IBM, Suss Collaborate on Lead Free Packaging

Online Staff -- Electronic News, 9/14/2004

German tool vendor SUSS MicroTec AG and IBM Corp. have signed an agreement to develop and commercialize IBM's next-generation, 100 percent lead-free semiconductor packaging technology, C4NP, the companies said Monday.

As part of the technology and licensing pact, SUSS MicroTec will develop a complete line of 300mm and 200mm equipment to enable commercialization of IBM's C4NP, short for Controlled Collapse Chip Connection New Process. IBM says it is the first flip chip technology to offer high reliability and fine pitch that is completely lead free. The U.S. chipmaker also says the process offers lower material cost over conventional flip-chip approaches, and can utilize virtually all types of solder compositions.

As part of the agreement, IBM will continue advanced research and process optimization of C4NP and offer on-site process training to customers who purchase commercial systems from SUSS MicroTec, the companies said.

C4NP allows the creation of pre-patterned solder balls to be completed while a wafer is still in the front-end of a manufacturing facility, potentially reducing cycle time significantly, according to the two companies. The solder bumps can be inspected in advance and deposited onto the wafer in one simple step using technology similar to wafer-level bonding.

The technology employs the simplicity of solder paste, such as that with a stencil and screen, but instead uses a pure molten alloy to produce the fine pitch capability of electroplating. C4NP also easily accommodates binary, ternary and quaternary alloys and minimizes the recurring and additive costs of consumables since only the solder balls are created and transferred to the wafer without waste, IBM says.

C4NP is not dependent on wafer size, allowing 200mm and 300mm wafers to be processed with similar efficiency. Additionally, C4NP has achieved technical capability well beyond the ITRS roadmap for packaging technology, IBM claims.