Semiconductor Packaging History and Primer
From DIP to Advanced, semiconductor
packaging has become strategic
For ease of reading – I am
going to be splitting this primer into two parts. First is the technical overview
of everything. Next will be the company-specific write-ups that follow over time
– specifically Teradyne, Form factor, Advantest, and Camtek.
Maybe Key sight and others over time. The concepts in this primer will likely be
referenced over and over. This is a primer I wish someone had written sooner, as
this will become a must-know in semiconductors going forward.
Why is Packaging Important
Now
Packaging used to be an afterthought
in the process of semiconductor manufacturing. You made the little piece of silicon
magic, and then you attached it and moved on your merry way. But as Moore’s law
has stretched, engineers realized that they could utilize all parts of their chip
including the packaging to make the best possible product. Improving packaging gives
you significant benefits, as there are thicker metal pieces for better conductivity,
and I/O (input/output) problems are still one of the greatest issues for semiconductors.
What is more amazing is that
none of the packaging companies were considered as important as the traditional
front-end manufacturing processes in the past. The packaging supply chain was often
considered “back-end” and viewed as a cost center, similar to the front office and
back office in banking. But now as the front end struggles to scale geometry, a
whole new field of focus has emerged, and this is the emphasis on packaging. We
will discuss the variety of processes so you will never feel lost again while looking
into this segment of semicap and understand what 2.5D
or 3D packaging means.
A Brief History of Packages
This is a brief hierarchy of
package technologies I found from this wonderful Youtube lecture. If you have some time this series is worth a watch.
Importantly it shows the hierarchy, of technology from past to present.