STATS ChipPAC to Manufacture Infineon’s First-Gen eWLB Products

Sally Cole Johnson, Contributing Editor -- Semiconductor International, 8/28/2008 8:12:00 AM

In early August, STMicroelectronics (Geneva), Infineon Technologies AG (Neubiberg, Germany; and STATS ChipPAC (Singapore) unveiled an alliance to jointly develop the next-generation of Infineon’s embedded wafer-level ball grid array (eWLB) technology, with the goal of creating an industry-standard technology platform for cost-effective, highly integrated wafer-level packages. Now, STATS ChipPAC said it has signed on to provide manufacturing services for products using Infineon’s first-generation eWLB technology at its Yishun, Singapore, facility.

What is eWLB? Simply put, it’s a fan-out wafer-level packaging technology, introduced by Infineon in November 2007, that uses a combination of traditional front-end and back-end manufacturing techniques with parallel processing of all the chips on the wafer to provide a higher integration level of package size—with an almost infinite number of contact elements. It offers improved electrical and thermal performance, according to Infineon. Also notable, this new package form achieves a 30% reduction of dimension compared to conventional lead-frame laminate packages.

Embedded wafer-level ball grid array (eWLB) technology enables all operations to be performed at the wafer level.

This technology is expected to provide a significant cost savings that will be highly attractive to the makers of cutting-edge wireless and consumer products. “Infineon’s eWLB technology promises a high-performance, power-efficient solution for the wireless market,” said Han Byung Joon, STATS ChipPAC’s executive vice president and chief technology officer. “Our manufacturing partnership with Infineon aligns with our focus on leading-edge integration technology.”

Wah Teng Gan, vice president of assembly and test at Infineon, said, “Our manufacturing partnership with STATS ChipPAC ensures we’ll be able to expand the number of highly integrated wafer-level packages manufactured with eWLB technology.” When will production get underway? Look for first-gen broadband products to emerge next year, likely to be followed by 3-D in 2010. ST plans to use eWLB technology in several products of its ST-NXP Wireless (Geneva) joint venture and in other markets, with first samples expected by the end of 2008 and production set to roll by early 2010.