System in Package | Zener Engineering

System-in Packaging

System in Package Engineering

Advanced Packaging Integrated in One Superior System

System-in-Package (Sip) is an advanced semiconductor packaging technology, integrating multiple ICs and passive components, creating compact and high-performance devices. This technology has widespread adoption across various industries, including consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, and medical devices. By leveraging System in Package technology, designers and manufacturers can achieve higher levels of integration, improved power efficiency, and reduced time-to-market for their products.

SiP has been around since the 1980s in the form of multi-chip modules. Rather than put chips on a printed circuit board, they can be combined into the same package to lower cost or to shorten distances that electrical signals have to travel.

What is System-in-Packaging?

Packaging with Industry Uniqueness

System-In Packaging is not new to advanced packaging, but has been around since the 1980's. Sip has become an integral and innovative technology offering numerous advantages over traditional methods to many industries, from consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, and medical devices.By leveraging System in Package technology, designers and manufacturers can achieve higher levels of integration, improved power efficiency, and reduced time-to-market for their products.

At its core, System in Package analog and digital can coexist with digital on advanced nodes, analog on mature ones, linked through advanced interconnects. This contrasts with a System on Chip (SoC), where everything must move to the same process node, making analog scaling expensive and time-consuming. As a result, this makes SiP an effective solution for industries where space, power, and performance are critical, including smartphones, IoT devices, medical electronics, and automotive systems.

Key Features & Advantages of System-in Packaging

Design & Cost Efficiency

Miniaturization: Achieves significant size and weight reductions by combining the functions of an entire electronic system into a single, compact module.

Heterogeneous Integration: Merges diverse components—such as processors, memory, analog ICs, sensors, and passive elements—that may be manufactured using different process nodes or technologies (e.g., flip-chip, wire bonding).

Design Flexibility: Allows engineers to reuse pre-tested "known good" dies, which accelerates design cycles and speeds up time-to-market compared to a System on Chip (SoC) where all functions must be on a single die.

Improved Performance: Shorter internal interconnects between components result in better signal integrity, lower power consumption, and enhanced communication speed.

Modularity: The design methodology is modular, enabling low-cost system changes and reducing the complexity of the printed circuit board (PCB) design where the SiP is eventually used.

Reliability: Often involves robust packaging (like molding to protect solder joints) that enhances mechanical stability and resistance to harsh environments.

Design Secrecy: The encapsulated and stacked nature of SiPs makes them difficult to reverse-engineer, protecting intellectual property.

General Product Packaging Systems

Containment: The primary function of holding the product together as a single, manageable unit.

Protection and Preservation: Safeguards the product from physical damage, environmental factors (moisture, temperature), and contamination during transit and storage.

Communication and Marketing: Serves as a "marketable unit" by providing essential information (ingredients, instructions, warnings) and using aesthetics and branding to attract consumers and differentiate the product from competitors.

Utility/Functionality: Designed for efficient handling, storage, and transport by one person or by automated systems. This includes features like easy-open seals, resealable closures, and tamper-evident designs.

Sustainability: Increasingly, characteristics include the use of recyclable, biodegradable, or minimal materials to reduce environmental impact

Interconnection & Advanced Packaging

Interposer: A silicon or other intermediary layer used in 2.5D integration to create high-density interconnections between chips stacked on it.

2D/2.5D/3D Packaging: Refers to how the chips are physically arranged.

2D: Components are placed side-by-side on the substrate.

2.5D: Components are connected via an interposer, which is then attached to the substrate.

3D: Components are stacked directly on top of one another.

Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs): Tiny vertical connections drilled through silicon wafers, used in 2.5D and 3D stacking to connect different layers.

Core Components

Integrated Circuits (ICs): These are the individual chips that provide the main functionality. A SiP can contain various types, such as processors, memory (DRAM, flash), sensors, and RF modules. They can be standard, packaged chips or bare dies for higher density and performance.

Substrate: This is the base upon which the components are mounted. Substrates can be made from various materials, including organic, alumina, silicon, or aluminum nitride, and may have passive components embedded within them.

Passive Components: These are components like resistors, capacitors, and inductors that help control the flow of electricity. They can be surface-mount devices (SMDs) or embedded directly into the substrate

Other Integrated Elements

Sensors: Many SiPs can include integrated sensors for various applications.
Connectors: These can also be part of the integrated system to allow external connections.

MEMS devices: Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, such as accelerometers or gyroscopes, can be integrated into the SiP.

Encapsulation: The final package is protected by encapsulation, which can be done through methods like transfer molding.

Challenges of System-in Packaging

A Challenging....But Rewarding Technology

System-in Packaging offers a multitude of advantages, but, in-spite of being a notable technology, faces several challenges and limitations that may affect its adoption in specific applications or industries. One of the primary challenges is the increased design complexity. As SiP integrates multiple components into a single package, the design process becomes more intricate, requiring advanced design rules and methodologies to ensure proper functionality and performance.

System-in Packaging Challenges

Design & Manufacturing

Integration complexity: Combining dies from different process nodes and manufacturers increases design complexity and the difficulty of partitioning the system, as there is a lack of a unified design infrastructure, reports IEEE Xplore.

Cost: The initial design and manufacturing process for advanced SiP can be expensive, making it a barrier for many companies.

Component variation: Variations in manufacturing tolerances and component performance can lead to marginal performance, even with known-good die, requiring system-level validation

Performance & Reliability

Thermal Management: is another critical concern in SiP technology. As components are densely packed within the package, heat dissipation becomes more complex, potentially leading to overheating and reduced reliability. Designers must carefully consider thermal management solutions, such as heat sinks or thermal vias, to maintain optimal operating temperatures for the components within the SiP.

Testability: Testing becomes more complex due to the smaller feature sizes and the inability to access every internal chip and interconnect easily, especially in 3D packages.

Reliability: Potential failure modes include mechanical stress, warpage, delamination, and interconnect integrity, requiring advanced testing for harsh environments.

Supply Chain Management

Known-good-die (KGD): Ensuring that every component is "known to be good" before final assembly is a significant challenge, as the failure of a single die can result in the entire package being discarded, impacting overall yield and cost, reports EE Times.

Testing infrastructure: The need for new metrology and testing methods with higher density and precision is a challenge, especially when dealing with a mix of technologies and competitors' components