Cutting-edge Inspection Challenges

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Koh Young’s Brent Fischthal explains how UHDI and advanced packaging are challenging inspection systems.

Advanced packaging seems to be accelerating the trend toward larger component packages. What are the new demands/challenges these packages put on inspection?

Brent Fischthal: The shift toward larger components and advanced packaging brings a host of challenges that impact the industry. These challenges include complexity, density, package diversity, and inspection methodologies, all of which necessitate a more innovative approach.

First, the increased complexity associated with advanced packaging techniques introduces more intricate board designs with multiple chip types and miniaturized components. Furthermore, the drive toward higher density and smaller pitch, facilitated by advanced packaging solutions such as 2.5D and 3D packaging, places significant demands on inspection machines. For instance, inspection systems must reliably address challenges like 10 mm thin solder deposits, 50 mm component spacing, and highly-reflective components within densely populated areas, even where access might be limited.

Moreover, the proliferation of diverse advanced packaging methods, including fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP), system-in-package (SiP), and chiplets, requires inspection machines to accommodate a wider variety of package types and configurations. In addition, the variation in component heights, a common characteristic in advanced packaging due to designs like stacked die and heterogeneous packaging, requires the inspection system to overcome the shadowing created by these height differences in order to make consistent and reliable measurements.

To read the rest of this article, which appeared in the September 2023 issue of PCB007 Magazine, click here.