Moving chip packaging from wafer to panel reshapes the process

Shifting advanced packaging from 300mm wafers to panels up to 600mm yields up to 8x more units, but forces changes in equipment, materials and process control. ASE proposes a compromise: build the interposer on a 600mm panel, then split it into four 300mm pieces for assembly.

• 5.5-reticle interposer: 9 units on a 300mm wafer vs 72 on a 600mm panel
• Intel: a 4-reticle package yields ~10 units on a wafer and ~48 on a 510×515mm panel
• Largest square fitting a 300mm wafer is about 210×210mm
• Panel processing is dual-sided, and lithography shifts from steppers to direct imaging