Page 132 - Microsensors, MEMS and Smart Devices - Gardner Varadhan and Awadelkarim

112 STANDARD MICROELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES

Figure 4.46 Example of a high-density MCM-L substrate with TAB patterns. From Joly et al.
(1995)

plastic and ceramic PGA packages are similar to those already discussed for PCBs and
MCMs. The tape EGA uses a TAB-like frame that connects the die with the next layer
board.

4.7 PROGRAMMABLE DEVICES AND ASICs

The microtechnologies described in this chapter are used to make a variety of different
microelectronic components. Figure 4.48 shows the sort of devices that can be made
today. These are subdivided into two classes - standard components, which are designed
for a fixed application or those that can be programmed, and application-specific ICs
(ASICs), which are further subdivided. The standard components that may be regarded as
having fixed application are discrete devices (e.g. n-p-n transistors), linear devices (e.g.
operational amplifiers), and IC logic families of TTL and CMOS (e.g. logic gates and
binary counters, random access memory). The other types of standard component may be
classified as having the application defined by hardware or software programming.
In hardware programming, the application is defined by masks in the process, and
examples of these devices include programmable logic arrays (PLAs) and read-only
memory (ROM) chips. There has been a move in recent years to make software
programmable components. The most familiar ones are the microprocessors (such as the
Motorola 68 000 series or Intel Pentium) that form the heart of a microcomputer and its