F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 i s s u e n ° 1 4
N e w s l e t t e r o n 3 D I C , T S V , W L P & E m b e d d e d T e c h n o l o g i e s
E D I T O R I A L
A N A L Y S I S
giant is now mass producing the CMOS Fan-in WLCSP matures, what’s next?
BSI sensor in its newest video camcorders
and digital still cameras. But Sony is not From page 1
an isolated case as in early January, many
other announcements have followed and not
only Casio but also Nikon, Ricoh, Samsung, QFN packages are the most competitive with leading semiconductor package because many
JVC and Fujifilm all separately announced WLCSP in the market space requiring reduced applications where space isn’t critical don’t have
their first digital camera products using a form factor, he says. WLCSP cost is competitive strong drivers to migrate to WLCSP.
CMOS sensor… based on BSI “Backside
with QFN today in small die sizes with low I/O
illumination” technology!
counts and less expensive than QFN as the I/O “It’s one of the faster-growing packages, along with
count increases. Fan-in WLCSP is expected to QFN, but both have a way to go to catch up with the
So, a lot of interesting announcements in the
become less expensive than QFN packages in all more established packages, which will continue to
high-end imaging market have happened
die sizes as WLCSP volume increases. grow at a slower pace,” says Stepniak.
early this year. But the low-end image sensor
market will not stand by and watch as we
Fan-in WLCSPs continue to have the highest Beyne notes that the majority of packages are
believe that CMOS BSI technology will also
year-over-year adoption rate of all semiconductor still lead-frame-based solutions, but expects the
appear into different smart-phone camera
packages, says Ted Tessier, chief technical compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of WLCSPs
products later this year. Omnivision is ready
officer of FlipChip International (Phoenix, Ariz.; will be much greater.
and currently sampling its second generation
www.flipchip.com), thanks to their minimalist form
BSI image sensor. Aptina Imaging, Toshiba,
Samsung and STMicro are also in the
factor at an attractive price point. “Most of the Expanding to more apps?
starting-blocks.
high-volume suppliers of WLCSPs are driving
an aggressive cost-reduction roadmap and, as a Another big question is: Will the success of fan-
Yole is following the CMOS image sensor
result, the pricing has dropped gradually. But after in WLCSP in mobile applications, first integrated
market very closely for several years now. We
10 years of high-volume usage, continued price for size/miniaturization drivers, allow for its wide
are very pleased to announce the imminent
reduction is becoming increasingly difficult and adoption by other consumer applications?
release of our all new market study in this
leveling off,” he adds.
area. This report will of course provide the
key technical insights about the very latest
“… QFN packages are the most competitive with WLCSP in the
technology trends such as BSI, Wafer Level
Cameras, image stabilization and auto-focus market space requiring reduced form factor ”… , according to Tom
technologies that are under development for
Strothmann, STATS ChipPAC Inc.
the camera module market!
Jérôme Baron
Technology & Market Analyst & Editor
While fan-in is becoming cheaper, so are competing “The industry-wide high-volume infrastructure that
baron@yole.fr
semiconductor packages, points out David was put into place for the fabrication, back-end die
Stepniak, manager of WCSP and 3D packaging at processing, and surface mount technology (SMT)
Texas Instruments (Dallas, Texas; www.ti.com). He usage of WLCSPs to support the ultrahigh-volume
E V E N T S
doesn’t anticipate a change in packaging strategy requirements of mobile applications is definitely
between fan-in WLCSP and other packages based providing a robust base from which the proliferation
on relative price or cost changes. of WLCSPs is springing into other application
spaces,” says Tessier. “We’re seeing significant
And in many cases, David Kress, director of adoption and engineering interest in automotive,
Technical Marketing at Analog Devices Inc. medical, computing, and digital photography.
(Norwood, Mass.; www.analog.com), says that
WLCSP has already become the least expensive
package.
Leading package?
• DATE 2010 - Design, Automation &
Is fan-in WLCSP emerging as the overall leading
Test in Europe
semiconductor package? With so many packages
March 8-9, Dresden, Germany
out there to choose from, it’s hardly surprising that
opinions vary a little.
• IMAPS 2010 : 6th International
Conference and Exhibition on Device
Fan-in WLCSP has the highest growth rate of
Packaging,
all mainstream semiconductor packages, says
March 9- 11, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Strothmann, but it’s starting from a smaller base
than other package technologies. He expects it
• Image Sensors Europe,
will become the dominant package in handheld
March 23-25, London, UK
products where a reduced form factor is critical,
SEM Photomicrograph of a Fan-In WLCSP
but feels it’s unlikely to become the overall
embedded in a PCB laminate (Courtesy of FlipChip)
Issue sponsored by:
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