Future challenges in electronics packaging

Packaging solutions for the future are much more complex than our current technologies and still must meet the 5% cost/pin reduction per year. The scaleable area array chip-to-package interconnect provides the required I/O count for the small chip size needed by hand-held products. It also provides the large I/O count needed by cost-performance and high-performance products at an acceptable chip size, and it brings power supply current to the interior of the chip. Package designers face many challenges for high-frequency applications, such as inductance of the interconnects, characteristic impedance of the signal lines on the packages, cross-talk noise between these lines, and placement of decoupling capacitances on the chip, in the package, and on the PCB. Thermal management for the ever-increasing future chip power in a limited space inside a system also presents a demanding challenge. These challenges will require significant R&D focus on understanding the mechanics, thermal behavior, and electrical performance of the new materials, as well as the software tools to design and to model these new configurations. Experimental test vehicles will be needed to validate the models and to confirm the reliability of these constructs. Cooperation among industry, universities, and government on research and development is essential to meet the NTRS needs.