Everything from computers and consumer electronics to military equipment is driven by microchips, the first link in the chain of technology for the microelectronic industry. In order to extend the flexibility and capacity of device and system design, microelectronic packaging is becoming as important as silicon fabrication. Among existing encapsulation methods, plastic packaging continues to play a major role in the growth of the microelectronic industry. The performance reliability of plastic packaging depends on the performance of the encapsulants and manufacturing methods. Traditionally, design and manufacturing for microelectronic encapsulation with plastic packaging are conducted in an ad-hoc manner based on experience and intuition, which is costly and time consuming. The study is aimed at establishing the scientific basis, and attaining an engineering solution for characterizing the process. Researchers are employing experimental, analytical, and computational efforts to develop an efficient, reliable analysis tool. The reslilts of the research deepen understanding of the process and facilitates simultaneous engineering by means of computer simulation. Successful completion of the research can help the U.S. microelectronic industry gain competitive strength in the global marketplace.The potential commercial application as described by the awardee: The research can lead to scientifically-based commercial software dedicated to the microelectronic encapsulation process, from which the microelectronic industry can benefit.
