Directions in advanced packaging

This is the second in a series of webinars organised by IMAPS (International Microelectronics, Assembly and Packaging Society) to showcase presentations given at previous IMAPS events.

The event will feature Jan Vardaman and Grace O’Malley and the presentations were first given at the IMAPS MicroTech 2018 Annual Conference:

Advanced Packaging—Where Have We Been Are Where Are We Going?

– E. Jan Vardaman, TechSearch International, Inc.

• Review of current advanced packaging trends
• The impact of mobile phones, cryptocurrencies, smart factories, autonomous vehicles and big data
• What does the future hold for packaging and assembly?
The semiconductor industry packaging and assembly business is undergoing many changes. Slightly more than 10 years ago Apple introduced the iPhone and the smartphone industry took off. The first iPhone contained two wafer level packages (WLPs), while today’s iPhone 8 contains approximately 43. Many things have not changed much in the last 10 years. For example, form factor and often performance remain major drivers for system-in-package (SiP). Warpage remains a concern for many packages, including laminate substrate-based packages and fan-out wafer level packages (FO-WLPs), although considerable progress has been made. Known good die (KGD) remains an issue, but many seem to be settling for probably good die. There is an increase in packaging in wafer formats rather than the leadframe and strip formats of the past.
Moving to advanced semiconductor nodes continue to present challenges, but today foundries are more involved in packaging and assembly. In some cases there are closer working relationships with OSATS, but as the industry moves to more packaging at the wafer level, foundries including TSMC, Samsung, and Intel are competing for the high-value business.
The next 10 years is likely to see new drivers for advanced packaging. Applications driving advanced packaging such data centers (which includes massive calculations for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin) are pushing us to the next semiconductor nodes at a faster rate. The adoption of ADAS and the move toward autonomous driving require new sensors and processing capability, including machine learning or artificial intelligence. The smart factory is the new industrial revolution, driving sensors, machine-to-machine communication, as well as data storage and analysis.

E. Jan Vardaman is President of TechSearch International, Inc. who are recognized around the world as a leading consulting company in the field of advanced semiconductor packaging technology.

Future Direction, Challenges and Technologies – The times they are a changin’…

– Grace O’Malley, International Electronic Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI).

• Recent market trends
• Industry direction and critical needs
• Key materials challenges in advanced packaging
The global, ever-increasing, diversity of data-driven applications and products, in parallel with the constant demand for both lower cost and higher performance, is driving packaging technologies to evolve faster than ever before. The advanced packages of the near future will be enabled by heterogeneous integration by architecture, device types, materials, manufacturing processes and test technologies. The iNEMI Technology Roadmap, updated every 2 years, provides focus and direction to the electronics supply chain on critical technology trends and needs. This presentation, based on the 2017 Packaging and Components Substrates chapter, will review the key market drivers and trends, as well as the anticipated challenges in designing and manufacturing packaging technologies for new device needs over the next 10 years; Key areas such as materials development and manufacturing capabilities will be discussed.

Grace O’Malley is Vice President of Global Operations for the International Electronic Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), not-for-profit, highly efficient R&D consortium of leading electronics manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies and universities.