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"Impact of Packaging Materials and Processes on Device Soft Error Rates"


      Half-day Seminar with six talks:
      (note that the WebEx presentations require a Java applet, so your browser will need to allow its installation.)
"Impact of Substrate SOP on Flip Chip Soft Error Rates," Rick Wong, Cisco Systems
      -- Speaker slides (440kB)-- WebEx on-demand lecture (20 minutes)
"Progress Towards Standardization of Alpha Flux Measurements on Electronic Materials," Brett Clark, Honeywell
      -- Speaker slides (750kB) -- WebEx on-demand lecture (20 minutes)
"Improving Accuracy of Alpha Emissivity Measurements for Wafers and Packaging Materials," Brendan Dwyer-McNally, XIA LLC
      -- Speaker slides (1MB) -- WebEx on-demand lecture (30 minutes)
"Dedicated ULA Assembly Line for Alpha Emissivity Control," Andy Tseng, ASE
      -- Speaker slides (700kB) -- WebEx on-demand lecture (21 minutes)
"Alpha Particle or Neutron SER - What Will Dominate in Future IC Technology?" Charles Slayman, Sun Microsystems
      -- Speaker slides (150kB) -- WebEx on-demand lecture (28 minutes)
"Soft Error Considerations for Low Power, High Reliability Applications," Jeff Wilkinson, Medtronic
      -- Speaker slides (4MB) -- WebEx on-demand lecture (42 minutes)
PLEASE RESERVE IN ADVANCE -- through Oct. 28 (Wed)

Location: Cisco Systems, Inc.

  • 10 West Tasman, San Jose - Building O, First Floor, SOU'WESTER / SOU'EASTER Conference Rooms (Enter through lobby)


    OVERVIEWS:
    "Impact of Substrate SOP on Flip Chip Soft Error Rates"   Soft error failures due to ionizing radiation remain to be a lingering reliability concern for semiconductor devices. Among the contributing factors for soft errors is alpha particle emission from packaging materials because of these materials’ immediate contact or close proximity to the sensitive area of silicon devices. In this work, we will present a series of alpha particle induced soft error failures and the analytical results collected on these devices. Locations of the soft errors on the silicon are mapped and their relative locations to the packaging material components will be discussed. The results will demonstrate that due some of the materials that were not previously considered critical in terms of alpha particle emission, such as pre-solder on the substrate, will in fact need to have strictly controlled alpha emission levels. Richard Wong received his M.S. degree in electrical engineering from Santa Clara University in 1988 and his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from UC Berkeley in 1982. He joined Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, CA in 2006. He is engaged in IC component technology reliability assurance in issues such as SEU, ESD, WLR, failure analysis and reliability modeling. Prior to Cisco, he had worked on ASICs, FPGAs, TCAMs and memories.
    "Progress Towards Standardization of Alpha Flux Measurements on Electronic Materials"   A JEDEC subcommittee has been working towards developing a standard method of measuring alpha radiation in electronic materials. The objective is to introduce a scientifically rigorous and fundamentally sound methodology for measuring alpha flux in low alpha materials. No single methodology is currently followed across the industry, and at current and future low alpha material specifications, inadequate instrument capability increases the possibility for erroneous results. The standard identifies critical measurement factors, recommends guidelines for eliminating errors, and provides a basis for comparison across the industry. Dr. Brett Clark manages the Analytical and Metrology Laboratory for Honeywell Electronic Materials in Spokane, Washington. His research areas include liquid particle counting, low level radiation measurement, and materials science of high purity metals and alloys. Brett received a Ph.D. degree in physical/analytical chemistry from Brigham Young University, and has authored/coauthored seven journal publications and ten patents.
    "Improving Accuracy of Alpha Emissivity Measurements for Wafers and Packaging Materials"   Background is a critical issue when making alpha emissivity measurements at the 0.001 a/cm2/hr level and below. At these activity levels, long counting times are necessary to extract the small emissivity signals from the much larger counter background, assuming the background is accurately known. We examine these points and the practical difficulties encountered when conducting measurements at these activity levels. Finally, we explore how these issues are treated both in a typical commercial alpha counter and in a prototype counter being developed at XIA. Brendan Dwyer-McNally is a staff scientist and product manager at XIA LLC. His work centers around the development of large area ionization chambers, low noise readout electronics, and novel pulse shape analysis techniques which enables one to make accurate measurements of ultra low alpha emissivities. He is currently commercializing this technology in a new instrument which is slated to be available in 2010.
    "Dedicated ULA Assembly Line for Alpha Emissivity Control"   One of the major contributing factors for device soft error rates is alpha particles emitted from packaging materials. To assess the impact of material selection and process control on the asembly line, we investigate the impact of assembly process setup using a dedicated ULA and a mix-use assembly lines for flip chip devices. The resulted alpha emission levels from the two processes will be discussed. Andy Tseng is a director of Engineering with ASE Group. He started from an electrical engineer for notebook computer assembly, and moved on to leading roles in packaging and substrate design and simulations. Before jointing ASE group, Andy worked for Microelectronics Technology Inc in the field of satellite communication in Taiwan. Andy has two master degrees, MS. of Physics from Northern Illinois University, and MS of Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University. Andy received his B.S. degree in Physics from National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan.
    "Alpha Particle or Neutron SER - What will dominate in Future IC Technology?"   As IC technology scales, the critical charge required to upset devices is reduced. The implications of how alpha particle and neutron cross sections vary with critical charge will determine which soft error mechanisms dominates below 40nm. Charles Slayman received the B.A.degree in physics in 1974 and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering and computer science in 1980 from the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley). He is currently with Sun Microsystems, Inc., Santa Clara, CA, working in quality and reliability of memory technology and soft error mechanisms.
    "Soft Error Considerations for Low Power, High Reliability Applications,"   Implanted medical electronics must operate reliably at extremely low power levels for long periods. This presentation will focus on soft-error considerations of package technology used, or proposed for use, in miniature devices. Some practical examples and a case study of a flawed packaging concept will be reviewed. Jeff Wilkinson joined Medtronic, Inc. in 1983 and is now a Technical Fellow and Senior Principal R&D Engineer with the Cardiac Rhythm Device Technology group. He has worked in product development on a variety of internal and external medical devices. Since 1999 he has been a part of the Device Technology group, developing and adapting technologies to meet the unique challenges of the implanted medical device. This work has included microprocessor design, ultralow power DSP, implantable sensors, and high reliability non-volative memory. Since 2003 he has concentrated on ionizing radiation effects with a particular emphasis on soft-errors in implanted devices. Mr. Wilkinson is a member of the AAAS, senior member of the IEEE and holds a B.A. degree in Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science from St. Olaf College. He holds 10 US and international patents related to implantable medical device design.


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