Microelectronics Packaging Handbook

Electronics has become the largest industry, surpassing agriculture, auto, and heavy metal industries. It has become the industry of choice for a country to prosper, already having given rise to the phenomenal prosperity of Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Ireland among others. At the current growth rate, total worldwide semiconductor sales will reach $300B by the year 2000. The key electronic technologies responsible for the growth of the industry include semiconductors, the packaging of semiconductors for systems use in auto, telecom, computer, consumer, aerospace, and medical industries, displays, magnetic, and optical storage as well as software and system technologies. There has been a paradigm shift, however, in these technologies, from mainframe and supercomputer applications at any cost, to consumer applications at approximately one-tenth the cost and size. Personal computers are a good example, going from $500IMIP when products were first introduced in 1981, to a projected $IIMIP within 10 years. Thin, light portable, user friendly and very low-cost are, therefore, the attributes of tomorrow's computing and communications systems. Electronic packaging is defined as interconnection, powering, cool­ ing, and protecting semiconductor chips for reliable systems. It is a key enabling technology achieving the requirements for reducing the size and cost at the system and product level.

Electronics has become the largest industry, surpassing agriCUlture, auto. and heavy metal industries. It has become the industry of choice for a country to prosper, already having given rise to the phenomenal prosperity of Japan. Korea. Singapore. Hong Kong. and Ireland among others. At the current growth rate, total worldwide semiconductor sales will reach $300B by the year 2000. The key electronic technologies responsible for the growth of the industry include semiconductors. the packaging of semiconductors for systems use in auto, telecom, computer, consumer, aerospace, and medical industries. displays. magnetic, and optical storage as well as software and system technologies. There has been a paradigm shift, however, in these technologies. from mainframe and supercomputer applications at any cost. to consumer applications at approximately one-tenth the cost and size. Personal computers are a good example. going from $500IMIP when products were first introduced in 1981, to a projected $lIMIP within 10 years. Thin. light portable. user friendly and very low-cost are. therefore. the attributes of tomorrow's computing and communications systems. Electronic packaging is defined as interconnection. powering, cool­ ing, and protecting semiconductor chips for reliable systems. It is a key enabling technology achieving the requirements for reducing the size and cost at the system and product level.

What is packaging? The subject of this report is commonly referred to as electronic packaging, but the term '"packaging" carries connotations that tend to trivialize the highly technical and critically important electronic context. Electronic packaging now goes well beyond physical protection and includes electric power distribution, signal transmission between integrated circuits, and, of growing importance, the removal of heat associated with the very high densities of circuit elements that are being achieved. Modern system performance is as much limited by these functions as by the operation of the integrated circuits.

The assembly of electronic circuit boards has emerged as one of the most significant growth areas for robotics and automated assembly. This comprehensive volume, which is an edited collection of material mostly published in "Assembly Engineering" and "Electronic Packaging and Production", will provide an essential reference for engineers working in this field, including material on Multi Layer Boards, Chip-on-board and numerous case studies. Frank J. Riley is senior vice-president of the Bodine Corporation and a world authority on assembly automation.