Low-cost miniaturized electronics for space application with chip-on board technology-design, manufacturing and reliability considerations

The shift in emphasis to smaller, better, and cheaper space systems, resulting from the NASA New Millennium Program (NMP) and similar initiatives in DOD-sponsored programs, demands highly innovative designs that cannot be feasibly implemented using conventional electronic packaging techniques. To meet these broad requirements the APL launched an internal research and development initiative to make significant advancements in electronic packaging technology. Among many miniaturization techniques available for design and development, chip-on-board (COB) based on laminated multichip module technology was selected. The technology utilizes a straightforward design concept, that has been simplified through careful review and testing. In the COB technology, both bare dies and conventional packaged devices are mounted on the same substrate with a special coating to protect the circuits from handling, ground testing, and in-orbit environments. The flexibility of COB packaging techniques helps resolving parts shortage, and last-minute part change problems. This paper summarizes the packaging design, development, and fabrication of two miniaturized space systems-the Command and Data Handling In Your Palm (C&DH IYP) and the Miniaturized Scientific Imager (MSI)-using COB technology. The C&DH IYP is a modular system consisting of multiple individual slices that can implement anything from a standalone Instrument Processor, to a Command and Data Handling system, or the entire electronics needed by a spacecraft. The MSI is a narrow-field-of-view visible imager design with a reflective telescope, a single filter, and a charged-couple device (CCD) detector. We demonstrate that mass and volume reduction of a factor of 10 can be achieved with low-cost COB packaging technology.