HIGH PERFORMANCE, LOW COST, ADVANCED MULTICHIP MODULE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

ISA HAS DEVELOPED AN APPROACH FOR PACKAGING INTEGRATED CIRCUITS IN AN ADVANCED MULTICHIP MODULE (AMCM). THE APPROACH OFFERS UNSURPASSED THERMAL PERFORMANCE, ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE, AND DENSITY WHILE SHOWING PROMISE OF LOW COST WHEN COMPARED TO SINGLE CHIP PACKAGE ASSEMBLIES OR OTHER MULTICHIP APPROACHES. THE PROPOSED EFFORT WILL DEMONSTRATE THE APPLICABILITY OF THE AMCM TECHNOLOGY TO BOTH DIGITAL AND ANALOG CIRCUITS. TO MEET THIS OBJECTIVE WORKING PROTOTYPE MODULE WILL BE DESIGNED AND FABRICATED. THE MODULE WILL INCLUDE A SIMPLE GAAS CIRCUIT AND SEVERAL INTERCONNECT CHARACTERIZATION STRUCTURES. THE TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATED IN THIS EFFORT IS AN INTERCONNECT-ON-TOP-OF-THE-CHIPS APPROACH. THIS APPROACH OFFERS SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGES OVER CONVENTIONAL MULTICHIP MODULES WHERE THE CHIPS ARE MOUNTEDAND INTERCONNECTED TO A MINIATURE CIRCUIT BOARD WITH WIRE BOND, TAB OR FLIP CHIP TECHNIQUES. THE ONLY OTHER "INTERCONNECT ON TOP OF THE CHIPS" APPROACH WAS DEVELOPED BY GE FOR RAPID PROTOTYPING IN AEROSPACE SYSTEMS. THE EFFORT PROPOSED HERE WILL PROVIDE SOMEWHAT IMPROVED PERFORMANCE OVER THAT APPROACH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO MEET THE COST OBJECTIVES OF HIGH VOLUME APPLICATIONS. THESE COSTADVANTAGES WILL BOTH DIRECTLY IMPACT DOD APPLICATIONS AND ESTABLISH ACOMMERCIAL PRODUCT BASE THAT WILL FURTHER REDUCE COSTS FOR DOD APPLICATIONS. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - A SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE OVERALL PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGY AND IN PHASE III A HIGH VOLUME MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY WHICH PROVIDES THE REQUIRED HIGH PERFORMANCE FOR GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS AT COSTS SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW ANY OTHER KNOWN APPROACH.