Maximus R&D
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Packaging

Packaging is a very important but broad area. Apart from the odd naked die in some exotic application, 99% of the IC's is sold packaged. This can roughly be divided into three areas:
  1. plastic over-moulded packages (probably 80% of all products)
  2. wafer-level or chip scale packaging (CSP), especially driven by the mobile phone and portable devices markets
  3. modules or hybrid packages, which is essentially everything non-standard.
For the latter category I refer to the page on RF Modules.

Over the years I have lived through the many diverse and successive families of ever smaller over-moulded IC-packages: from DIL to SSOP to QFN and lead-less. Main drivers: cost and miniaturization. Decisions on these type of platform generations are as complex as CMOS-generation discussions: major investments, long term strategic impact and increasingly make-or-buy or at least 2nd-sourcing discussions.

Next to that there were many different more specialised packages, of which I will only mention a few:
  • vertical packages for discretes
  • power packages, with e.g. clips and soft soldering
  • extremely thin lead-less packages
  • waver level chip scale and bumping, with or without redistribution layers
  • thin packages with internal redistribution lead frames
  • multi-die packages; stacked or adjacent dies
  • BGA's
  • RF packages, including RF Power modules and later plastic over-moulded RF Power
  • Sensor packages with windows for the sensor
  • Au to Cu wire conversion

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Foto
Foto

PCB and substrate technology

Over the years, and especially related to modules or advanced packages, Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) has been a recurring technology.
  • in tuners the PCB was a key element, especially w.r.t. solderability of the wide range of components: from fine pitch SSOP IC's to the all metal tin can
  • RF modules were made on either Al2O3 ceramic substrates or multi-layer FR4 PCB. Major price-performance analysis for each case.
  • Never-ending concept discussions about chip-in-PCB (i.e. naked dies embedded and over-moulded inside a PCB instead of a package). Of course never materialised.

Recently with one of my customers Neways Microelectronics a very interesting project on innovation in the ceramic thick film segment, the primary technology for (automotive) power modules. Even in the oldest technologies innovation is still possible!
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  • Quick Navigation
  • Home
    • About Pieter Hooijmans
    • About Maximus-R&D
    • Experience >
      • Radar Technology
      • Optical communications
      • Tuners and RF Modules
      • RF IC's
      • Communication Systems
      • Audio and Analogue
      • IC Technology
      • Packaging
    • R&D Processes
    • Services >
      • Client Projects
    • Contact
  • Technology History
    • Piet Hooijmans 1918 - 2006
    • Piet's Home-built Television pt1
    • Piet's Home-built Television pt2
    • EQ40 and EQ80
    • TV Tuner history pt1
    • TV Tuner history pt2
    • TV Tuner history pt3
    • Philips TV remote controls, 1955-1985
    • TV Tuner history pt4
    • TV Tuner history pt5
    • TV Tuner history pt6
    • Digital circuit blocks
    • TRANSDECO
  • Oil Painting