industry news - Chip Scale Review

Flip-Chip Processing Secrets:
Saving Money and Saving Time
Today’s equipment belongs to the next-generation, and would surprise (perhaps amaze) your father. Right: This prototype 45nm Embedded Dynamic
Random Access Memory chip contains over 12 million bits and high-performance logic. (IBM)
The biggest “secret” to successful, automated flip-chip production is
the careful selection of the increasingly intelligent equipment that
makes the technology more affordable, reliable and amazingly accurate.
Your choice of the best tools for your applications is going to result in
your company either saving lots of money, or—alternatively—writing a
check for a dust-gathering behemoth that spends much of its time
sitting in a corner like a wallflower at the prom.
By Terrence E. Thompson,
Senior Editor
[tethompson@aol.com]
Flip-chip technology (it’s a
process, not a package type)
owes much of its current acceptance
to the automated equipment used to
physically flip the chip for attachment.
Another important factor is
the selection of the material sets
required.
Since the lead-free solders now
used require higher melting points
than lead-based solders, it certainly
isn't your father’s flip-chip process
with its much more forgiving temperature
requirements.
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Chip Scale Review ■ March 2007 ■ [ChipScaleReview.com]