Low cost options for next generation packaging

Equal to the drive for miniaturization in consumer products is the pressure for lower prices and hence the demand for low-cost packaging. Portable communication products such as mobile phones are now designed in six to nine months, with new models introduced every six months. Prices decline with each new product introduction. For example, personal computer prices have fallen dramatically over the last five years from thousands of dollars at the lowest end to less than five hundred-dollars for stripped down versions. Future competition demands that computer appliances be priced even lower. Sony's PlayStation 2, introduced this year, contains a processor that rivals Intel's Pentium/sup (R)/ III in number of transistors, yet the system sells for approximately $350 (Circuits Assembly, p. 22, May 2000). Measured strictly by I/O cost, emerging packages may not always be the lowest cost package; however, from a system point-of-view, these packages are the low cost option. Low-cost options for next generation packages include stacked packages; lead frame-based chip scale packages (CSPs) such as Amkor's MLF, QON and SONs, and Fujitsu's BCC; wafer level packages; and even system-in-a-package.