-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Growing Industry
In this issue of PCB007 Magazine, we talk with leading economic experts, advocacy specialists in Washington, D.C., and PCB company leadership to get a well-rounded picture of what’s happening in the industry today. Don’t miss it.
The Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Developing Advanced Substrates for Die Packaging and Test
April 20, 2023 | Dan Turpuseema, AltanovaEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Semiconductor wafer-testing interface PCBs require a fine-pitch interposer/substrate to transfer a larger pitch (greater than 0.4 mm) to a fine pitch (less than 150 mm). The interposer, which serves as the electromechanical interface between the tester and the wafer requires fine pitch, high pin count, high I/O density, and vertical compliance.
Interposers are thus becoming a critical component for the testing interface. However, these boards are typically only available from a few high-end substrate manufacturers located in Asia. The associated longer lead times and single-source suppliers have made acquiring these boards a potential time-to-market showstopper for semiconductor manufacturers in need of them.
In early 2017, R&D Altanova (RDA) saw an opportunity in this space and began developing substrate technology to meet this need (Figure 1). In the beginning, we faced numerous challenges in identifying equipment, raw materials (e.g., dielectrics, process chemicals, and others), process know-how, and other requirements to accommodate low-volume, high-end applications.
Figure 1: This substrate for wafer probing is one example of the innovations developed by R&D Altanova to meet evolving manufacturing requirements.
Meeting the Need
Following a methodical approach, we used design of experiments (DOE) techniques to test different processes and materials on a small lab bench scale environment to check process yields, repeatability, reliability. This enabled us to slowly migrate to a low-volume semi-automatic production process for developing these new substrates.
Toward the end of 2017, we delivered the first 1-2-1 substrate 90 mm-pitch board with 10 mm lines and 15 mm spaces. Since then, we have continued to upgrade tools and develop processes to support high-end substrates.Today, we can build 12-2-12 or 12-n-12 (n-multilayer center core 24 layers), with 10 mm lines, 15 mm spaces for 100 mm x 100 mm boards.
Figure 2: This table lists the substrates R&D Altanova designed and manufactured between July and October 2022.
In 2022, we completed 50 new substrate designs and 3,500 PCBs of varying complexity (from 2-2-2 to 12-24-12) and board sizes (from 12 x 12 mm to 100 x 100 mm). Figure 2 lists the substrates we designed and manufactured between July and October 2022. Our primary focus was to build substrates for wafer testing, but supply-chain disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic opened a new market opportunity—creating substrates for die packaging. Figure 3 depicts a substrate cross-section, illustrating the low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) enabled by our approach, as well coplanarity and other specifics.
Figure 3: This example cross-section of substrate, post-thermal stress, illustrates the low CTE coplanarity and other beneficial parameters enabled by R&D Altanova’s development approach.
Looking Toward the Future
Even with supply-chain disruptions easing, we continue to add new customers to support the initial development work. This is due in large part to our ability to meet short delivery lead times of four to eight weeks, depending on project complexity.
We are excited to have expanded our offerings through the development of these innovative new substrates. As the demand for this technology continues to grow, we will continue to develop new substrates to meet customers’ requirements. Figure 4 shows our high-volume manufacturing (HVM) capabilities for redistribution layer (RDL) metal lift-off (MLO).
Figure 4: This table shows the manufacturing capabilities that R&D Altanova provides.
Acknowledgments
This development work was made possible thanks to the foresight of James Vincent Russell (R&D Circuits founder), the efforts of our stellar team of engineers, and the unflagging support of our president and CEO Seyed Paransun.
Dan Turpuseema is director of Substrate Technology, R&D Altanova (a subsidiary of Advantest America).
Suggested Items
Podcast Review: On the Line with… Designing for Reality
05/09/2024 | Duane Benson, Positive Edge LLCAs a technologist, if I were forced to come up with just one recurring theme that I might call a professional “nemesis,” it would be the difference between theory and reality. A lot of technology we have at our disposal works well in theory but falls short when reality hits. That’s not the only reason I chose to listen to and review On the Line with… Designing for Reality, featuring a series of conversations with ASC Sunstone’s Matt Stevenson, but it certainly helped that the title caught my eye.
Dragonfly Energy Announces Breakthrough in Lithium Battery Production: Eliminating Harmful 'Forever Chemicals'
05/09/2024 | Globe NewswireDragonfly Energy Holdings Corp., an industry leader in green energy storage, has made a significant breakthrough in battery manufacturing with the successful production of PFAS-free electrodes in lithium battery cells.
Connect the Dots: Designing for Reality—The Pre-Manufacturing Process
05/08/2024 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsI have been working with Nolan Johnson on a podcast series about designing PCBs for the reality of manufacturing. By sharing lessons learned over a long career in the PCB industry, we hope to shorten learning curves and help designers produce better boards with less hassle and rework. Episode 2 deals with the electronic pre-manufacturing process. Moving from CAD (computer-aided design) to CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) is a key step in PCB manufacturing. CAM turns digital designs into instructions that machines can use to actually build the PCB.
Altus Equips SSTL with Advanced Cleaning Technology for Electronics
05/07/2024 | Altus GroupAltus Group, a leading supplier of capital equipment for the electronics manufacturing industry, has announced the successful installation of an advanced PCBA cleaning system at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL).
RTX's Advanced Ground System for Space-based Missile Warning Now Operational
05/06/2024 | RTXAn advanced ground system for space-based missile warning developed by Raytheon, an RTX business, is now operational at the U.S. Space Force's Overhead Persistent Infrared Battlespace Awareness Center (OBAC).