Tag Archives: Advanced Packaging

January 31, 2012 — STATS ChipPAC Ltd. (SGX-ST:STATSChP), semiconductor test and advanced packaging service provider, decided not to resume semiconductor assembly operations in its Thailand plant, owing to extensive equipment and facility damages sustained during the disastrous floods in Q4 2011.

The plant was located in the Navanakorn Industrial Estate, Pathum Thani, Thailand. Approximately 1,250 employees, about 12% of STATS ChipPAC’s global workforce, will be affected by the plan, and will receive fair severance benefits and other support. STATS ChipPAC found the initial flood restoration effort taking longer than expected, and said in early December that it would try to be on-line in January.  

Partial wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCSP) and test operations will continue until Q3 2012. STATS ChipPAC is shifting production to its other manufacturing locations in Singapore, Korea, and China. The packaging company recently held the groundbreaking ceremony for a new factory in Singapore.

The "significant damage" to STATS ChipPAC’s Thailand operations made the decision "painful but unavoidable," said Tan Lay Koon, president and CEO, STATS ChipPAC. "The facility restoration period and the extensive requirements of resuming full production in the Thailand Plant make it uneconomical … to return to full manufacturing operation."

STATS ChipPAC incurred flood-related charges totalling $55.5 million comprising goodwill impairment ($24.5 million), plant and equipment impairment ($16.3 million), and other related charges ($14.7 million) in Q4 2011. The Company expects to file a property damage and business interruption claim with its insurers during Q1 2012.

The suspension of operations at the Thailand Plant due to flood accounted for a 7.6% reduction in revenue for Q4 2011 compared to Q3 2011. "Despite a revenue reduction of 7.6% for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the prior quarter resulting from the suspension of our Thailand operation due to flood, our revenue for the fourth quarter of 2011 only decreased by 3.8% over prior quarter as we benefited from strong demand for our services in the communications market," said Koon.

STATS ChipPAC Ltd. provides semiconductor packaging design, assembly, test and distribution solutions in diverse end market applications including communications, digital consumer and computing. STATS ChipPAC is listed on the SGX-ST. Further information is available at www.statschippac.com.

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January 31, 2012 – JCN Newswire — Bonding wire supplier Tanaka Denshi Kogyo K.K., of Tanaka Precious Metals, will establish a production subsidiary for manufacturing copper bonding wire in Taiwan, with manufacturing ramp on February 1.

Tanaka Electronics Taiwan Co. Ltd. will be a production center in Zhongli City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan. This is Tanaka Denshi Kogyo’s 4th wire production center globally (Japan, Singapore, and China). It will have capital of TWD285 million (approx. 730 million yen). Tanaka Denshi Kogyo decided to transition from just sales & support in Taiwan to full-scale production due to accelerated copper wire adoption. The 4th location also spreads Tanaka’s supply base to offset impacts by natural disasters.

Copper wire demand from semiconductor manufacturers and semiconductor assembly subcontractors in Taiwan is rapidly increasing. The company aims to ship 100 million meters of wire per month by 2014. Approximately 1 billion meters of bonding wire is produced per month worldwide, estimates Tanaka Precious Metals.

Copper wire is a lower-cost alternative to gold bonding wire for semiconductor packaging. Copper wire accounts for about 20% of all bonding wire at present, and could reach 40% by 2013 as more packages transition from gold to copper wire bonds.

Tanaka Denshi Kogyo has the world’s leading share in bonding wire as a whole, and gold wire. Website: http://www.tanaka-bondingwire.com/

Tanaka Precious Metals has a diversified range of business activities focused on the use of precious metals. Learn more at www.tanaka.co.jp.

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January 26, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Test system maker Keithley Instruments Inc. upgraded the capabilities of its Automated Characterization Suite (ACS) Test Environment to ACS Version 4.4. The software is used with several Keithley instrument and system configurations for automated device characterization and reliability analysis.

V.4.4 supports a newly enhanced reliability test option (Model ACS-2600-RTM), as well as expanded ultra-fast bias temperature instability (BTI) testing capabilities; high current testing of power components; and new project libraries designed for high voltage reliability, charge pumping, pulse-stress reliability, and stress migration testing applications. The revision adds support for Windows 7 operating systems.

ACS combines multiple instruments used for semiconductor device characterization and parametric measurements into a unified test environment optimized for flexibility, speed, and productivity in testing and analysis.

The Model ACS-2600-RTM reliability test module simplifies creation and execution of complex stress-measure-analyze test sequences used in device reliability tests, such as HCI, TDDB, NBTI, J-Ramp, and more. Semiconductor test engineers use it for device reliability testing and analysis in R&D and production test environments. The module can be applied in characterizing single devices or managing high-device-count test applications. It quickly defines test parameters common to large groups of devices or many sub-groups, executes tests with run-time results feedback, and enables earlier analysis of large datasets of measurement results.

In order to respond to the high-speed behaviors associated with semiconductor device failure mechanisms and produce the masses of data associated with reliability testing of multiple devices in parallel, each source measurement unit (SMU) instrument in a test configuration must be fast, and all SMU channels must work quickly as a group or several sub-groups. For reliability test applications of this type, the Model ACS-2600-RTM maximizes the performance of Keithley

January 25, 2012 — 2E mechatronic GmbH & Co. KG designed a 3D molded interconnect device (MID) flow sensor that uses Ticona’s Vectra E840i LDS laser-activated liquid crystal polymer (LCP) for electronic circuits. The Vectra E840i forms circuits on 3D injection moldings produced with a Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) process.

The sensor is injection molded entirely from Vectra E840i LDS, specially developed for use with the LPKF Laser & Electronics AG LDS process. The tracks on the 12 x 10 x 6mm component are etched with LPKF laser equipment that selectively activates the laser-sensitive additive in the Ticona LCP. The circuit pattern is subsequently electrolysis plated.

Vectra E840i LDS MID specialty grade is 40% mineral filled with special LDS additive, reflow solderable, and more isotropic than typical glass-filled LCP. It has a high melt temperature and its heat deflection temperature (HDT) prevents softening during reflow. Its flow characteristics enable miniaturization, reducing component weight. It has a low humidity absorption, low warpage, no flash, and high dimensional stability. Other benefits include low coeffecient of thermal expansion (CTE) and inherent UL-94 V0 compliance without fire-retardant additives.

The process offers cost-efficient, low-volume packaging for sensor, microphone module, and ring contact designs, among others. Design changes to the conductor tracks are simply implemented by reprogramming the laser.

This sensor is used in air conditioning systems. 2E mechatronic worked on the chip-based sensor project with relay and switch specialist Gruner AG, research institute HSG Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft and micro-sensor developer MicroMountains Applications AG, all of Germany. Harting Mitronics has developed MIDs such as a camera module MID with a Vectra E840i LDS substrate for the Sick V300 Work Station camera. Other potential applications include a laser-structured MID-LED light component for dental lamps, automats, and house and street lighting.

Ticona will showcase its Vectra LCP specialty grades for electrical and electronic components at DesignCon 2012, Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 in Santa Clara, CA, Booth #218.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of specialty materials and chemical products. Ticona, the engineering polymers business of Celanese Corporation, produces and markets a range of high performance products. For more information, please visit www.ticona.com or www.ticona.cn (Chinese language).

January 24, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Presto Engineering, integrated semiconductor test and product engineering services provider, opened its newest Hub to serve the semiconductor design community, in Israel. This Hub was established through Presto Engineering’s acquisition of the assets of ITH (Israel Test House).

The new Hub offers the Israeli electronics and semiconductor community a range of chip testing, reliability/stress testing and failure analysis (FA) services. It will coordinate with Presto Engineering’s existing Hubs in Silicon Valley and Europe.

"Israel continues to be a premier market for microelectronics, especially in the area of high speed communications," stated Dr. Michel Villemain, Presto Engineering founder and CEO. ITH has served the Israeli market for 16 years, partnering with Presto Engineering for the last 4. Presto Engineering plans to continue existing services, current staff, and capabilities. It will also update and expand the service offering.

Presto Engineering, an ISO 9001 company, delivers comprehensive test and product engineering solutions to IDM and fabless semiconductor companies from hubs in Silicon Valley, Europe and Israel. More information can be found at www.presto-eng.com.

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January 24, 2012 — The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeks nominees in the US for the 2012 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI), honoring "this nation’s creative geniuses," said Richard Maulsby, the USPTO

January 23, 2012 – JCN Newswire — Sony Corp. has developed a next-generation backside-illuminated (BSI) CMOS image sensor (CIS) that layers the pixel section with back-illuminated structures over the chips containing signal processing circuits, instead of using supporting substrates. The result is a denser, higher-performance, smaller-form-factor BSI CIS for smartphone cameras and other applications.

Conventional CMOS image sensors package the pixel section and analog logic circuit on top of the same chip, which require numerous constraints when wishing to mount the large-scale circuits — circuit scaling and chip size, suppressing the noise caused by the layout of the pixel and circuit sections, and optimizing the characteristics of pixels and circuit transistors. Sony’s stacked packaging structure layers the pixel section containing formations of back-illuminated structure pixels over the chip affixed with mounted circuits for signal processing, which eliminates the supporting substrates used in conventional BSI CIS. In the stacked structure, large-scale circuits can now be mounted, keeping small chip sizes. Since the pixel section and circuit section are formed as independent chips, a manufacturing process can be adopted that enables the pixel section to be specialized for higher image quality while the circuit section can be specialized for higher functionality. Faster signal processing and lower power consumption can also be achieved through the use of leading processes for manufacturing the chip containing the circuits.

Features of stacked CMOS image sensor:
– Large-scale signal processing circuits required for higher image quality and better functionality are built-in
– More compact image sensor chip size
– Even higher image quality of the pixel section by adopting manufacturing processes specialized for superior image quality
– Faster speeds and lower power consumption by adopting the leading process for the circuit section

More sophisticated cameras in consumer electronics like smartphones enable a wider range of scene capture. In addition to the higher pixel numbers, superior image quality and faster speeds than conventional image sensors, this Sony stacked image sensor technology enables highly advanced functionalities and a more compact size.

Also read: CMOS image sensors overrun CCD for digital cameras

Sony has developed a model with built-in signal processing functionality, an element that usually requires external embedment. Samples will be shipped from March 2012. Models have been developed with Sony’s "RGBW Coding" function for low noise, high quality image capture even in low light condition, and "HDR (High Dynamic Range) Movie" function for brilliant color images in bright light.

Planned product launches:

– Type 1/4 Stacked CMOS Image Sensor with approx. 8.0 effective megapixels (equipped with camera signal processing function). Sample shipments planned for March 2012.

– Type 1/3.06 Stacked CMOS Image Sensor with approx. 13.0 effective megapixels (equipped with "RGBW Coding" and "HDR Movie" functions). Sample shipments planned for June 2012.

– Type 1/4 Stacked CMOS Image Sensor with approx. 8.0 effective megapixels (equipped with "RGBW Coding" and "HDR Movie" functions). Sample shipments planned for August 2012.

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

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January 20, 2012 – Marketwire — Minco Technology Labs LLC, high-reliability semiconductor die processing, packaging and test services provider, appointed board member Bill Bradford as president and CEO. Bradford has served on the board of Minco since May 2010.

Bradford brings a background in the semiconductor industry, building organizations and developing channels, alliances, and strategic partnerships for leading semiconductor companies including Entropic Communications, Freescale Semiconductor, ON Semiconductor, Cypress Semiconductor and Texas Instruments. As senior vice president of worldwide sales for Entropic Communications, his most recent post, he oversaw a doubling of revenue over a 2-year period. Bradford has over 25 years of direct sales, sales management, marketing, and business development experience in the semiconductor industry. His domestic and international experience will help shape Minco’s growth strategy for hi-rel markets, said Keith Kolerus, Chairman of the Minco Board.

Bradford holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Management from the University of Alabama.

Also read: Column grid array: High-reliability option for packaging and Harsh Environments in Advanced Packaging: Just the Beginning

Former CEO Don Potter, who has been with the company since 1982, served as president since 1991 & CEO since 2010, has announced his retirement and will be leaving the company effective today. "Don’s contributions have been instrumental in establishing Minco as a leader in die processing, packaging, test & distribution," said Kolerus. "We wish Don well in his new endeavors."

Minco assembles, processes and distributes mission-critical semiconductors and components used in military and aerospace applications as well as medical equipment, down-hole drilling equipment, and other harsh-environment applications. Learn more at http://www.mincotech.com/.

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