Aliases: None
Technical Challenge: The challenge to fabricating multi-chip assemblies on flex substrates is the chip-to-flex attachment. Because of the inherently flexible nature of the substrate, it is difficult to keep the flex rigid and align chips with sufficiently good registration for manufacturing purposes. This is especially true for high density and high performance electronic modules where the pad pitch is much tighter and the flex circuit is typically thinner and more difficult to handle. Special mechanical and/or laser drilled holes and tooling fixtures are needed for this purpose.
Description: The proposed concept eliminates the difficulty of this technical challenge by assembling the chips to the substrate before it is in flex form. The substrate is then transformed into flex by a relatively short and simple process. By changing the fabrication sequence, the chips are aligned and assembled onto a rigid substrate, enabling extremely good alignment without the need for special tooling and fixtures required in the prior art. This technology can be used for sophisticated packaging of high speed (1 GHz) and high pin count (up to 1000 pins, perhaps more) integrated circuits.
Demonstration Capability: Samples can be made available on a limited basis.
Potential Commercial Application(s): Possible commercial applications would be in the area of electronics packaging.
Patent Status:A patent application has been filed with USPTO.
Reference Number: 1326
If you are interested in exploring this technology further, please call 443-445-7159 or express your interest in writing to the National Security Agency, Domestic Technology Transfer Program, 9800 Savage Road, Suite 6541, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland 20755-6541.