Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1507822
34 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2023 Johnson: As we move into advanced pack- aging, and more components go into a sin- gle package, the packages are getting a lot larger—we are hearing about packages 100 millimeters on the side. That is a big package with many potential solder failures under- neath that. Does that change the technical abilities of assembly? It creates more challenges, especially for sig- nal integrity and heat dissipation. When using a large die, you can have a big challenge with CTE: the adjustment between the silicon and the substrate. Remem- ber that organic sub- str ate s can rep lace cer amic s ub str ate s, c reat ing more chal- lenge s w ith CT E and heat management. Suppose the projection about the end of Moore's law is accurate. In that case, one of the best available solutions that you can have to improve your form factor and reduce your costs is advanced packaging utilizing 2D up to 3D designs. You need to go in the Z direction (not just the X and Y direction) to use your space better to put more transistors in a specific area. Matties: At what rate will we see market demand increase? We need to see the first facilities in the U.S. and EU able to produce a substrate; with sub- strates, we have advanced packaging. is is the first condition, and we need more capacity. You have it in the Far East, but it needs to grow in North America and Europe. Second, we need more engineers qualified to design advanced packaging and develop pro- duction lines for packaging. e big story here is the substrates and developing the process using subtractive and mSAP technologies. Matties: Thank you so much. ank you for the time and the opportunity to share with you. PCB007 If I'm a PCB manufacturer, I need to ask myself what we have and whether we can make 1-mil line/space possible. Remember that the substrate design can also work in 2 or 3 mils. Going to 1 mil isn't always necessary. You don't need to change everything if you are a PCB shop. It would be best if you adjusted some sections on the production line to 1 mil. e photo sections will likely need to be changed as some of the developing and the etching may need to be more precise. Good cleaning, and good capabilities for laser and mechanical drill- ing, can be managed, but on the layers development you'll need to invest. All in all, you need to put together anything between $10 million to $15 million just in the substrate, then you have the micro- electronics and the packaging. It's all together anything between $20 million and $30 million. Matties: How did shifting to advanced pack- aging affect the assembly side of your portfolio? You're doing miniature advanced packaging t h a t reduces or replaces the number of BGAs altogether on one PCB board and puts them on one substrate as a chipset module. It's a threat to the PCB fabrication and assembly business because PCBs w ill be more of a commodity once advanced packaging takes assembly complexity. When you understand that, you take all the design complexity from the PCB and put it into the substrate and the packaging design, including heat dissipation, signal integrity, or line/space density. Matties: Then, if you're a standalone assem- bly business, what work should they be doing as a roadmap or what strategic thinking should they have? A standalone assembly house must focus on efficiency and automation, and reduce labor cost, touch-up, and manual labor. You don't need to change everything if you are a PCB shop.