Talk:Flip chip

The future of semiconductor processing
I am researching the future of semiconductor processing, and would like to gather opinions on the future of "flip chip", or non-wire bonded type packaging. It would seem that the electrical characteristics of flip chip technology are superior and therefore become the dominant IC packaging technique.

Will wire bonded packaging be replaced by flip chip type technology, and if so, how soon?


 * I have researched the future of semiconductor processing and my conclusion was that it has no near term future for general purpose chip packaging or electronics production, a conclusion that cost me my job since otherwise I would have been leading the group to set up such a production line. Somewhat oversimplified the reasons are that printed circuit board manufacturers are not able to reduce their line widths at a sufficiently high speed, that build-up boards have not caught on and that boards are not sufficiently level. Add to that business model issues that are non-technical but still awkward.
 * Personally I believe the future is in tape automated bonding of chips.

Trademark symbol
Is there some reason why the (R) registered trademark symbol is in this article? 4.242.108.5 02:56, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

Clearer explaination needed.
I cannot decipher this section:

"and the solder reflowed. Flip chips then normally will undergo an underfill process which will cover the sides of the die"


 * 1) how is solder "reflowed" and what does this do?
 * 2) what is an "underfill process" and why is it done?
 * 3) how does the underfill cover the sides of the chip, isn't it _under_filled?

Maury 20:30, 16 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree that this article has some missing details and could use some clarification.
 * I added a few references to the article that *should* explain underfill. Please feel free to edit this article to clarify and fill in those missing details.


 * 1) Most electronic parts are attached to a PCB using a process called reflow soldering. Since reflowing is not specific to flip chips, perhaps this article should link to that article?
 * 2) Immediately after reflow soldering, the space between the flip chip and the PCB it is attached to is mostly air. The underfill process fills that air gap with epoxy. Since both BGAs and flip chips typically use underfill, perhaps this article should link to some other article that explains the underfill process and why it is done -- perhaps solder ball ?
 * 3) While most of the epoxy underfill, as the name implies, fills in the air gap underneath the flip chip, pretty much everyone uses more than enough epoxy to not only completely cover the entire bottom of the chip (except where the solder balls attach), but also cover the sides of the chip.


 * --DavidCary (talk) 23:42, 14 July 2020 (UTC)

disadvantages
There is another disadvantage to flip-chip: it is more difficult to debug the chip, because the active part is upside down, so you have to drill holes in the chip to be able to probe signals from the back side. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Greuven (talk • contribs) 10:07, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Does the insulating underflow prevent tin whiskers?
As the experts editing this article may know, tin whiskers are a major problem with component failure in the electronics industry due to reducing the use of lead in solders (RoHS). Does the insulating underflow encapsulation process help to prevent the development of tin whiskers?

I would assume that the underflow prevents whiskers from occurring since that is a crystalline growth through open air. If the cavities between solder pads are filled with some other material this would apparently act as a barrier against whisker growth -- unless the whiskers are capable of burrowing through other softer materials...

DMahalko (talk) 21:55, 31 October 2010 (UTC)

BGA comparison
This seems very similar to BGA packages, at least from a board-interface POV... Yet there is no mention of BGA in the article at all? MoHaG (talk) 08:04, 23 March 2017 (UTC)

FlipChip International??
It seems odd that FlipChip (the company) is not mentioned at all. They've been around for at least 20 years, they inherited and expanded on Delco's IP, and they're probably one of the main evangelists for the technology. 184.178.192.62 (talk) 17:42, 10 March 2020 (UTC)

Reliability
There should really be a section on the reliability of flip chips.

Especially because many devices (like the xbox 360) had reliability issues due to faulty flip chip packaging. Autisticml (talk) 18:36, 24 March 2023 (UTC)