Overview of new packages, materials and processes

Despite the chaotic 1990s packaging revolution there is no rest yet. The revolution´s first decade made strides in conquering space by shifting to efficient area array. Minimal packaging reintroduced CSPs and flip chips in the quest to compress enver more on to a chip. Innovators invoked the third dimension to stack chips in high-rise fashion. Flex-based packages gained stature by shedding weight and height with 25 μm films having lines and spaces approaching microns using vacuum-deposited metal. Flex-BGAs and micro-BGAs set high-density records, yet flex-based packaging is nearly 40 years old. MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) then moved to center stage. The world´s most complex machine, the Boeing 777, moved to second place when a MEMS device took the title with over 1 million parts. MEMS that can “move, breathe, see, hear and think”, need new packaging. Optics then brought MOEMS (micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems) into the spotlight. The Internet giants embraced lightwaves, seeking MOEMS to catch the wave, and using micro mirrors to route light beams into cyberspace, but MOEMS demands a different package with real windows and no gates. This presentation gives an overview of these new packages, materials and process technologies