Advances in WLCSP Technologies to Enable Cost-Reduction

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 (DPC) ◽  
pp. 002291-002311
Author(s):  
Rex Anderson ◽  
R. Chilukuri ◽  
B. Rogers ◽  
A. Syed
Keyword(s):  
Cycle Time ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Product Reliability ◽  
Product Introduction ◽  
Silicon Technology ◽  
Technology Nodes

Over the past few years, Wafer Level Chip Size Packages (WLCSPs) have gained widespread adoption, due to their ability to deliver higher performance at lower or equivalent costs when compared to competing packages. WLCSPs have been an excellent fit for the handheld/portable industry, where the strong push for cost-reduction and miniaturization, coupled with relatively relaxed reliability requirements, have motivated true chip-sized packages requiring no underfill or overmold. Reliability performance initially limited the application of WLCSPs to small die sizes (<2.5mm), low pin counts (<25) and mature silicon technology nodes. Also, to date, a majority of WLCSPs have been built at a 0.5mm bump pitch, although there is increasing growth in the use of WLCSPs at 0.4mm pitch. These factors have allowed WLCSP packaging to flourish in the mixed signal and analog market space. With the maturity in this market segment, the WLCSP is beginning to transition from an advanced package to a commodity package and is subject to the price-pressure that accompanies this transition. More recently, the semiconductor industry has seen advances in WLCSP technology which have enabled the qualification envelope to be expanded to products with pin counts > 120. These advances have facilitated the use of WLCSPs for other component types such as RF, high speed, broadband and memory, many of which require advanced silicon technology nodes as well. Consequently, WLCSP is expanding to markets and applications previously supported by QFN and flip chip CSP. This expansion puts additional price and cycle time pressure on WLCSP manufacturing. The cycle time pressure is further enhanced by the changing business models and supply chain strategies adopted by companies in the new economic environment. To meet these growing market demands, WLCSP providers are faced with the challenges of providing faster cycle times and higher capacity without significant increases in capital expenditure. The above factors have driven the need for new WLCSP technologies that utilize fewer process steps compared to common WLCSP product offerings, while maintaining the robustness necessary for meeting quality and reliability requirements. Amkor is developing multiple WLCSP technology platforms to cater to the cost and performance requirements of the diverse application space. This paper will provide examples that significantly reduce overall package cost by removing photolithography layers. Each photomask layer removed saves in material costs, capital depreciation costs, overhead, and process cycle time. Materials, package size, and internal qualification vehicles are carefully chosen as part of Amkor's product introduction for the proposed process flows. This paper will examine material options, i.e., polymers and solder alloys, for these new structures and will also examine the effects of die sizes and I/O counts on product reliability. Detailed analyses of the failure modes produced during reliability testing will be coupled with mechanical simulations to enhance understanding of the failure mechanisms and to further strategies for improving product reliability.

Advances in WLCSP Technologies to Enable Cost Reduction

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Chilukuri ◽  
R. Anderson ◽  
B. Rogers ◽  
A. Syed
Keyword(s):  
Cycle Time ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Solder Alloys ◽  
Product Introduction ◽  
Reliability Data ◽  
Package Size ◽  
Capital Depreciation ◽  
Board Level ◽  
Board Level Reliability

This paper will provide examples that significantly reduce overall package cost by removing photolithography layers. Each photomask layer removed saves in material costs, capital depreciation costs, overhead, and process cycle time. Materials, package size, and internal qualification vehicles are carefully chosen as part of Amkor's product introduction for the proposed process flows (CSPX3 and CSPX2). This paper examines material options for these structures, with a focus on the redistribution layer and solder alloys. Package level and board level reliability data along with a description of the failure modes are presented.

Fan-Out Packaging: Technologies and market trends

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (DPC) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome Azemar
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Main Trend ◽  
Wafer Level ◽  
Device Scaling ◽  
Application Processor ◽  
The Cost

The semiconductor industry is facing a new era in which device scaling and cost reduction will not continue on the path they followed for the past few decades, with Moore's law in its foundation. Advanced nodes do not bring the desired cost benefit anymore and R&D investments in new lithography solutions and devices below 10nm nodes are rising substantially. In order to answer market demands, the industry seeks further performance and functionality boosts in integration. While scaling options remain uncertain in the shorter term and continue to be investigated, the spotlight turns to advanced packages. Emerging packages such as fan-out wafer level solution aim to bridge the gap and revive the cost/performance curve while at the same time adding more functionality through integration. In this work we will focus on Fan-Out packaging, an embedded package of most interest at the moment. The principle of Fan-Out technology is to embed products in a mold compound and allow redistribution layer pitch to be independent from die size. This approach is already mature for several years thanks to high volume products claimed by Nanium and JCET/Stats ChipPAC using eWLB type of Fan-Out, and with many other developments from OSATs and an aggressive technology from TSMC (inFO). 2016 was a turning point for the Fan-Out market with Apple A1O application processor being packaged using TSMC solution. This partnership changed the game and may create a trend of acceptance of Fan-Out packages for complex applications. The market for Fan-Out packages in 2016 already reached $500M, with potential breakthrough events in store in 2017 that could make the market reach $2B in 2020. Understanding the potential of that market and the high demand from telecom industry for a thin and cheap package, capable of embedding complex ICs, other important OSATs like Powertech or Amkor are willing to enter the market with their own technologies. TSMC being the first example, foundries too could look at the OSATs reserved market through wafer-level packages, Samsung's reaction being interesting to follow. Each player has its own view on how to gain market share and meet the technical and financial challenges associated to Fan-Out packaging such as cost reduction, yield improvement, die shift… This work brings analysis of the strategies and offers of main players involved and describes potential success scenarios for them. It also helps to define what is Fan-Out Packaging and what are the different products and platforms, player per player, avoiding confusion already visible in the industry where many players call their solution a “Fan-Out” to benefit from the buzz created by Apple despite having significant differences from one to another (chip-first, chip-last, face-up, face-down, etc…). As package price represents the final verdict, carrier size evolution is also an important topic, both for wafers and panels, since it can help to drastically reduce the cost. This work shows that the main trend is still to keep wafer carriers but some players are already investing and developing panel-based solution and we expect volume production soon. While end-customers are pushing for a switch to panel, numerous challenges are limiting its widespread though. This work describes technical, economic and maturity challenges associated to panel manufacturing. Overall, the presentation will provide an overview of the products announcements, commercialization roadmaps as well as market forecasts per application. Insights and trends into the different fan-out packaging approaches by applications, business models and major players will be reviewed.

Fan-Out Wafer-Level-Packaging: Market and Technology Trends

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (1) ◽  
pp. 000176-000179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Azémar
Keyword(s):  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Flip Chip ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Added Value ◽  
System Level ◽  
Wafer Level ◽  
High Expectations

Abstract The semiconductor industry is facing a new era in which device scaling and cost reduction will not continue on the path they followed for the past few decades, with Moore's law in its foundation. Advanced nodes do not bring the desired cost benefit anymore and R&D investments in new lithography solutions and devices below 10nm nodes are rising substantially. In order to answer market demands, the industry seeks further performance and functionality boosts in integration. While scaling options remain uncertain in the shorter term and continue to be investigated, the spotlight turns to advanced packages. Emerging packages such as fan-out wafer level packages and 2.5D/3D IC solutions together with more conventional but upgraded flip chip BGAs aim to bridge the gap and revive the cost/performance curve while at the same time adding more functionality through integration. Embedded packages are nowadays not anymore just an interesting approach for specific applications. Benefiting from 3D TSV high cost, these packages could fit the high expectations of the industry. Indeed, added value of embedded packages in terms of integration, reliability and even cost at system level is already clear for manufacturers. Embedded packages lacked success until 2013–2014 because of long time of qualification, few players involved and customer convincing time. The situation changed with new product announcements and strong involvement of some key players, lately most notably TSMC. In this work we will focus on one main type of embedded package of most interest at the moment: Fan-Out wafer level package. The principle of Fan-Out technology is to embed products in a mold compound and allow redistribution layer pitch to be independent from die size. This approach is already mature enough to have high volume products claimed by Nanium and JCET/Stats ChipPAC using eWLB type of Fan-Out, with many other developments from OSATs and an aggressive technology from TSMC (inFO). The market for Fan-Out packages in 2015 almost reached $500M, with potential breakthrough events in store in 2016 that could triple the 2015 market and continue further with more than 30% growth. Understanding the potential of that market and the high demand from telecom industry for a thin and cheap package, other important OSATs like Powertech or Amkor are willing to enter the market with their own technologies. TSMC is also proposing its inFO process to its customers, confirming that foundries could look at the OSATs reserved market through wafer-level packages. Each player has its own view on how to gain market share and meet the challenges such as cost reduction, panel manufacturing, yield improvement, die shift… The presentation will provide an overview of the products announcements, commercialization roadmaps as well as market forecasts per application. Insights and trends into the different fan-out packaging approaches by applications, business models and major players will be reviewed.

Electrical Characterization of Different Failure Modes in Sub-100 nm Devices Using Nanoprobing Technique

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hendarto ◽  
S.L. Toh ◽  
J. Sudijono ◽  
P.K. Tan ◽  
H. Tan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Electrical Characterization ◽  
Nickel Silicide ◽  
Fault Isolation ◽  
Technology Nodes ◽  
Scanning Electron

Abstract The scanning electron microscope (SEM) based nanoprobing technique has established itself as an indispensable failure analysis (FA) technique as technology nodes continue to shrink according to Moore's Law. Although it has its share of disadvantages, SEM-based nanoprobing is often preferred because of its advantages over other FA techniques such as focused ion beam in fault isolation. This paper presents the effectiveness of the nanoprobing technique in isolating nanoscale defects in three different cases in sub-100 nm devices: soft-fail defect caused by asymmetrical nickel silicide (NiSi) formation, hard-fail defect caused by abnormal NiSi formation leading to contact-poly short, and isolation of resistive contact in a large electrical test structure. Results suggest that the SEM based nanoprobing technique is particularly useful in identifying causes of soft-fails and plays a very important role in investigating the cause of hard-fails and improving device yield.

scholarly journals Augmented Leadframe Design for Stable Multi-Wire Ground Bonding

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Frederick Ray I. Gomez ◽  
Alyssa Grace S. Gablan ◽  
Anthony R. Moreno ◽  
Nerie R. Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Failure Modes ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Package Design ◽  
Strict Compliance ◽  
Bridge Type ◽  
Major Application ◽  
Augmented Design

Technological change has brought the global market into broad industrialization and modernization. One major application in the semiconductor industry demands safety and high reliability with strict compliance requirement. This technical paper focuses on the package design solution of quad-flat no leads (QFN) to mitigate the leadframe bouncing and its consequent effect of lifted wire and/or non-stick on leads (NSOL) defects on multi-wire ground connection. Multi-wire on single lead ground (or simply Gnd) connection plays critical attribute in the test coverage risk assessment. Cases of missing wire and/or NSOL on the multi-wire Gnd connection cannot be detected at test resulting to Bin1 (good) instead of Bin5 (open) failure. To ease the failure modes mechanism, a new design of QFN leadframe package with lead-to-diepad bridge-type connection was conceptualized for device with extended leads and with multiple Gnd wires connection. The augmented design would provide better stability than the existing leadframe configurations during wirebonding. Ultimately, the design would help eliminate potential escapees at test of lifted Gnd wire not detected.

Embedded SIP Modules for next-GEN Heterogeneous “POWER-Devices”

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (DPC) ◽  
pp. 000383-000407
Author(s):  
Kevin Moody ◽  
Nick Stukan
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Business Models ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Thermal Dissipation ◽  
System Level ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Power Devices ◽  
Embedded Technology ◽  
New Device

In this paper will focus on the comprehension of System-in-Package (SiP) with embedded active and passive components integration will be described. Embedding of semiconductor chips into substrates provides many advantages that have been noted. It allows the smallest package form-factor with high degree of miniaturization through sequentially stacking of multiple layers containing embedded devices that are optimized for electrical performance with short and geometrically well controlled copper interconnects. In addition, the embedding gives a homogeneous mechanical environment of the chips, resulting in good reliability at system level. Furthermore, embedded technology is an excellent resolution to Power management challenges dealing with new device technologies (Si, GaS, GaN) and optimization on the thermal dissipation with improved efficiency. Embedded technology comes with many challenges in 2019, primarily design for manufacturability (DFM) and maturity. Customers are looking for better-performance capability and pricing normally that means same or lower than die free package cost (DFPC) comparison. This paper will discuss the challenges bring to market the Embedded SIP Modules for next-GEN Heterogeneous “POWER-Devices” Today, the embedded process is being developed by printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers creating a new supply chain, bringing new players into the semiconductor industry. This new supply chain comes along with new business models. As a result of the increasing interest in implementing embedding technologies, ACCESS Semiconductors in China is committed to be a leader in the adaptation of embedding technologies, with over 10-yrs mature coreless technology and proved design rules for low profile dimensions with seamless Ti/Cu sputtering and Cu pillar interconnect giving advantages in both electrical & power performance. ACCESS Patented “Via-in-Frame” technology provides High Reliability (MSL1, PCT, BHAST) at Cost Effective in high panel utilization for HVM, using standard substrate/PCB known material sets, no need for wafer bumping/RDL, over-mold or under-fill cost adders. ACCESS Semiconductors is currently in HVM on single die 2L, and LVM on multi-devices actives/passives 4L SiP construction both platforms are driven from the power market segment. In-development on Die Last & Frameless (MeSiP) platforms utilizing hybrid technology (mSAP) and Photo Imageable Dielectric (PID) materials for cost down solutions in HVM by Q1FY2020. Also, ACCESS Semiconductors total turn-key solutions will include front-of-line (FOL) and end-of-line (EOL) capability from wafer handling, back-grinding, and dicing with KGD traceability thru the embedded chip process, frame/strip singulation, FT, marking pack & ship providing additional 30% cost reduction in the future. Here's an illustration of Embedded Technology Roadmap and Product Platforms.

3D Technology Applications Market Trends & Key Challenges

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (DPC) ◽  
pp. 000363-000400
Author(s):  
Thibault Buisson ◽  
Amandine Pizzagalli ◽  
Eric Mounier ◽  
Rozalia Beica
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Passive Component ◽  
Process Technology ◽  
3D Integration ◽  
3D Technology ◽  
Major Player

Semiconductor industry, for more than four decades, has rigorously followed Moore's Law in scaling down the CMOS technologies. Although several new materials and processes are being developed to address the challenges of future technology nodes, in the coming years they will be limited with respect to functionalities that future devices will require. As a consequence a clear trend of moving from CMOS to package and system architecture can be observed. Three-dimensional (3D) technology using the well-known Through Silicon Via (TSV) interconnect is one the emerging option, considered today the most advanced technology, that could enable various heterogeneous integration. Indeed such technology is not limited to the CMOS scaling in itself, it is rather based on bringing more functionalities by stacking different type of devices (Logic, Memory, Analog, MEMS, Passive component...) while reducing the form factor of the packaging. This functional diversification is also known as More-than-Moore. In addition, considering Known Good Die approach, each component of the 3D package could have a different manufacturer using different wafer sizes and node technology, thus bringing more complexity but also more opportunities and responsibilities to the supply chain. There are several business models identified, either using vertical integration or collaborative approach, if a dominant one will emerge or several tactics will co-exist, it is still remains a key question that need to be answered. The supply chain interaction and key players will be addressed in this presentation, including current and future standardization needs. This is today a key for the manufacturing of advanced 3D devices. 3D integration is considered today a new paradigm for the semiconductor industry, since it will drive evolution for packages for the coming decades. Due to several advantages that TSV technology can bring, several platforms have started. 3D WLCSP, 2.5D interposers & 3DIC are the main platforms that will be studied in this paper. Market forecasts in terms of wafer starts, market revenue, segments and end-products as well as supply chain activities and major player interactions will be presented. The industry has enthusiastically been waiting for mass production of 3D ICs. Although some small level of production has already been reported, the adoption rate in high volume manufacturing (HVM) is still low due to unresolved challenges that the industry still needs to address. Process technology is not fully mature, there are still many challenges in bonding and de-bonding, testing as well as thermal management that have to be overcome. Furthermore, design tools have to be fully released to enable proper 3D integration design. Looking at the time to market it is foreseen that device such as the Hybrid Memory Cube, combining high-speed logic with a multiple stacks of TSV bonded memories, will come into high volume production in 2014. This will definitely change the world of the memory market and will significantly speed up the adoption of 3D technologies. Technology roadmaps for 3D integration will also be included in the manuscript and reviewed during the presentation.

The Growth of Advanced Packaging: An Overview of the Latest Technology Developments, Applications and Market Trends

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (1) ◽  
pp. 000001-000005 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Beica ◽  
A. Ivankovic ◽  
T. Buisson ◽  
S. Kumar ◽  
J. Azemar
Keyword(s):  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Cmos Technology ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Advanced Packaging ◽  
Scaling Process ◽  
Market Trends ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Technology Nodes

The semiconductor industry, for more than five decades, has followed Moore's law and was driven by miniaturization of the transistors, scaling the CMOS technology to smaller and more advanced technology nodes while, at the same time, reducing the cost. The industry is reaching now limitations in continuing this scaling process in cost effective way. While technology nodes continue to be developed and innovative solutions are being proposed, the investment required to bring such technologies to production are significantly increasing. To overcome these limitations, new packaging technologies have been developed, enabling integration of more performing as well as various type of devices within the same package. This paper will provide an overview of current trends seen in the industry across all the packaging platforms (WLCSP1, FanOut2, Embedded Die2, Flip Chip3 and 3DIC4). Challenges, applications, positioning of the different packaging technologies by market segments (from low end to high end applications) and changes of the markets and drivers, growth rates and roadmaps will be presented. Global capacities and demands and the landscape of the packaging industry will be reviewed. Examples of teardowns to illustrate the latest packaging techniques for various devices used in latest products will be included.

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