Page 52 - System on Package_ Miniaturization of the Entire System

Intr oduction to the System-on-Package (SOP) Technology 29

1.8.3 Embedded Passives SOP
The University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville, has developed techniques for burying
capacitors, resistors, and inductors in the layers of its SOP board. The university determined
that almost all the resistance and much of the capacitance needed for a system can be
embedded in the board using vacuum-deposition processes typical of the IC industry.
An example of volume production with embedded passives is Motorola’s C650 Tri-
band GSM/GPRS and V220 handsets. Motorola, working with AT&S, WUS, and Ibiden,
introduced these handsets with embedded components to the market in June 2004.
Motorola’s embedded capacitor is fabricated by ceramic-polymer thick-film composite
technology [ceramic-filled polymer (CFP) composite] with laser via connection
(Motorola has IPs on this structure) with 20- to 450-picofarad (pF) capacitance, 15
percent tolerance, Breakdown Voltage (BDV) > 100 volts (V), Q factor of 30 to 50, and
tested up to 3 GHz. Motorola also developed embedded inductor technology with
22-nanohenries (nH) inductance with 10 percent tolerance and resistor technology with
10 megaohms, 15 percent tolerance, trimmed to 5 percent.
A survey done in Japan in May 2005 of all printed wiring board (PWB) and package
companies indicated that nondiscrete embedded capacitors were in production by a
number of companies since 2004 and were expected to expand rapidly. The other
embedded resistors and inductors, either as embedded discrete or as thin film, are
already in near production in 2006. The same study shows that the embedded actives
are also aimed for production starting from 2006. The survey also indicates that in a
5-year time frame, the embedded actives and passives (EMAP) market is expected to
expand tremendously. We believe this growth will be in organic-based buildup of board
or package substrate technologies.
There are several basic patents in embedded components technology. They range
from thin-film embedding of capacitors, resistors, and inductors to embedding of
discrete components. Patents on thin- and thick-film type embedded capacitors have
been a hot issue recently. Sanmina-SCI owns U.S. Patent No. 5,079,069 filed in January
1992 and claims the technology for embedded capacitors.

1.8.4 MEMS SOP
A parts synthesis approach (PSA) for 3D integration of MEMS and microsystems
leading to system-on-package has been developed at Malaviya National Institute of
Technology, in Jaipur, India. This eliminates the interconnection-related problems that
arise when MEMS and its associated circuitry are packaged separately.
Amkor has developed solutions that combine multiple chips, MEMS devices, and
passives into one package. These solutions are aimed at reducing the cost of MEMS
packaging and increasing functionality through greater levels of integration.

1.9 SOP Technology Implementations
SOP is an emerging concept and has been demonstrated so far for limited applications
including the mezzanine capacitor in Motorola’s cell phone (Figure 1.31), in a conceptual
broadband system called an intelligent network communicator (INC) at Georgia Tech
(Figure 1.29a and b), and at Intel (Figure 1.32).
The INC testbed acted as both a leading-edge research and teaching platform in
which students, faculty, research scientists, and industry evaluate the validity of SOP