Fraunhofer-Institut für Zuverlässigkeit und Mikrointegration IZM

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  • Publication
    Manufacturing of high frequency substrates as software programmable metasurfaces on PCBs with integrated controller nodes
    ( 2020)
    Manessis, D.
    ;
    Seckel, M.
    ;
    Fu, L.
    ;
    Tsilipakos, O.
    ;
    Pitilakis, A.
    ;
    Tasolamprou, A.
    ;
    Kossifos, K.
    ;
    Varnava, G.
    ;
    Liaskos, C.
    ;
    Kafesaki, M.
    ;
    Soukoulis, C.M.
    ;
    Tretyakov, S.
    ;
    Georgiou, J.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    ;
    Aschenbrenner, R.
    ;
    Schneider-Ramelow, M.
    ;
    Lang, K.-D.
    The proposed work is performed in the framework of the FET-EU project "VISORSURF", which has undertaken research activities on the emerging concepts of metamaterials that can be software programmable and adapt their properties. In the realm of electromagnetism (EM), the field of metasurfaces (MSF) has reached significant breakthroughs in correlating the micro- or nano-structure of artificial planar materials to their end properties. MSFs exhibit physical properties not found in nature, such as negative or smaller-than-unity refraction index, allowing for EM cloaking of objects, reflection cancellation from a given surface and EM energy concentration in as-tight-as-possible spaces.The VISORSURF main objective is the development of a hardware platform, the Hypersurface, whose electromagnetic behavior can be defined programmatically. The key enablers for this are the metasurfaces whose electromagnetic properties depend on their internal structure. The Hypersurface hardware platform will be a 4-layer build-up of high frequency PCB substrate materials and will merge the metasurfaces with custom electronic controller nodes at the bottom of the PCB hardware platform. These electronic controllers build a nanonetwork which receives external programmatic commands and alters the metasurface structure, yielding a desired electromagnetic behavior for the Hypersurface platform.This paper will elaborate on how large scale PCB technologies are deployed for the economical manufacturing of the 4-layer Hypersurface PCB hardware platform with a size of 9"x12", having copper metasurface patches on the top of the board and the electronic controllers as 2mmx2mm WLCSP chips at 400mm pitch assembled at the bottom of the platform. The PCB platform designs have stemmed from EM modeling iterations of the whole stack of high frequency laminates taking into account also the electronic features of the controller nodes. The manufacturing processes for the realization of the selected PCB architectures will be discussed in detail.
  • Publication
    The opportunities of integration technologies for active and passive components
    ( 2020)
    Ostmann, A.
    ;
    Hoene, E.
    ;
    Marczok, C.
    Emerging applications and markets from Internet of Things to electrical vehicles need power converters with small footprint, low thermal losses and capability for integration into various environments. The expected big market for converters in the arising digital world asks for decreasing cost and more efficient manufacturing processes. New integration technologies allow realization of Power System-in-Packages and power modules with outstanding electrical and thermal performance. These integration technologies comprise embedding of semiconductors in printed circuit board structures as well as the location of passive components in power packages and modules. They enable the realization of flat devices with small footprint, which allows a cost-efficient manufacturing of many parts in parallel on large production formats. Power packages and System-in-Packages are in series production for years already. Automotive 48 V power modules have been announced, while high voltage m odules are still being evaluated. This paper discusses the benefits of integration technologies and explains different manufacturing processes. A combination of different integration technologies, embedded semiconductors and passives in the module, will be demonstrated by a direct water cooled device for 850 V and 100 A. It contains four prepacked SiC MOSFETs in a half bridge configuration. A primary DC link capacitor and damping resistor directly on top lead to a DC link inductance of less than 2 nH.
  • Publication
    A Novel Packaging and System-Integration Platform with Integrated Antennas for Scalable, Low-Cost and High-Performance 5G mmWave Systems
    ( 2020)
    Ndip, I.
    ;
    Andersson, K.
    ;
    Kosmider, S.
    ;
    Le, T.H.
    ;
    Kanitkar, A.
    ;
    Dijk, M. van
    ;
    Senthil Murugesan, K.
    ;
    Maaß, U.
    ;
    Löher, T.
    ;
    Rossi, M.
    ;
    Jaeschke, J.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    ;
    Aschenbrenner, R.
    ;
    Schneider-Ramelow, M.
    ;
    Lang, K.-D.
    In this work, we present a novel packaging and system-integration platform with integrated antennas (antenna-in-package, AiP, platform) for 5G millimeter-wave (mmWave) systems. We illustrate the application of the platform for the development of miniaturized, scalable, low-cost and high-performance 5G mmWave systems for new radio (NR) base stations. RF characterization of the dielectric material of the platform and the integrated mmWave antennas as well as thermal investigations of the platform are presented. The process steps required for the fabrication of the platform are discussed, and an example of a mmWave chip embedded in the platform is shown.
  • Publication
    Conformable Electronics: Integration of electronic functions into static and dynamic free form surfaces
    ( 2019)
    Löher, T.
    ;
    Seckel, M.
    ;
    Haberland, J.
    ;
    Marques, J.
    ;
    Krshiwoblozki, M. von
    ;
    Kallmayer, C.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    The ongoing miniaturization at different levels seems to be an constant in electronics development. It allows not only to increase in functionality in novel product generations, but also the spreading of electronics into new environments. In recent years, especially the application of electronic functions close to or onto the human skin (i.e. by textiles or band aids), implants and novel biomorphic user interfaces have attracted considerable development efforts. It turns out, however, that miniaturization alone does not cover all requirements in the indicated application fields. Typical systems consist of sensors/actuators, data processing and transmission, and quite often relatively bulky power supplies. In order to meet the mechanical requirements of novel products (softness, drapability), miniaturized system elements are laterally distributed and interconnected by appropriate wiring architectures. A common feature of the above indicated application cases is the conformation of the distributed electronic systems to three-dimensional free form surfaces, which are either dynamically moving (human skin) or static. In order to conform to different types of surfaces the systems typically need to sustain a certain elongation repeatedly (in dynamical applications) or at least once during a forming process. At Fraunhofer IZM a portfolio of technologies, summarized as conformable electronics, has been developed, encompassing textile, stretchable circuit boards, paste printed and thermo-formable electronics on a variety of dielectric carrier materials. Each technology provides on one hand the electrical interconnection network and on the other hand technologies to assemble, interconnect and encapsulate electronic components thereon. Having been developed separately it turned out, that combination of the technologies are possible which leads to a number of synergies and extended of application potentials.
  • Publication
    High density fan-out panel level packaging of multiple dies embedded in IC substrates
    ( 2019)
    Schein, F.-L.
    ;
    Kahle, R.
    ;
    Kunz, M.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    The ongoing roadmaps of miniaturization and functional heterogenity in electronics packaging are pushing the demand for advanced substrate technologies. In this paper we show the embedding in core cavity (EiCC) process running with 5 mm L/S and chips with 50 mm bump pitch. Two 6x6 mm2 dies are symmetrically embedded into an organic laminate matrix. A PCB core (100 mm thickness) with very low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) containing laser-cut cavities acts as a frame layer. Besides mechanical and handling stability the usage of such a frame offers the advantage of pre-integrating additional features like local fiducials, through vias or power lines by conventional PCB processes. Within that frame the dies are embedded by lamination of an organic build-up film. The chip contacts are then revealed in process based on plasma etching. After measuring chip positions the first redistribution layer (RDL) is formed in a semi-additive process (SAP) utilizing sputtering technique and adaptive laser direct imaging (LDI). Therefore, a newly developed LDI machine is used to write structures in a 7 mm photoresist. Subsequently a second RDL formation can be done. In this step high aspect ratio blind microvias with 20 mm diameter and up to 80 mm depth are drilled by UV-laser and filled in the following plating process. Altogether, with the combination of high density 5 mm L/S interconnects, high aspect ratio (2.5:1) blind microvias and 50 mm fine bump pitch on large panel formats we will give an outlook to upcoming challenges and possibilities in FO PLP.
  • Publication
    High frequency substrate technologies for the realisation of software programmable metasurfaces on PCB hardware platforms with integrated controller nodes
    ( 2019)
    Manessis, D.
    ;
    Seckel, M.
    ;
    Fu, L.
    ;
    Tsilipakos, O.
    ;
    Pitilakis, A.
    ;
    Tasolamprou, A.
    ;
    Kossifos, K.
    ;
    Varnava, G.
    ;
    Liaskos, C.
    ;
    Kafesaki, M.
    ;
    Soukoulis, C.M.
    ;
    Tretyakov, S.
    ;
    Georgiou, J.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    ;
    Aschenbrenner, R.
    ;
    Schneider-Ramelow, M.
    ;
    Lang, K.-D.
    The proposed work is performed in the framework of the FET-EU project "VISORSURF", which has undertaken research activities on the emerging concepts of metamaterials that can be software programmable and adapt their properties. In the realm of electromagnetism (EM), the field of metasurfaces (MSF) has reached significant breakthroughs in correlating the micro- or nano-structure of artificial planar materials to their end properties. MSFs exhibit physical properties not found in nature, such as negative or smaller-than-unity refraction index, allowing for EM cloaking of objects, reflection cancellation from a given surface and EM energy concentration in as-tight-as-possible spaces. The VISORSURF main objective is the development of a hardware platform, the Hypersurface, whose electromagnetic behavior can be defined programmatically. The key enablers for this are the metasurfaces whose electromagnetic properties depend on their internal structure. The Hypersurface hardware platform will be a 4-layer build-up of high frequency PCB substrate materials and will merge the metasurfaces with custom electronic controller nodes at the bottom of the PCB hardware platform. These electronic controllers build a nanonetwork which receives external programmatic commands and alters the metasurface structure, yielding a desired electromagnetic behavior for the Hypersurface platform. This paper will elaborate on how large scale PCB technologies are deployed for the economical manufacturing of the 4-layer Hypersurface PCB hardware platform with a size of 9" × 12", having copper metasurface patches on the top of the board and the electronic controllers as 2mm × 2mm WLCSP chips at 400 mm pitch assembled at the bottom of the platform. The PCB platform designs have stemmed from EM modeling iterations of the whole stack of high frequency laminates taking into account also the electronic features of the controller nodes. The manufacturing processes for the realization of the selected PCB architectures will be discussed in detail.
  • Publication
    3D modular power electronic systems, based on embedded components
    ( 2019)
    Boettcher, L.
    ;
    Karaszkiewicz, S.
    ;
    Löher, Th.
    ;
    Manessis, D.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    Today's power electronics modules typically consist of a ceramics substrate (DCB - Direct Copper Bond), carrying IGBTs, diodes or MOSFETs. These semiconductors are soldered or sintered to the ceramics and their top sides are interconnected by thick Al wires. An integration of further components or functions on the DCB substrate is difficult or even not possible. Therefore, driver circuits and controllers have to be mounted to a separate substrate, typically an organic Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The PCB has to be connected to the DCB by wires or pins. The mechanical integration of the whole system requires a bulky housing, often made of die cast Al. In the last years, the capability of PCB embedding technology for the realization of low and high voltage power modules was demonstrated. Fraunhofer IZM together with partners from the industry demonstrated the feasibility of an automotive inverter with 600 V and 50 kW switching power, containing 18 embedded Si IGBTs and diodes. Another 600 V module demonstrated the capability of embedded SiC chips for very fast switching modules with extremely low parasitic effects. Both modules were planar and further SMC components could be assembled on top. A large variety of embedded power electronic modules has been realized so far. Size and performance of the systems differ accordingly. They range from modules with lateral dimensions of a few square millimeters having a few components embedded for low voltage and currents of up to 50 Amperes, to complex assemblies with 24+ embedded semiconductors and a module area of several square decimeters for an operating Voltage of 600 V and a total power of 150 k W. The present paper will give an overview of different developments and results in power electronic embedding using PCB technologies. A variety of results from recent projects dealing with embedded power modules will be presented. To address the integration of the required driver circuits and controllers, the idea of modularization of such electronics systems will be presented. Here already packaged components will be used and embedded into PCB layers too. As a result, a modular approach to form a complete system will be developed. Different functional layers, e.g., power switches, logic modules, will be formed and finally stacked und connected to form the system. The concept for a 3D modular power electronic system will be introduced.
  • Publication
    Evaluation of adaptive processes for the embedding of bare dies in IC substrates
    ( 2019)
    Kahle, R.
    ;
    Schein, F.-L.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    Highly integrated, advanced multi-chip packaging solutéons combine application, logic and computing dies with memory or components for power management in a single package. A solution to achieve low fabrication costs is the close embedding of thin dies in IC Substrates based on large formats (600 × 600 mm 2 ), known from PCB fabrication. In rr consortium of partners from industry and research advanced technologies for Panel Level Packaging (PLP) are developed. Here, dies are symmetrically embedded under law stress into pre-manufactured IC substrates. The Embedding in Cores with Cavities (EiCC) targets towards low cost and thin packages (<; 150 pm) with multiple, heterogeneous components. The biggest disadvantage is the potentially low yield due to low assembly accuracy and process tolerances during the embedding process. This paper presents recent results to optimize the yield of the EiCC process chain. We assemble two 6×6 mm, 100 pm thin dies with 25 pm high Cu pillars face down on a temporary adhesive foil with two assembly concepts, varying assembly throughput and accuracy. After embedding the stack in Ajinomoto Build-Up Film (ABF), laser drilled vias and u semi-additive Process (SAP) with 10 mm lines and space with a copper thickness of 5 pm acts as electrical routing between the daisy chain structured dies. Based on practical work we compare the known status of precision focussed manufacturing against a rule-based system that acquires data with a Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM), rearranges fabrication plans and forwards data along the process chain.
  • Publication
    Reliability of substrate embedded rectifiers for high voltage applications
    ( 2019)
    Meier, K.
    ;
    Meyer, J.
    ;
    Schein, F.-L.
    ;
    Sirkeci, D.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    ;
    Oertel, E.
    ;
    Westphal, H.
    ;
    Lang, K.-D.
    ;
    Bock, K.
    As of today, various solutions to handle the dissipating heat of power electronics devices are available. These include the application of heatsinks, overmolding, embedding of components into substrates, use of substrates with embedded metal or ceramic heatsinks or liquid cooling approaches. When it comes to power electronics for high voltages and fast switching the parasitic capacity has to be considered. This parasitic capacity affects the electrical performance and may finally even lead to damage of the device. Embedding of metal heatsinks or mounting a substrate to a metal heatsink can even increase the parasitic capacity and hence, worsen the scenario. In this project a rectifier had to be built suitable for voltages of up to 20 kV and switching frequencies of 100 kHz while achieving a low parasitic capacity of max. 3 pF. High voltage diodes were selected to meet the electrical requirements. To fullfil both the thermal and capacitance demands the diodes were embedded into a substrate made from a highly thermal conductive FR4 material. In addition, the substrate is mounted to a ceramic heatsink to enable a superior cooling but to limit the parasitic capacity at the same time. This setup was characterised for its thermal management behaviour in the as build state. Though the lamination of the substrate to the ceramic heatsink showed some challenges its cooling performance could be assessed. Subsequently, the system without the ceramic heatsink was exposed to temperature shock cycles at −40/+125°C for up to 2,000 cycles to analyse the long term stability of the system behaviour. For the repeated investigation of the thermal behaviour and the structural integrity of the system a novel analysis approach using an infrared camera was applied. Cross sections were done in addition to verify the results from the novel thermal analysis approach. As of now no thermo-mechanical damage of the rectifier could be observed proving the ability of the embedding approach and the validity of the results gained with the novel non-destructive analysis approach.
  • Publication
    Embedding technologies for the manufacturing of advanced miniaturised modules toward the realisation of compact and environmentally friendly electronic devices
    ( 2019)
    Manessis, D.
    ;
    Schischke, K.
    ;
    Pawlikowski, J.
    ;
    Krivec, T.
    ;
    Schulz, G.
    ;
    Podhradsky, G.
    ;
    Aschenbrenner, R.
    ;
    Schneider-Ramelow, M.
    ;
    Ostmann, A.
    ;
    Lang, K.-D.
    The proposed work is performed in the frame of the EU project ""sustainablySMART"", which has undertaken research activities on ""Eco-innovative approaches for advanced printed circuit boards"" with the aim to demonstrate that embedding technologies are environmentally and economically beneficial since they save much surface space on main boards by embedding components in PCB layers. The main outcome is the manufacturing of robust and compact modules as sub-systems with specific functionalities. Based on this approach, the main board architecture of a voice recorder has been modified in order to be split in power, USB and DSP modules. This paper will describe the PCB embedding processes for the production of the digital signal processing (DSP) module, the power and the USB modules. In specific, for the DSP module, a 6-core layer with through vias and microvias is manufactured and then on its bottom side all the components are assembled which are going to be embedded. These components are the DSP BGA chip, voltage detector, bus buffer, etc. The components after embedding are routed to surface pads of the module. The rest of the components are assembled as SMT components on the surface of the DSP embedded module and these are the Flash memory as BGA package and 2-pad clock crystals. The DSP module (L5cm×1.5cm×2.8mm) together with the other two embedded modules will be assembled on the main board of the voice recorder. This paper will elaborate on the new design architecture of the device backbone and the assembly of all embedded modules on the backbone.