Interconnection Technology for Advanced High Density Thick Films

Thick film screen printing technology is able to reach a pitch of 250 μm. In an attempt to achieve lower values, two approaches have been developed so far. Both are based on the combination of screen printing as a deposition technique and photolithography for the patterning. The first approach uses photoimageable conductor and dielectric pastes; the second is based on photoimageable dielectric and etching of the fired conductor. In order to obtain a full characterisation of both processes, a test module was designed and manufactured by using the first process and identical test modules were provided by the supplier using the second technology. The design of the test module is based on a two‐layer interconnection pattern including structures for testing cross‐overs, via interconnections with various resolutions (down to 50 μm via size), in order to investigate the limits of these technologies. This paper gives a comparison of these two approaches based on the results of electrical and mechanical measurements performed on both sets of the test modules. Electrical parameters and resolution data are discussed for both processes. The chip and wire assembly method is evaluated to prequalify the technology as an advanced MCM‐C technology for telecoms applications. Finally, the results of reliability tests (humidity ageing and burn‐in) are presented.