Current Issue The International Reference for Chip-Scale Electronics, Flip-Chip Technology, Optoelectronic Interconnection and Wafer-Level Packaging January - February 2002 Email the editor

Ron Iscoff Editor

The world's great age begins anew,

The golden years return,

The earth doth like a snake renew

Her winter weeds outworn.

Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote those words nearly 200 years ago. We don't know if he struggled to put that couplet together. We do know that-unlike yours truly-he didn't have a deadline.

As I write this in the declining days of 2001, I am compelled to briefly reflect on the past year. The events of September 11 made a dismal economy that much worse, particularly for the semiconductor industry.

In mid-2001, we expected to see the light at the end of the tunnel during Q4. Instead, almost all sectors of the industry, from front end to back, were buffeted and roiled by terrorism's devastating aftereffects.

Malaysia's Carsem looks for growth in the MLP format. Photo shows a key flip-chip line.

With capacity down some 30 percent plus (a conservative figure) at almost all packaging foundries, equipment makers struggled as the year ended to find sales where there were none.

This absence of sales produced exactly the expected-layoffs and more layoffs. One large backend equipment maker trimmed its workforce by 20 percent, representing some 250 people. And there were many other layoffs, as well-sometimes in small dollops, which allowed the companies to keep them quiet.

At least there were a couple of bright spots toward the close of the year. First, STATS (stts.com) announced a planned $20 million investment in test gear and facilities (in a newly renovated building) at its Santa Clara, Calif., operations.

And, with less than two weeks to go before January 1, Kulicke & Soffa (kns.com) reported that its Phoenix Flip Chip Division concluded a record year (the fiscal year ended September 30) for revenues and wafer shipments.

Package Trends

In our attempt to gauge activity for this year, we contacted some of the largest packaging foundries and asked them to point out possible future trends. Specifically, we asked, "What packages will be your volume leaders?"

We won't lie to you. No one expects a repeat of 2000, when bookings went through the roof and companies reported record sales and earnings. Many assembly people are pinning their hopes on renewed vigor from the telecom and optoelectronics market-and are holding to a belief that we hit bottom last year and are climbing back.

David Comley, Carsem's managing director, tagged the Micro Leadframe Package (MLP) as "the package of 2002 and beyond" in terms of absolute numbers and percentage growth (carsem.com).

Compared to standard leaded products and lower I/O count array packages, the MLP is "by far a superior package. It is lighter, smaller and thinner, plus it provides a significant improvement in both electrical and thermal performance."

Dr. Gerald "Skip" Fehr, CTO of OSE-USA, San Jose (formerly IPAC), said "flip chip will continue to grow (ose-usa.com). Most likely we will see an order of magnitude growth in the next couple of years. Speed and frequency will drive this growth."

Additional growth, according to Skip, will come from systems-in-a-package. "We will see a couple of active devices surrounded by passive devices." The ability to handle both passive assembly and active device assembly will be of major importance, he added.

Stacked die (other than for memory) will continue to grow in volume, as well. Skip expects it to remain a niche market, however.

Greg Johnson, president of Signetics High Technology (signetics.com), expects to see very heavy volume growth in the CSP family, due to the "very strong growth rate expected in cell phones and wireless communications."

Variety of Material Options

Signetics will offer CSPs in a variety of material options, from leadframes to BT and tape-based packages.

"We are currently running very high volumes in the BT and tape-based FBGA products, and I believe that we will finally see the growth expected in the leadframe-based TQFN offerings this year," Greg added.

Greg also expects the company's STGBGA, with proprietary ground via technology, will be an important offering this year. The package is available in body sizes from 21x21 to 40x40 mm, in pin counts of up to 792 balls.

The STBGA is aimed at the networking and high-speed communications market-a market that provides a higher ASP than standard plastic packages.

Greg also looks for two-metal tape and buildup technology to become more commonplace this year. "These materials fit well with our STBGA package."

Kevin Dibelius, STATS marketing director, says growth will continue in array products this year, "most specifically in thermally enhanced BGA packages.

"Continued growth in mobile phones and consumer electronics is also driving smaller form factors and the need for CSPs, as well as flip-chip assembly capability," he adds.