Improving microprocessor performance with flip chip package designs

This paper describes the extent to which flip chip packaging is advantageous in comparison to the wire bond method on otherwise comparable chips. We discuss both the engineering reasons as to why flip chip packages should be faster and the statistical method used to verify the engineering conclusions with planned experimental data about actual microprocessors. Electrical modeling predicted that the performance of the microprocessor would increase by 5-9% by converting the existing wire bond chip and packaging to a flip chip package. This result was verified using speed testing and statistical analysis on electrically-matched chips. Median speed gain was 8.1%. This work illustrates how statisticians and engineers can complement each other in the product development phases