Tag Archives: Advanced Packaging

December 28, 2011 – PRNewswire — Newport Corporation (NASDAQ:NEWP) began an acquisition of ILX Lightwave Corporation, which makes high-performance test and measurement products for laser diodes and other photonics components. Newport will pay $9.3 million in cash, adjustable based on ILX’s net assets at closing, for the company.

The buy, along with Newport’s recent acquisition of Ophir Optronics, gives Newport a stronger foothold in photonics instrumentation and measurement equipment, said Robert J. Phillippy, Newport president and CEO.

ILX offers laser diode controllers and drivers, temperature controllers, current sources, optical power and wavelength meters, semiconductor laser/LED burn-in, test and characterization systems, and fiber optic sources. Learn more at www.ilxlightwave.com.

The US-based ILX expects 2011 revenues around $8 million, and is profitable. Newport expects the acquisition to be accretive to its earnings immediately after closing. The transaction is expected to close in January 2012. ILX will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Newport Corporation, and will operate as part of Newport’s Photonics and Precision Technologies Division.  

Newport Corporation provides advanced-technology products and systems to customers in the scientific research, aerospace and defense/security, microelectronics, life and health sciences and precision industrial manufacturing markets. Newport is part of the Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index and the Russell 2000 Index. Web Site: http://www.newport.com.

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December 27, 2011 — The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) released "3D IC Architecture: A Natural Evolution," a report sponsored by Macronix International Co. Ltd. and Etron Technology Inc. GSA also published the second edition of the 3D IC Design Tools and Services Tour Guide.

3D IC Architecture covers 3D and 2.5D packaging technology: benefits, gaps in the current semiconductor ecosystem, barriers, applications, and ways to accelerate commercialization.

The Tour Guide compiles input from EDA, R&D, market research and services companies involved in the commercialization of 3D and 2.5D interconnect technology. The Tour Guide documents the 3D IC capabilities of these companies.

Also read: GSA awards semiconductor companies

"GSA provides a forum for key players in this complex semiconductor ecosystem and recognizes the need to support design and manufacturing standards as well as new business practices to accelerate 2.5D and 3D market adoption," said Jodi Shelton, president of GSA.

GSA also hosts forums on the packaging technologies, working group meetings, and other events. The Alliance also publishes articles on packaging trends. To participate in this important effort, please contact Wade Giles at http://www.gsaglobal.org/association/contact_form_wade.aspx.

The Report and Tour Guide are complimentary to GSA members and available for download at http://www.gsaglobal.org/publications/3dic/index.asp. Non-members may purchase the Report and Tour Guide through the GSA Store.

The Global Semiconductor Alliance mission is to accelerate the growth and increase the return on invested capital of the global semiconductor industry by fostering a more effective ecosystem through collaboration, integration and innovation. Internet: www.gsaglobal.org.

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December 27, 2011 — Small, mobile, Internet-connected devices are bucking the slow economy and use advanced packaging technologies to pack an enormous amount of functionality into a very small form factor, notes New Venture Research. The chip packaging method also determines the speed and performance of that chip, as well as its battery consumption.  

Advanced IC packaging technologies include system in package (SiP), stacked packages, fan-in quad flat pack no leads (QFN), fan-out wafer-level packages (WLP), and interconnection styles of 3D and 2.5D through-silicon vias (TSV) and flip chip. The use of these packaging technologies for mobile electronic devices is covered in New Venture Research’s Advanced IC Packaging Technologies, Materials, and Markets, 2011 Edition.

Stacked packages are essentially a vertical multichip package. They come in many forms, including die stacks, package on package (PoP), package in package (PiP), TSOP stacks, QFNs, MCMs, and WLPs. Now found in all cell phones, stacked packages are in a high-demand market. Stacked package revenue will experience a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2015.

TSVs/3D interconnect creates a die stack with short interconnection distance for high speed, low power consumption, reduced parasitics, and small form factor. Vias go through the silicon, electrically connecting the die vertically. It replaces wire bonds and other second-level interconnects. The identified potential markets for TSVs will grow from 35 billion units in 2010 to over 54 billion in 2015.

System in package (SiP) devices are a functional block, a system of electronics that combines functional units together onto a single substrate to enable the shortest electrical distance between parts for superior performance. This reduces the amount of traces going into and out of the package, enabling a more simplistic PCB for the final product and potentially reducing system costs.  Revenue for SiPs will expand at a 5.4% CAGR through 2015.

To increase the reach of the QFN package, fan-in QFN involves extending the number of rows of leads from the usual one to two or three rows. This allows hundreds of package leads, up from the 50 or fewer in a traditional package design. Although the number of fan-in QFNs assembled currently is quite small, the potential is huge, with a projected CAGR of 63.1% for revenue through 2015.

Reconfigured or fan-out wafer-level packages (FOWLP) were introduced in 2006. After devices are manufactured on a wafer, the devices are sawn and transferred on a carrier to another larger wafer that has gaps between die, which are filled with overmold material that also coats the back side of the devices for protection. This allows for a larger surface on which to extend a redistribution layer, thus allowing for far more I/Os than would be possible on the original smaller WLP surface. Solder balls or bumps can be added to this surface for interconnection to a printed circuit board (PCB). Fan-out WLPs are expected to have a CAGR of 15.9% for revenue through 2015.

Cellular handsets are the primary handheld electronic gadget globally, especially in areas too vast to support wired communication lines. Cellular handsets are growing at an 8.5% CAGR between 2011 and 2015, and smart phones, a subset of total cellular handsets, are growing at a 15.2% CAGR.

More information can be found on these topics and others in the new report, Advanced IC Packaging Technologies, Materials, and Markets, 2011 Edition, from New Venture Research at newventureresearch.com.

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December 21, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Passive component maker AVX Corporation has ensured that all its tantalum powder and wire suppliers are fully compliant with the independently audited Conflict-Free Smelter Program (CFS).

AVX is making conflict-free a requirement for its tantalum powder and wire suppliers, in accordance with the principles of the Dodd-Frank legislation and current OECD guidelines. OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains from Conflict-affected and High-risk Areas is for use by any company potentially sourcing minerals or metals from conflict-affected areas of weak governance, and provides management recommendations to help companies respect human rights and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral or metal purchasing decisions and practices.

AVX has had a policy against tantalum sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or any other area in which insurgents or similar groups benefit from the sale of minerals for a decade. From 2007 onwards, AVX increased the level of due diligence and improved its ability to comply with this policy and since 2009, AVX has actively participated in the industry-wide effort to eliminate conflict minerals from the supply chain through the CFS program.

AVX also is working with multiple stakeholder partners, including major electronics companies such as Motorola Solutions, HP and Intel, in the Solutions for Hope pilot program. Solutions for Hope demonstrates that verifiably conflict-free tantalum material can be mined and shipped from the DRC to the benefit of the local population, who are suffering as a result of the de-facto ban on such minerals resulting from the Dodd-Frank legislation in the USA. Based on a closed-pipe supply chain that operates in accordance with the OECD due diligence guidance for responsible sourcing from areas of weak governance, Solutions for Hope incorporates the independently validated Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) program. The pilot initiative will be evaluated to prove that the closed supply chain is reliable, sustainable, and expandable, and will allow the DRC to return as a supplier of responsibly sourced minerals to the tantalum industry. For further information on Solutions for Hope, visit http://solutions-network.org/site-solutionsforhope/.

AVX Corporation is an international supplier of electronic passive components and interconnect solutions. For further information on this project, please contact Bill Millman at AVX: +44 (0) 1803 697211 or visit [email protected]. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:AVX).

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December 19, 2011 — Powertech Technology Inc. (trading number:6239) has approved a tender offer of NT$25.28 per share for the common shares of Greatek Electronic Inc. (trading number:2441), with a minimum acquisition target of 166,061,377 shares, or 30% of the outstanding shares for Greatek. The maximum acquisition is set at 282,304,340 (51%).

Powertech can expect to spend up to NT$7.137 billion in the tender offer. The tender offer period runs through February 3, 2012 and must be approved by relevant competent authorities.

Greatek specializes in semiconductor packaging and test services, covering P-DIP, SOP, SOJ, SSOP, TSSOP, MSOP, QFP, LQFP, TQFP, PLCC, TO and QFN form factors. It boasts circuit probing and final test offerings, and owns 2 factories at Zhunan in Miaoli County, Taiwan (R.O.C.). Greatek employs 2500 people.

The deal would boost PTI’s logic-chip packaging portfolio. DRAM packaging is Powertech’s main business, Ken Liu of Taiwan-based China Economic News Service (CENS), notes, and the DRAM industry has suffered declines in recent quarters. Liu quotes PTI general manger Zhongji Liao as saying that the company will shift its logic packaging business to Greatek, which will operate as a independent manufacturer.

With the tender offer, Powertech plans to create a system of cross support of production between Powertech and Greatek, increasing market competitiveness and technological efficiency for various products and reducing costs for a total packaging process. The new alliance also is expected to increase consolidated revenue. Positive changes on enterprise value and return on equity of both companies is foreseeable, reports management.

Also read: Elpida, PTI, UMC finalize 3D IC partnership

Grand Cathay Securities is commissioned to serve as the financial adviser and PWC Legal is commissioned to serve as the legal consultant of offeror in the tender offer.

Powertech provides IC packaging, testing, and distribution. Powertech has more than 6,000 employees worldwide, with facilities at Hsinchu Industrial Park, Hsinchu Science-Based Park and Suzhou Industrial Park. Please refer to http://www.pti.com.tw for more information.

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December 15, 2011 — Licensing company Rambus Inc. (Nasdaq:RMBS) is engaging with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan on the development of interconnect and 3D packaging technologies.

Initially, the companies will collaborate on the development of system integration using silicon interposer technology. Rambus joined the Advanced Stacked-System Technology and Application Consortium (Ad-STAC), a multinational research association led by ITRI. As Ad-STAC members, Rambus and ITRI will share ITRI