IC Substrate Technology

In the coming years annual IC Substrate shipments are estimated to exceed 200 billion units. This positive trend is lead due to customer's requirements for an ever increasing portfolio of advanced packaging technologies. Such technologies include wafer-level packaging (WLP), stacked packaging, system in package (SIP), system on package (SOP), and many more.

 Substrates: PGAs, BGAs, FBGAs, and DSBGAs attach to a substrate. The substrate replaces the leadframe as the interposer between the die and the PCB. The substrate can be made from a variety of materials, including BT resin, FR-4, FR-5, ceramic, and polyimide flex tape. The substrate generally has balls or pins on the underside that attaches it to the PCB. 

Today, the incremental approach to substrate technology has been applied via photolithographic or laser direct image techniques.  Although these efforts have allowed the steady progression of geometries to just under 20µm in signal width and space, the primary issue of space utilization in the 3D axis and electrical performance has still not been fully addressed.  Even with full adoption of laser blind vias in mass production, the basic problem remains, how to reduce the overall footprint of the substrate in a three dimensional manner while maintaining electrical performance and integrity.

A new method of manufacturing IC substrates has been developed and is currently being deployed from Atotech and its development partners. This not only allows the miniaturization of signals to sub 10µm, but also the opportunity for significant reduction of layers from current design sets, while maintaining the electrical integrity and performance of the overall IC package.

Implementation of innovative technologies and new product solutions is the main goal of Atotech and all our employees around the world. Using our expertise to support your production of IC substrates for every industry, please feel invited to contact us anytime to discuss our new processes and manufacturing technologies for your special needs.

 

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