Advanced packaging substrates

Comprehensive introduction to advanced packaging substrates

Introduction

With the rapid development of the semiconductor industry, the demand for high performance, miniaturization and low power consumption of electronic products is increasing, which has promoted the continuous innovation and evolution of packaging technology. In this context, advanced packaging substrates (Advanced Packaging Substrate) play a vital role as an important bridge connecting chips and external circuits. This article will introduce in detail what advanced packaging substrates are, their main types, application areas, major manufacturers, and specifically introduce a company that plays an important role in this field-HOREXS.

What is an advanced packaging substrate

Advanced packaging substrates are a high-performance substrate used for semiconductor packaging, mainly used to support the interconnection between chips and external circuits, while providing necessary mechanical support and thermal management. Compared with traditional printed circuit boards (PCBs), advanced packaging substrates have higher density, finer wiring, better electrical and thermal performance, and can meet the high requirements of high-performance computing, communication equipment, mobile devices, etc. for integration and performance.

Types of advanced packaging substrates

1. Organic packaging substrates (Organic Substrates)

Organic packaging substrates usually use organic materials such as epoxy resins, polyimides, etc., and have good electrical insulation and processing properties. Mainly include the following:

BT substrate (Bismaleimide Triazine)**: This substrate has good thermal stability and mechanical strength, and is widely used in BGA (Ball Grid Array Package) and CSP (Chip Size Package). The low dielectric constant and low loss characteristics of BT substrate make it an ideal choice for high-frequency applications.

FR-4 substrate (Flame Retardant-4)**: Mainly used in traditional electronic devices and lower-cost applications. Although FR-4's performance in high-frequency applications is not as good as BT substrate, it is still widely used in many fields due to its low price and mature manufacturing process.

2. Ceramic package substrate (Ceramic Substrates)

Ceramic package substrates have excellent thermal conductivity and mechanical strength, and are suitable for high-frequency and high-power applications. Mainly include the following:

Al2O3 substrate (aluminum oxide substrate)**: It has good electrical insulation and thermal conductivity, and is often used in high-frequency electronic devices and high-power applications.

AlN substrate (aluminum nitride substrate)**: Compared with Al2O3 substrate, it has higher thermal conductivity and is suitable for applications that require efficient heat dissipation.

Si3N4 substrate (silicon nitride substrate)**: Provides excellent mechanical properties and thermal conductivity, suitable for high-reliability applications in extreme environments.

3. Silicon Substrates

Silicon-based packaging substrates achieve high-density integration and high-performance interconnection through silicon materials, mainly including:

Through-Silicon Via (TSV) substrates**: Suitable for 3D IC (integrated circuit) packaging, providing high-density interconnection and shorter electrical signal paths, significantly improving chip integration and performance.

Silicon Interposer**: Used for 2.5D packaging, high-density interconnection between chips is achieved through the interposer. Interposer substrates are commonly used in high-performance computing and data center applications.

4. Glass Substrates

Glass substrates are gradually gaining attention in advanced packaging due to their excellent electrical properties and thermal stability. Glass substrates show great potential, especially in high-frequency and optoelectronic applications.

5. High Density Interconnect (HDI) substrate

HDI substrate achieves high-density integration through multi-layer wiring and micro blind/buried via technology, and is suitable for mobile devices, 5G communications, and high-performance computing.

6. Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP)

This substrate technology increases the number of I/O pins and improves performance and heat dissipation by adding a rewiring layer around the chip. It is widely used in mobile devices and high-performance computing.

Application areas of advanced packaging substrates

1. Mobile devices

The demand for small size, multiple functions, and high performance of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets has promoted the development of advanced packaging technology. High-density interconnect substrates and fan-out packaging substrates are widely used in these devices to support more functions and higher performance.

2. Communication equipment

5G communication equipment needs to support higher frequencies and lower losses. Advanced packaging substrates such as silicon interposers and glass substrates perform well in this application and can meet the needs of high bandwidth and high speed.

3. High-performance computing

High-performance computing devices such as servers and data centers need to process large amounts of data and high-intensity computing tasks. Through-silicon via substrates and high-density interconnect substrates are widely used in these devices to improve processing speed and data transmission efficiency.

4. Automotive electronics

With the development of smart cars and autonomous driving technology, the requirements for high performance and high reliability of automotive electronic systems continue to increase. Ceramic substrates and silicon-based packaging substrates are increasingly used in automotive electronics, providing excellent thermal management and mechanical properties.

5. Medical equipment

Advanced medical equipment requires high-precision and high-reliability electronic systems. The application of advanced packaging substrates in medical equipment, including sensors, imaging devices, and diagnostic equipment, significantly improves the performance and reliability of the equipment.

Major manufacturers

1. TSMC (TSMC)

As the world's largest semiconductor foundry, TSMC is a leader in advanced packaging technology, providing a variety of advanced packaging solutions including silicon interposers, through-silicon vias, and fan-out packaging.

2. ASE (ASE Semiconductor)

ASE is a leading global semiconductor packaging and testing service provider with a wealth of advanced packaging technologies, including high-density interconnect, fan-out packaging and 3D IC packaging.

3. Amkor Technology

Amkor is a leading global semiconductor packaging and testing service company, providing a variety of advanced packaging solutions, such as fan-out packaging, high-density interconnect and silicon interposer packaging.

4. HOREXS Hubei Hongruixing

HOREXS has an important position in the field of packaging substrate manufacturing, mainly focusing on the production and manufacturing of BT substrates. It has been deeply engaged in packaging substrate manufacturing in mainland China for more than 15 years, especially in memory chip packaging substrates. The wide application of BT substrates in high-performance electronic devices has made HOREXS one of the leading companies in this field in mainland China. Since 2022, HOREXS has also begun to develop advanced packaging substrates combined with BF materials and has gained some experience. As the technology continues to mature, HOREXS plans to make this new product public to customers when the time is right.

5. Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics also has strong strength in semiconductor packaging technology, providing a variety of advanced packaging substrates, such as high-density interconnection and silicon interposer packaging, which are widely used in its high-performance electronic products.

6. Intel

As a leading global semiconductor company, Intel has invested a lot of resources in advanced packaging technology and developed a variety of advanced packaging solutions including 3D packaging and silicon interposer.

Technological innovation and development of HOREXS

HOREXS focuses on the production and manufacturing of BT substrates, which are widely used in high-performance electronic devices, making it an important market. The low dielectric constant, low loss characteristics and good thermal stability of BT substrates make it an ideal choice for high-frequency and high-power applications.

Advantages of BT substrates

Thermal stability**: BT resin has excellent thermal stability and can maintain stable performance in high-temperature environments.

Mechanical strength**: BT substrates excel in mechanical strength and can withstand stress during various processing and use.

Electrical properties**: BT substrates have good electrical insulation properties and low dielectric constants, suitable for high-frequency applications.

Research and development of BF Buildup materials

In order to further improve the performance of packaging substrates, HOREXS has been actively developing and improving advanced packaging substrates of BF buildup materials since 2022. This new material achieves higher integration and performance through multi-layer wiring and micro blind/buried via technology. The characteristics of BF buildup materials include:

High-density interconnection**: It can support more I/O pins and improve the integration of chips.

Electrical performance**: It has lower dielectric constant and loss, suitable for high-speed signal transmission.

Manufacturing process: The Buildup process can achieve finer lines and apertures, improve design flexibility and wiring density.

Application prospects of BF Buildup materials

BF Buildup materials show great potential in a variety of high-performance applications, including but not limited to:

1. Mobile devices**: Such as smartphones and tablets, require high-density and high-performance packaging technology. The high-density interconnection characteristics of BF Buildup materials make them very suitable for this application, which can further reduce the size of the device and improve the functional integration.

2. 5G communication**: 5G communication equipment requires a packaging substrate that supports higher frequencies and lower losses. The excellent electrical properties of BF Buildup materials make it outstanding in this application, meeting the needs of high-speed data transmission and low latency.

3. High-performance computing**: Such as servers and data centers, requiring higher integration and performance. BF Buildup materials can significantly improve processing speed and data transmission efficiency by increasing interconnection density and optimizing electrical performance, and adapt to the needs of high-load, high-performance computing.

4. Internet of Things (IoT) devices**: IoT devices need to integrate multiple functional modules in a limited space. BF Buildup materials can provide compact packaging solutions to improve the overall performance and reliability of the device.

By continuously improving the manufacturing technology of BT substrates and developing BF Buildup materials, HOREXS not only maintains its competitiveness in the existing market, but also actively explores emerging market needs and promotes the development of packaging substrate technology. This strategy will help HOREXS occupy a more important position in the field of advanced packaging in the future.

Manufacturing process of advanced packaging substrates

1. Material selection

The manufacturing of advanced packaging substrates first involves the selection of materials. Different applications have different requirements for substrate materials, such as materials with high thermal conductivity, high mechanical strength or low dielectric constant. Commonly used materials include organic resins (such as BT resin), ceramic materials (such as aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride), silicon and glass.

2. Substrate manufacturing

Substrate manufacturing usually includes the following steps:

Coating**: Coating the selected material on the substrate to form an initial layer.

Pattern**: Forming a circuit pattern on the substrate through photolithography or other techniques.

Etching**: Using chemical or plasma etching technology to remove unwanted materials to form the final circuit pattern.

Lamination**: Laminating multiple coated and etched layers together to form a multi-layer substrate to achieve high-density interconnection.

3. Packaging

Packaging is the process of connecting the chip to the substrate, which usually includes:

Chip bonding**: Bonding the chip to the substrate.

Wire bonding**: Interconnecting the chip to the circuit on the substrate through metal wires or other conductive materials.

Protection**: Covering the chip and circuit with a protective layer (such as epoxy resin) to prevent physical damage and environmental impact.

4. Testing

The final package substrate needs to undergo rigorous testing to ensure its performance and reliability. This includes electrical testing, thermal performance testing, mechanical strength testing, etc.

Development Trends of Advanced Package Substrates

1. High Density and High Integration

With the continuous increase in the functions of electronic devices, higher requirements are placed on the density and integration of package substrates. In the future, advanced package substrates will further develop in the direction of high density and multi-level to support more complex and multi-functional integration.

2. High Frequency and Low Loss

High-frequency applications such as 5G communications and millimeter-wave radars have increasingly higher requirements for the electrical performance of package substrates. In the future, materials with low dielectric constants and low loss characteristics will occupy a more important position in advanced package substrates.

3. Efficient Heat Dissipation

With the increase in the power density of electronic devices, thermal management has become an important issue. Advanced package substrates need to have higher thermal conductivity and more effective heat dissipation design to ensure the stability of the device during high-performance operation.

4. Environmental Protection and Sustainability

Environmental protection and sustainable development are also important directions for the development of package substrates in the future. New materials and new processes will pay more attention to environmental protection and resource utilization efficiency, and reduce environmental impact during the manufacturing process.

HOREXS's future prospects

HOREXS's technological innovation and R&D investment in the field of packaging substrates have enabled it to occupy an important position in the market. Especially in the manufacturing of BT substrates, HOREXS has rich experience and advanced technology, providing reliable substrate solutions for high-performance electronic devices.

New product development

HOREXS has been actively developing and improving advanced packaging substrates of BF Buildup materials since 2022. By combining the characteristics of high-density interconnection and excellent electrical performance, HOREXS's new products are expected to achieve breakthroughs in high-performance computing, 5G communications, mobile devices and other fields.

Market expansion

As the technology continues to mature, HOREXS plans to disclose its advanced packaging substrates combined with BF materials to customers when the time is right. This will further expand HOREXS's market share, meet the needs of more high-end applications, and promote the company's position in the global market.

Continuous innovation

HOREXS will continue to be committed to the innovation and development of packaging substrate technology, and provide customers with better solutions by continuously optimizing production processes, introducing new materials, and improving product performance, so as to promote the performance improvement and technological progress of electronic products.

Conclusion

As an indispensable component of modern electronic devices, the technological development of advanced packaging substrates directly affects the progress of the semiconductor industry. Through the introduction of this article, we have learned what advanced packaging substrates are, their main types and application areas, and the situation of major manufacturers. In particular, HOREXS has demonstrated its technical strength and innovative spirit in the field of packaging substrates by focusing on the manufacture of BT substrates and the research and development of packaging substrates made of BF Buildup materials. In the future, with the continuous advancement of technology, advanced packaging substrates will continue to promote the performance of electronic devices and bring more innovation and changes to all walks of life. Author: IC_Substrate AKEN