Cost/performance analysis for plastic package “ruggedization” and thermal enhancement

The Plastic Packaging Consortium (PPC), a Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP) funded by DARPA under SOL 94-27 addresses the needs required to build up and strengthen an on-shore infrastructure for “ruggedized”, thermally enhanced and high density low-cost plastic packages. The PPC is now in the second year of a two-year program. A number of technical advances has been made in various areas related to the materials of construction of the packages. However, such advances typically come at higher costs. The intention of the Program is to identify the various combinations of such advances so that the total cost of ownership would be reduced even though individual elements of the package may incur higher costs. This talk will discuss the cost/performance analysis for two arms under evaluation by the PPC, namely, package “ruggedization” and package “thermal enhancement.” “Ruggedization” refers to the strengthening of the plastic package to withstand the rigor of surface mounting without the need for dry bagging and baking the parts to avoid popcorning. “Thermal enhancement” refers to the need for higher heat dissipation without resorting to external heat sinks. SEMATECH´s Cost Resources Model (CRM) was used to analyze the process flows involved for these two Focus Areas. The cost of ownership for the various combinations of package enhancement will be discussed with respect to the performance level achieved. IBIS Associates´s Technical Cost Model (TCM) was applied for the flow of handling moisture sensitive devices at the board assembly level