Next-gen packaging tops iNEMI Research Priorities.

Herndon, VA -- "[M]ost of today's key semiconductor and electronic packaging technologies are not capable of meeting the needs of the industry in 2015," says International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative vice president of operations Bob Pfahl. "If these challenges are not promptly addressed with innovative solutions, the continued viability of the electronics manufacturing industry will weaken over the next decade."

In response, iNEMI (inemi.org) released in November its 2005 Research Priorities, which presents the consensus on R&D needs identified in the trade group's 2004 roadmap. The document, intended to help the industry focus on areas critical to future competitiveness, highlights six key challenges the electronics manufacturing industry faces.

The Research Priorities focus on the areas that will yield the greatest return on research investment, Pfahl said. The challenges discussed include: 1) strategic gaps in active device technology, 2) thermal management, 3) increased communications bandwidth, 4) next-generation packaging technology, 5) design and simulation tools and 6) sustainability metrics. Evolutionary gaps identified include manufacturing challenges from miniaturization and materials reliability.

Of these six challenges, an issue of paramount importance is next-gen packaging. Every few decades the industry introduces packaging technology that significantly changes product design, manufacturing and assembly processes and system interfaces and requires several years to fully implement. It is apparent, says iNEMI, that new low-cost packaging will be required during the next decade. Such packaging will need to interface with the interconnect structures of new nano-devices, provide required thermal cooling and electrical performance, and be compatible with a number of devices and applications (including RF, optical, sensors, MEMs and biological). Next-gen packaging will also require materials with enhanced properties and advanced manufacturing processes to address the smaller dimensions and cost expectations.

The document is available at http://thor.inemi.org/webdownload/RI/iNEMI_2005_Research_Priorities.pdf.

Edited by Mike Buetow