BGA to CSP to Flip Chip-Manufacturing Issues

The BGA package has been the area array package of choice for several years. Recently, the transition has been to finer pitch configurations called Chip Scale Packages (CSP). Several of these package types are available at 0.5 mm pitch. requiring surface mount assemblers to evaluate and optimize various elements of the assembly process. This presentation describes the issues associated with making the transition from BGA to CSP assembly. Areas addressed will include the accuracy of pick and place equipment, printed wiring board lines and spaces, PWB vias, in-circuit test issues, solder paste printing, moisture related factors, rework and reliability. The transition to 0.5 mm pitch requires careful evaluation of the board design, solder paste selection, stencil design and component placement accuracy. At this pitch, ball and board pad diameters can be as small as 0.25 mm and 0.20 mm respectively. Drilled interstitial vias are no longer possible and higher ball count packages require micro-via board technology. The transition to CSP requires careful evaluation of these issues. Normal paste registration and BGA component tolerances can no longer achieve the required process levels and higher accuracy pick and place machines need to be implemented. This presentation will examine the optimization of these critical assembly operations, contrast the challenges at 0.5 mm and also look at the continuation of the process to incorporate smaller pitch flip chip devices.