Global outlook for embedded device packaging

Embedding active devices in the circuit board offers improved performance by cutting interconnect parasitics, reliability gains by eliminating wire-bonds and solder-bumps, and reduced cost and size by parts list reduction. Like every new development, these benefits come at a price: altered partitioning & design constraints, disrupted manufacturing logistics, yield management challenges, and rework and repair limitations. Following a brief review of embedded packaging drivers this analysis details the leading commercial and developmental approaches from around the world emphasizing various approaches to overcoming the previously described barriers. Reviews of specific embedded package structures, including GE's ECBU, Verdant's Occam, Infineon's TWLP, Freescale's RCP, Casio's EWLP, Shinko's EOP, and Imbera's 1MB technologies demonstrate both the power and limitations of these approaches. Practical implementation challenges such as yield management strategies and supply chain restructuring completes the analysis, which concludes with an assessment of the outlook for embedded packaging.