Integrated-circuit packaging package functions

The acoustic microscopy s primary application to date has been for failure analysis in the multibillion-dollar microelectronics industry. The technique is especially sensitive to variations in the elastic properties of semiconductor materials, such as air gaps. SAM enables nondestructive internal inspection of plastic integrated-circuit (IC) packages, and, more recently, it has provided a tool for characterizing packaging processes such as die attachment and encapsulation. Even as ICs continue to shrink, their die size becomes larger because of added functionality in fact, devices measuring as much as 1 cm across are now common. And as die sizes increase, cracks and delaminations become more likely at the various interfaces. 

For illustration, consider the circuit schematic of a simple functional model of an analog integrator depicted in Fig. 4.26. In reality, an integrated operational amplifier is built by means of a number of transistors. The macro-model in Fig. 4.26 reproduces the input-output behaviour of an operational amplifier. It is sufficiently accurate for low frequencies. Its parameters that can be tuned are the gain. A, the input resistance Ri, and the output resistance Ro- The measurement at internal nodes of a real integrated circuit requires special equipment such as a probe station. The output voltage Vo of a bonded and packaged operational amplifier chip can be measured at one of its pins and may be used for the detection of possible failures in the circuit [36]. 

Packages that contain electronic devices such as integrated circuits (ICs) must, at a minimum, perform the following four basic functions ... 

Plastics in the form of epoxide moulding compounds have now almost completely dominated the packaging of integrated circuits which, when mounted on printed circuit boards, form the functional core of the latest technology equipment. 

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