Alpine Microsystems Receives U.S. Patent for DirectAttach.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2001 DirectAttach Packaging Technology Provides Method to Interconnect Multiple Integrated Circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. for System Level Integration (SLI (Scalable Link Interface) A multi-GPU interface from NVIDIA for connecting two or four NVIDIA display adapters together for faster graphics rendering on one monitor or two monitors. ) Products Alpine Microsystems, a designer and manufacturer of custom System Level Integration (SLI) products for the electronics industry, announced it has received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for its DirectAttach(TM) integrated circuit integrated circuit (IC), electronic circuit built on a semiconductor substrate, usually one of single-crystal silicon. The circuit, often called a chip, is packaged in a hermetically sealed case or a nonhermetic plastic capsule, with leads extending from it for (IC) packaging technology (U.S. Patent Number 6,175,161, "A System and Method for Packaging Integrated Circuits"). Alpine's DirectAttach packaging technology provides a method for interconnecting multiple ICs in an electronic system. This process greatly improves the electrical performance and allows an increased number of I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output pins to be used in the overall electronic system while minimizing printed circuit board area and avoiding thermal degradation of the IC substrate interface. DirectAttach is a companion technology to Alpine's patented MicroBoard(R) substrate architecture, originally announced in June 2000. Currently, the most common method used for interconnecting ICs is to first package the individual ICs, and then mount the packaged ICs on a substrate such as a printed circuit board. The size of the package is typically several times larger than the IC, which does not always offer ideal cost, size, and power efficiency. As an alternative, DirectAttach provides an efficient IC mounting technique using flip-chip technology in which a silicon substrate having several ICs and interconnect metallization Met`al`li`za´tion n. 1. The act or process of metallizing. between ICs is connected to a printed circuit board through ball grid array “BGA” redirects here. For other uses, see BGA (disambiguation). A ball grid array (BGA) is a type of surface-mount packaging used for integrated circuits. (BGA (Ball Grid Array) A popular surface mount chip package that uses a grid of solder balls as its connectors. Available in plastic and ceramic varieties, BGA is noted for its compact size, high lead count and low inductance, which allows lower voltages to be used. ) solder connections. These connections provide improved stress relief over direct chip on board (COB) approaches with C4 bumps. "DirectAttach technology is a major milestone for System Level Integration design since it provides the most efficient means for interconnecting ICs," said Sam Brown Sam Brown may refer to:
About Alpine Microsystems Founded in 1995, Alpine Microsystems is a privately held electronic systems company located in Campbell, CA. Alpine's patented MicroBoard substrate and DirectAttach array packaging technology for System Level Integration (SLI) products provide a number of solutions to manufacturers of electronic equipment and offers a more flexible alternative than System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designs. OEMs can increase system bandwidth, reduce size, and maintain a flexible, fast time to market manufacturing solution. Alpine has more than 35 additional patents pending in the U.S. and foreign countries. For more information, visit the Alpine web site at www.alpinemicro.com. Note to Editors: Alpine Microsystems, MicroBoard, and MicroPallet are registered trademarks and DirectAttach is a trademark of Alpine Microsystems, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective holders. |
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