Development of integrated passives QFN package

Integration of passives or discrete components is advantageous for end-customers in the simplification of their board design, board space-saving and overall cost reduction. The paper will discuss the development of integrating passives within a QFN package for an integrated power management solution. It is quickly found that placing together multiple components of varied dimensions and properties, pose challenges to manufacturability and package integrity. An example is to integrate a large body passive, such as a large inductor, which brings challenges to encapsulation and other package integrity issues. Design and process changes were made to resolve these issues after identifying the mechanism of failure. The successful demonstration of System in Package (SiP) for a mature QFN package while utilizing existing infrastructure and processes enables ease of implementation for more products at a lower investment cost, while increasing the value to end-customers. This integration method serves as an intermediate step as the more complex methods become more mature and overall costs are lowered.