Another 3D supply chain success story

My post about Imbera’s achievements the other day reminded me of another supply chain success story I’ve been meaning to talk about. Last month at IMAPS Global Business Council, Marc Robinson of Vertical Circuits (VCI) shared how the start-up has successfully taken on an industry workhorse, (wire bond for die stacking) with an alternative that with something completely new and also cost-effective. VCI’s core technology is a “virtual via” interconnect that involves jet-dispensing silver filled polymer conformal conductive polymer up the edge of a chip stack to vertically connect bond pads.

Let’s face it, bringing an innovative process into volume production in the semiconductor industry is not a quick or easy task. This is a tough crowd we’re dealing with – very set in their ways. The message is clear – those that succeed the fastest are those that tend to leverage existing infrastructure, because any new process that also requires a new toolset is going to take a while to catch on. (Take IBM’S C4NP for wafer bumping, for example – great concept and an elegant, cost effective process, but required SUSS MicroTec to develop a completely new line of equipment. To date – the only install I’m aware of is at IBM’s facility in Fishkill, NY – please somebody correct me if I’m wrong!)

So how has VCI succeeded where others have been waylaid? According to Robinson, the first time out of the gate wasn’t so successful because they hadn’t taken the power of the existing supply chain seriously. They realized quickly they would have to fit its existing infrastructure conveniently to be adopted. “Until there was a supporting supply chain in place, it fell on doubting ears,” noted Robinson. This meant partnering with supply chain people —equipment and materials suppliers—and subsequently demonstrating how the process reduces the number of steps and the number of machines in the factory so that however the manufacturer looked at it, they would see the advantage. The message to device manufacturers: it’s not going to cost you more to adopt this technology.

So VCI developing partnerships with well-established equipment and materials suppliers such as Asymtek, Lord Corporation, Disco, SCS, and Resonetics, and then approached IDMS and OSATS for commercialization and IP licenses as a group. “We’ve signed a number of licenses now because we addressed them as a team,” noted Robinson. The equipment and material supply chain partners helped to convince customers that the supply chain is ready for adoption of VCI’s technology. Additionally, when they changed to a partnership approach, material and equipment suppliers also benefited, and VCI became successful in its endeavor.

All of these efforts have resulted in a process that has been implemented into micro SD cards. They are reportedly achieving 8 die stacks at 200µm pitch; more than enough for memory in a smaller footprint than wire bond. The company reports that the technology has been licensed to IDMs and OSATS (but can’t say who).

Although success didn’t come overnight – Robinson says he’s been working with this technology for 12 years – it’s still relatively quick in semiconductor years. (Consider that it took flip chip over 40 years to reach high-volume production). The important lesson is that the best way to succeed in this industry is with an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” approach. It’s something to think about. – F.v.T

Imbera takes on 3D packaging supply chain issues

While 3D IC integration folks are still scratching their heads trying to determine who will take on post-fab processes, over in the 3D packaging world Imbera has taken ownership of the supply chain issues facing the OSATS-to-PCB assembly end of the line for embedded active and passive technologies.

But let’s back up a bit. It’s well known that 3D configurations have existed in the packaging space for quite some time. In fact, package-on-package (PoP) options from the likes of Amkor, STATS ChipPAC, and ASE are already in volume production. Additionally, various embedded technologies such as the Fraunhofer’s chip-in-polymer (CiP), GE’s solderless “chips first” approach, IMEC’s ultra-thin chip package (UTCP), and Imbera’s integrated module board (IMB) technology all offer viable 3D technology solutions, at least in theory. Unfortunately, manufacturing these embedded 3D packages falls into that elusive “no-man’s-land” between OSATS and EMS providers, and therefore have been stalled at the “who’s-going-to-do-it” phase. (see: Executive Panel Addresses Options in WLP)

Luckily, thanks to USD $15M in series B funding from NorthZone Ventures, Index Ventures and Conor Venture Partners, Imbera is now positioned to do something about those pesky supply chain issues.

Risto Tuominen, CTO of Imbera, talked to me about the how the company intends to put the money to use. “There are lots of embedded technologies in development,” notes Tuominen, “but nobody is able to offer a full turnkey solution for an embedded technology supply chain.” Imbera’s intention is to merge packaging and PCB processes into one entity, beginning with a new high-volume manufacturing operation in Sangsong-ri, South Korea.

Although Japanese PCB manufacturer Ibiden licensed IMB technology in July 2008, Tuominen says the company’s focus over the last year has been to create its own manufacturing solutions. The goal is for the customers to provide the known-good die (KDG) and Imbera outputs the completed device - whether it is a QFN, BGA, system-in-package (SiP), or system-in-board (SIB).



The latest milestone was a joint venture (iDD) completed with Korean PCB manufacturer Daeduck in Q3 2008. “Daeduck offers a whole PCB infrastructure with proven capabilities in substrate and motherboard manufacturing.” He explained, “There’s a whole technology portfolio we can utilize.” It sure makes more sense than buying a PCB manufacturer. As part of the iDD joint venture, the new facility (owned 60% by Imbera and 40% by Daeduck) will be outfitted with new equipment.

The biggest question was how they managed to get funding now, given the current state of the industry and economy? For the past few years, Imbera has focused on developing a new business model, which included acquiring a new capital owner base in 2007; appointing a new CEO acquired in late 2007; and relaunching Imbera in early 2008, based on the new model. “We’re very fortunate to have the investors that we have,” said Tuominen, “We didn’t have to change a thing.”

That said, Tuominen was happy to share the secrets of Imbera’s success. He said it’s important to show a roadmap with technology improvements going forward, and that the benefits needed to be apparent from the outset. Everything must be of the highest quality, and that the customer can use it without changing existing infrastructure or design tools. “In the end, the technology needs to provide an efficient manufacturing solution,” he noted, “and you need to be able to show a cost reduction.”

But most importantly, rather than passing the buck, Imbera is taking ownership of the OSAT/PCB assembly bottleneck. Let’s hope other sectors of the 3D market find inspiration in this company’s achievements. – F.v.T