The Future and Challenge of Electronic Packaging

Microelectronics technology continues to advance at a very rapid rate placing greater demands on packaging and interconnection. Despite significant advances in device performance, cost will remain an overriding consideration in determining the course of the technology. Plastic packaging, as a low cost packaging option, will continue to hold a secure position and probably gain acceptance in more sophisticated systems that have been the preserve of the hermetic materials. The continued success of plastic packaging rests on improvements in manufacturability and material properties that will be needed for future devices. Manufacturability of high lead count, fragile assemblies entails lowering the flow induced stresses during molding through rheology, process optimization and modeling. Four specific material improvements stand out as challenges presented by microelectronic systems of the near future. These are electrical performance, thermomechanical stress, thermal management and micron-level precision for opto-electronic assembly. The trends in each of these areas will be reviewed, stressing the development needs in both organic and inorganic materials. In addition, the continued size reduction of device features places great importance on the properties of very small amounts of materials and their interfaces. A better understanding of material properties at the micron scale is one further challenge in securing the future of cost competitive electronic systems.