SBIR Phase II: Manufacturable Implementation of Thin Glass for Next Generation Electronics Packaging

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a packaging platform for the next generation communications electronics, particularly for 5G applications for defense and commercial use. Enabling the processing of thin glass substrates for next-generation communications and packaging needs will mean faster communications with improved power efficiency. The wide range of applications and end markets include mobile devices and infrastructure, automotive radar, internet of things, and other uses. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project enables thin glass packaging solutions to be processed in existing semiconductor factories. As the need for data volume drives wireless technology towards frequency bands in the 30-100 GHz range, commonly used packaging substrates begin to fail. Glass is an attractive alternative due to its dimensional stability, smooth surfaces, low RF absorption up to 100 GHz, limited dielectric constant variation with temperature, and moisture insensitivity. Reduced thickness also decreases interconnect length (yielding low loss and low latency) and reduces overall product thickness. Thin glass can be difficult to handle in a free-standing state. In this project, thin glass using a novel handling solution will be fully metallized and patterned on both sides, creating test structures verifying through-glass via integrity, reliability, and robustness. Optimized metallization approaches will be explored, along with improvements to second-side processing, for commercially relevant wafer substrates. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.