Advanced substrate technology for ball grid array in electronic packaging

Consumer demand for high density multi-function electronics has driven the development of new electronic packaging technologies at chip level and substrate level. However, implementing high density chip level packaging in volume production requires higher density interconnect substrates. Substrate material is a very important part of ball grid arrays (BGA) in electronic packaging. It not only affects the cost of package, but also the reliability and performance. This presentation therefore covers the substrate manufacturing process, comparison of core materials (flex and rigid), and some advanced substrates. Plating is a key factor in the manufacturing process. Some of currently used plating techniques for both copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni)/gold (Au) are introduced. Flex substrate is an emerging substrate material. The advantages and disadvantages are also compared. Some advanced substrates, such as high-density interconnection (HDI), high power solutions, build up substrates and thin/fine pitch substrates, are all presented.