Merging of packaging technologies for highly integrated embedded modules

There is no doubt that component embedding technology becomes more visible in handheld applications like smart phones and wearables. Embedding technology is pushing the miniaturization which is a must for the next big wave of Wearable Electronics and Internet of Things (IoT). The technology is going to System in Package and the question today is how far you can go in miniaturization and how much of complexity and density you can handle. In the frame of the FP7 project UNSETH a new approach is being developed by combining two major packaging technologies to achieve a higher level of miniaturization and to find a cost effective solution for its implementation. The ECP
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technology from AT&S and the Fan Out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) technology from Nanium are the candidates which will be evaluated and further developed to show a system in package (SiP) concept which can handle different components and interconnect complexity in one module. The FOWLP technology provides component in fan out solutions and provides the capability to combine two or more dies in one package to handle ultra-high density interconnection. The ECP
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technology is able to package passive, active and FOWLP components in a module construction, which can be used, for example, in security modules. These modules are the target application for the project UNSETH and act as demonstrators for proposed technology merge. This paper will show the development results for test vehicles with embedded FOWLP components. For these components the details of technology, materials and constructions are shown. Different PCB constructions have been manufactured with multilayer constructions up to 16 layers with embedded FOWLP components. Furthermore, the embedding technologies being used and the build-up constructions are another focus of this development. With the progress of UNSETH a lot of reliability investigation has been done and the results are shown in this paper. The basic reliability tests like temperature cycle test, reflow testing and biased HAST have been performed to show the interconnection reliability of these highly integrated modules. An outlook for systems in package with embedded FOWLP based on the technology developed in UNSETH and the potential application will finalize this paper.