leading flip chip plastic ball grid array (FC-PBGA) package capable of routing hundreds of I/O from the die with array pitches as low as 150 microns has been demonstrated by Motorola's DigitalDNA Laboratories, the research arm of Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector. The fine-pitch capability is designed to enable smaller die sizes, more direct interconnect and faster operation for devices such as next-generation microprocessors.
"The reduction of die pad pitch from today's state-of-the-industry 225 microns down to 150 microns enables significant performance increases in advanced CMOS [complementary metal oxide semiconductor] devices - as much as 100 MHz faster speeds for microprocessors," said Simon Thomas, director of Motorola's Interconnect Systems Laboratory. "The package technology we have demonstrated contains more than 800 die-to-package interconnects and has met all our performance and reliability goals to date."
The 150 micron pitch FC-PBGA requires advances in four technology areas, including fine-pitch wafer bumping, advanced high-density interconnect substrates, automated test and inspection, and fine-pitch assembly. Through internal development and collaboration with key suppliers, Motorola has combined leadership capabilities in the four areas to create a leading-edge capability in advanced semiconductor packaging. Reductions in die size and interconnect length made possible by the fine-pitch capability directly translate to device performance and cost advantages.
For I/O-intensive devices that may be pad-limited at current pitches, moving to 150-micron pitch may provide a more than 250-percent increase in I/O density. Lower operating power is also possible. In addition to the performance and cost benefits, portable products can profit from the smaller form factor of the fine-pitch package.
Currently in the development stage, this packaging technology is expected to be available for Motorola's future advanced CMOS products.
Vishay broadens distribution pacts
MALVERN, PA. - Vishay Intertechnology Inc. and TTI Inc. have broadened their distribution pact to include the worldwide distribution of Vishay Telefunken discrete products manufactured by Vishay's Opto and Diodes, Rectifiers and Transistors divisions. These products include light-emitting diodes, optocouplers, diodes, rectifiers, RF transistors and bipolar power transistors.
The pact extends the existing relationship between Vishay, a global leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing of passive electronic components, discrete semiconductors, and integrated circuits, and Fort Worth, Texas-based TTI, leading distributor specialist of passive and connector products. The distribution agreement between Vishay and TTI, which dates back to the mid-1970s, includes a wide range of passive components, as well as Vishay Lite-On PSC active components.
Vishay has also recently signed a worldwide distribution with Phoenix-based Avnet Inc. that covers Vishay's full line of electronic components. Avnet is one of the world's largest distributors of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components, and computer products.
Newsmakers
 Alexander A. Oscilowski |
People
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc., Willow Grove, Pa., has created an office of the president and appointed two senior executives -Morton K. Perchick and Alexander A. Oscilowski - to the office to manage all company businesses worldwide.
 Morton K. Perchick |
MRSI, Chelmsford, Mass., has named Matthew Wilson as application engineer at MRSI Europe in Leiden, Holland. Todd Fielitz has also been appointed West Coast sales manager and will be based in Phoenix, Ariz.
Mountain View, Calif.-based ShellCase Inc., the U.S. affiliate of ShellCase Ltd., announced that Philip E. Rogren has been named North American vice president of sales and marketing.
Artest Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., has appointed James R. Fiebiger, Ph.D., to vice chairman and a member of the company's board of directors.
Three new hires have joined Utica, N.Y.-based Indium Corp. of America: Juan Carlos Suarez as global communications assistant, John Mouland as senior chemical process engineer and Peter Gan Puay Kee as inside sales coordinator for the company's Asia-Pacific operations.
Alain Solomon, formerly global account director at Motorola, Paris, has been named director of sales and marketing at Custom Silicon Configuration Services (CS2), a Brussels-based array assembly and test foundry.
Tampa, Fla.-based Group Technologies Corp. (GroupTech), a subsidiary of Sypris Solutions Inc., has appointed William A. Walker to vice president of operations.
Speedline Technologies Inc., a Cookson Electronics Co., Haverhill, Mass., has named Ron Overko as director of sales support.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based semiconbay.com, a Portal Bay Co., announced that Len Perham has joined its board of directors.
DuPont Photomasks Inc. (DPI), Round Rock, Texas, has named Gerd Stoecker as executive vice president of finance and chief financial officer.
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Companies
Express Manufacturing Inc., a turnkey contract electronics manufacturer, has expanded its operations to include a new 30,000-square-foot facility next to its Santa Ana, Calif., headquarters. The new building will house turnkey management personnel and provide additional production space.
Global trade association Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) moved its worldwide headquarters from Mountain View, Calif., to 3081 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95134; 408-943-6900.
Schaumburg, Ill.-based Omron Electronics Inc.'s new systems integration division, Automation and Enterprise Solutions, provides systems integration services for plant-level control and factory-wide information systems.
Universal Instruments Corp. has obtained QS-9000/Tooling and Equipment (TE) certification for its eight Binghamton, N.Y.-based facilities for the design and manufacture of assembly equipment used in electronics production.
Meller Optics Inc., Providence, R.I., has received ISO 9002 registration.
Lambda Technologies Inc., Morrisville, N.C., announced that its Variable Frequency Microwave (VFM) process has completed qualification and production acceptance at Polymer Flip Chip Corp., Billerica, Mass.
Genesis Systems Group, Davenport, Iowa, has earned a Partner Award from John Deere Dubuque Works as the two companies continue their 15-year working relationship.
Hytel Group, Hampshire, Ill., and California-based International Technologies Network Inc. (ITN) have signed a letter of intent with Dalian Daxian Group Inc., Dalian, China, to set up a facility to manufacture hybrid circuits and assemble small-form components in China.
ASAT Inc., Fremont, Calif., has received a Supplier of the Year Award 1999 for supporting the production of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Actel's production in the areas of delivery, cycle time and quality customer and engineering support.
Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., has recognized Pulse, San Diego, Calif., with a 1999 Supplier Continuous Quality Improvement Award. Pulse, a Technitrol Co., is one of three suppliers to receive this honor.
Boldt Metronics International Inc., Palatine, Ill., has expanded its operations to a 161,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 1751 Wilkening Court, Schaumburg, IL 60173.
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