Workshop Background

The IWPC has held several workshops addressing all aspects of the millimeterwave market sectors. An issue which emerges at every meeting is that of optimizing or developing packaging options which can help drop the cost and still meet the very demanding performance requirements of millimeterwave components and systems. The millimetre wave world is clearly shifting from "naked die" to surface mount and/or plastic packaged MMICs. The basic reason is cost.  This has implications for all layers of the supply chain.

For the OEMs in each of the Market Sectors, cost reduction coming from improved packaging approaches should help to lower the prices of their systems and product offerings to a level where the volumes can dramatically increase. These markets span 20-100 GHz and include Cellular Backhaul and Fronthaul, Broadband Enterprise Networks, Broadband Wireless PANs, Automotive Sensors, Security and Military Sensors and Satellite Communications. 

None of these at present is projecting volumes large enough to drive the move to the lower cost options and volume is key for price reduction.  In particular for the SMD package approach, the assembly could be compatible with SMD assembly lines used now for volume, lower frequency equipment. Furthermore, as the number of frequency allocations decreases for any representative application, the volume per design or configuration is further decreased.

For the module manufacturer, a change in packaging can mean a full re-design of the product and a totally different industrial approach with less need for clean rooms and facilities. A consequence could be that there is nearly no allowance for mixed technologies. From the technical point of view, the SMD approach introduces new constraints on the design of the module, such as mastering the lower isolation, the higher losses, the larger module size, filtering issues, and addressing new stability and thermal management challenges.

For the GaAs foundry, the challenge is to find a way to switch their product lines from bare dies to SMD packaged devices, and at the same time reduce the prices—target today is to have a packaged device at a lower price than the bare die! From the technical point of view, the MMICs have to be designed or re-designed for packaging, leading to time and facility investment. The device suppliers must also wrestle with testing of the MMICs in SMD packages where there presently is no commercially available equipment ready for production. This includes in particular the sockets that have to be functional up to the required millimeterwave frequencies of interest, at present 30-40 GHz at least.

For the package manufacturer, the cost pressure is huge. Ideally the package cost should be a few cents. With such constraints, the business opportunities are quite limited!  The key is not only the package itself, but also the assembly (and test) of the die in the package. To have a complete offering, that might include prototyping and testing suggests the need to go to the plastic package industry, but the volumes are not currently at acceptable levels by one or two orders of magnitude.

For enabling technology suppliers, there is a need for better solutions.  From the laminate manufacturer, material at the right cost, compatible both with SMD assembly lines and millimetre wave circuits, while allowing the electrical and thermal issues to be managed.  Test equipment suppliers need to develop high performance equipment and techniques at reasonable cost and compatible with the evolving packaging options.

Workshop Goal

The GOAL of this workshop is to bring together senior leaders from THE ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN to facilitate and stimulate breakthrough thinking on emerging technologies and manufacturing methods which, when coupled with market needs and timings, and key cost drivers can result in improved, cost effective products for the millimeterwave wireless industry. In particular, this workshop will focus on ways packaging and modularizing of millimeterwave components can be evolved to better meet the needs of the millimeterwave markets sectors. 

In short, the goal of this workshop is to create an open, interactive environment, where the entire supply chain can communicate, network, share technology requirements and capabilities, and achieve mutually desired goals.

Monday, March 13, 2006

7:00 PM

Social and Networking 

Reception & Registration

At Hotel

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

7:00 AM

Breakfast & Registration
 

8:00 AM

Opening Remarks
 

8:15 AM  

Introductions

Each person will be asked to introduce him/herself and share how they can contribute to this process

Challenges from Millimeterwave Marketplaces

Millimeterwave systems USERS, markets and requirements-- communications

OEM and Tier 1 Equipment Providers’ Views of Market Volumes and 
Expectations and Requirements for: 
Performance vs. Size vs. Cost vs. Availability vs. Reliability

• Sectors to be represented
  • Security and Military
  • Infrastructure needs (backhaul and fronthaul cellular systems
  • Enterprise
  • WPAN networks
  • Automotive sensors
• What kinds of millimeterwave products are foreseeable in each sector?
• What kinds of volumes are expected for each product and for each sector?  
• To what extent are each of the parameters the key driver to their millimeterwave products and their sector.
  • Performance
  • Size
  • Cost
  • Availability
  • Reliability 
  • Reproducibility
  • Testability or pretest?
  • Other?
• To what extent do they expect the packaging/modularization to affect their ability to roll out their products?

Packaging Challenges for MMW Broadband Enterprise Network Systems

      Dana Wheeler

SVP MMWave Operations

Terabeam Wireless

Multi-Function MMIC Integration and Packaging in Digital Microwave Radios for Cellular Back/Front Haul Systems

Behzad Ziai

VP, Engineering

Remec Broadband

nmWave WPAN

Dr. Ali Sadri

Wireless Architecture Manager

Wireless Networking Group

Intel

and 

Chair, IEEE 802.15.3c Usage Model WG

Representative OEMs and System Suppliers from Millimeterwave Communications Market Sectors:

• Millimeterwave Backhaul and Fronthaul Systems
• Millimeterwave Enterprise Networks
• 60 GHz WPANs
• Satellite Communications

10:30 AM

NETWORKING BREAK 

panel

communications system suppliers

11:45 AM

 NETWORKING LUNCH

Millimeterwave USERS, Markets and  systems suppliers-- Radar and sensors
 

An Overview of Packaging and Integration Requirements for mm-Wave Systems in the Defense and Security Sectors

Dr. Roberto Alm

Engineering Fellow, 

Advanced Technology

Raytheon RF Components

60 GHz WLAN/WPAN: Technology Challenges for Low Cost Deployment

Bruce Bosco

Principal Staff Engineer

Motorola Labs

Packaging Needs for W Band (and above) Imaging Receivers

Dr. Jonathan Lynch

Group Leader

HRL

Representative OEMs and System Suppliers from Millimeterwave Radar and Sensor Market Sectors:

• Security and Military Sensors
• Automotive Sensors
• Millimeterwave Imaging

panel

Radar and sensor systems

NETWORKING BREAK

Device Suppliers challenges and solutions

For the semiconductor suppliers, 

• How to switch their product offering from bare dies to packaged devices while reducing prices? 

• Do they redesign their MMICs for packaging, leading to schedule penalties and more investment? 

• What volumes are needed to make sense to move to packaged devices?

• At what volumes is it better to move to a higher level of integration of chip functions rather than several chips in a package or module? Will such a move lock the customer to the supplier?

• What cost/performance penalties/advantages can they achieve by moving to packaged devices?

• How much device testing is reasonable and how is this affected by packaging the devices? Will the testing costs increase or decrease?  Is suitable test equipment available.

• How will packaging affect yields with respect to Known Good Die (KGD) delivery?

• What kind of processing equipment changes will be needed to implement the packaged device product development? 

• Should the packages be internal proprietary or outside sourced?

• Would device semiconductor suppliers desire standardized packages and to what extent are they receptive to external standard packages? 

• What are their perspectives on what packages or modules should look like and that would make them attractive? Flip-chip, SMD, chip and wire, etc.

5:00 PM

Adjourn  
 

7:00 PM

Dinner 

SAN DIEGO STYLE

Bus Transportation provided to and from hotel

Wednesday March 15, 2006

7:00 AM

Breakfast  
 

Millimeterwave Module Makers
challenges and solutions

For the module manufacturer, 

• What format do they prefer for their MMICs to be supplied in? Packaged, SMD, flip-chip, other?

• What cost/performance penalties/advantages can they achieve by moving to packaged devices?

• How important is it to be able to mix and match technologies to achieve performance?  At what cost increment?

• What level of functional integration makes sense for the semiconductor chips to include? Discrete, single function, multi-function, etc.

• At what volumes would they consider changing the module integration processes they use?

• What would be the impact on the module integrators facility requirements of working with packaged devices?  

• Where in the module integration process should the need for hermeticity for the semiconductor be addressed?  Module level, packaged device level, or ...? 

• At what volumes is it better to move to a higher level of integration of chip functions rather than several chips in a package or module?

• At what step(s) in the module integration process should testing be done and to what level?

• To what extent should the component be "designed for test"?

• Is suitable test equipment available?

• Should the device packages be internal proprietary or outside sourced?

• Would module integrators prefer standardized packages? 

• What are their perspectives on what packages or modules should look like and that would make them attractive? Flip-chip, SMD, chip and wire, etc.

• Do they foresee significant difficulties in addressing performance issues such as losses, stability, thermal, filtering and biasing?

High-Volume, Low-Cost MM-Wave

Ed Stoneham

Senior Scientist & Director of Advanced Technology

Endwave

The High Volume MM-wave Challenge

Steve Bingham

US Monolithics

Title TBD

Damian McCann

Vice President

Product Development

Mimix Broadband

Millimeterwave MEMs for High Bandwidth, High Signal Integrity Applications

Sean Cahill

Vice President

Technology

BridgeWave Communications

10:00 AM

NETWORKING BREAK

Device Packaging Suppliers' Views

For the package manufacturer, 

• What drives the cost of millimeterwave packages?

• How do they see the packaging/modularization opportunities evolving?

• What would they recommend in packaging design that will impact the cost of testing?

• What do they recommend as packaging options which minimize the cost of assembly and test?

• Can lead-frame practices be made workable at millimeterwave frequencies?

• What are the key advantages and disadvantages of ceramic and plastic packages vs. flip chip or SMD?

Challenges for Cost Reduction in MMW Packaging – Materials, Modules and Microwaves

Dr. Arne Knudsen

New Product Development Manager/R&D

Kyocera

Research on Low Cost Automotive Radar: ASIC and MCM/Packaging for Future 80GHz Short Range Radar Front-Ends
      Michael Salter

Department Manager 

System Integration

Acreo AB

 LUNCH

PANEL

Millimeterwave Module, Device and Packagers

Enabling Technology

For enabling technology suppliers, 

What Testing and diagnostics tools are available or under development for testing millimeterwave devices both packaged and unpackaged? How can the cost of testing be reduced and what effect has the device format on these costs? Are standard sockets possible?

	What material options are available for packaging millimeterwave devices and which offer low loss, hermeticity and structural soundness?
	Package assembly techniques
	Assembly equipment
	Substrate materials at low cost with good performance at millimeterwave and which are most compatible with the packaged, unpackaged or modular construction techniques offered.
	Others

IWPC Member Speakers

TacLam Plus: Ultra High Performance Multilayer Circuits: Considerations

Bob Nurmi

VP/Corporate Development

Taconic

Title TBD

Tim Mobley

Applications Development Engineer

Microcircuit Materials

DuPont

Title TBD

John Dobrick

Applications Development Manager

Advanced Circuit Materials

Rogers

 NETWORKING BREAK

SYSTEM PROVIDER CLOSING PANEL

• What recommendations can we take away for MMIC and chip device suppliers, module makers and device packagers?

• What guidance can we give to system integrators and subsystem suppliers with respect to tradeoffs between cost, performance, reliability, availability and availability? 

• What gaps do you see and what should be done to address these gaps? (Communications and Technology) 

• What can the IWPC do to help move this process forward?

Opening Session Speakers

Take Aways & Closing Remarks

Adjourn

Dinner (Dutch *)

* = in this context, Dutch is a term which means that each person will be responsible for their own dinner costs.