As demand for high-performance semiconductors will increase, the semiconductor market is paying extra consideration to the significance of the “packaging course of”. Consistent with this development, SK hynix is mass-producing superior packaging merchandise based mostly on HBM3 (Excessive Bandwidth Reminiscence 3) whereas specializing in investing in manufacturing strains and securing sources for the event of future packaging applied sciences. Some companies which have beforehand targeted on expertise for semiconductor reminiscence manufacturing are investing extra in packaging expertise than OSAT1 corporations specializing in such expertise. This development is pushed by the assumption that packaging expertise will strengthen the competitiveness of the semiconductor trade and the businesses inside it.
1OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Meeting and Check): An organization that makes a speciality of semiconductor packaging and testing.
This article will present an accessible overview of packaging expertise, which has been thought-about a troublesome subject for the normal public to strategy on account of its complexity. The that means, function, and evolution of packaging expertise will probably be examined, adopted by a look into the growth of SK hynix’s packaging expertise that has led to the present give attention to heterogeneous integration. Lastly, the route of the corporate’s future technological growths will probably be launched.
The Meaning and Role of Packaging Technology
First, let’s have a look at the 4 primary features of the packaging course of. The primary and most simple function is to guard the semiconductor chip from exterior shock or damage. The second is to transmit exterior energy to the chip for its operation, and the third is to offer wiring for the chip to carry out the enter and output {of electrical} alerts throughout operation. The final function is to correctly distribute the warmth generated by the chip to make sure secure operation. Not too long ago, the perform of warmth dissipation, or warmth distribution, has turn into more and more necessary.
The function of packaging may be seen in Determine 1. For instance, there’s a important hole between the scale required by the system and the dimensions offered by CMOS2, however they may be linked by means of packaging expertise. Equally, there’s a hole between the density required by the system and the density that CMOS can present. This situation may be resolved by means of the packaging course of because it assists improve the density of the CMOS. In different phrases, packaging expertise acts as a bridge between semiconductor gadgets and methods. The significance of this connection technique, subsequently, will increase steadily.