If you aren’t from the packaging world, then chances are likely you might think “packing” refers to objects being placed in to a box instead of packaging integrated circuits (IC’s) on a substrate.
Packaging has advanced since it began, and as with many areas it is all in effort to save space, obtain faster speeds, and to lower costs. Without advances in packaging, we can’t get smaller phones, medical implantables and wearables, or even smaller sensors on an autonomous car.
2D, 2.5D, and 3D Packaging
The realm of 2D system-in-package (SIP) is quite large, and is typically used to describe anything that isn’t considered to be 2.5D SIPs or 3D SIPs.
A traditional description of 2D SIPs is a die that is mounted to the package in a single plane, and does not include a silicon or glass interposer, and the package is directly attached to the board.
2.5D SIPs while similar to 2D SIPs, does utilize a silicon or glass interposer placed between the SIP substrate and the chips.
The silicon or glass interposer will have through-silicon vias (TSV) or through-glass vias (TGV) respectively that connect to a metallization layer, think traces on a PCB, on the top and bottom side.
3D SIPs is a newer method of packaging where the dies are stacked on top of each other.
This can be achieved in multiple ways, and the earliest versions of this method involved mounting a flip-chip die with a wire bonded die mounted to the top of it . The benefit of the 3D SIPs method is to allow higher density in a space than 2.5D SIPs can afford.
GCT to the Rescue
As the electronics industry continues to drive towards smaller and denser footprints, Samtec can help to miniaturize substrate packaging through the use of Glass Core Technology (GCT). GCT leverages the benefits of glass, over silicon, to allow smaller diameter vias and a smaller pitch from via to via.
GCT uses Through-Glass Vias (TGV) to connect to a Redistribution Layer (RDL) to create a desired circuit on the glass substrate. This allows the IC’s to be directly placed on the glass substrate, and makes glass suitable for Automotive MEMS and Sensors, RF components and modules, CMOS image sensors, Automotive Camera Modules, Lidar, and more. Samtec can also add fluidic structures in the glass for mixing or transfer and electronics cooling.
For more information on GCT, please visit our Glass Core Technology page.