Key Research Areas

Three different technological approaches are used to design electronic systems: integration on a chip (More Moore), in a component (More than Moore) or in a package (system in package or heterogeneous integration).

The latter approach, "system in package" (SiP), lends itself particularly well to customer-specific solutions, which have to be manufactured cost-efficiently even at small and medium lot sizes. SiP can also be used to integrate components that cannot be manufactured using standard semiconductor technologies and is also perfect for fitting electronic systems into awkward build environments. Because the development risk is low while the manufacturing flexibility is high, SiP technology is crucial even for the supposedly large lot sizes of automotive electronics. Furthermore, SiP has short development turn-around times, which means that products can be released commercially more quickly while maintaining flexibility and taking advantage of existing peripheral and manufacturing infrastructure.

SiP development comprises two basic technologies of different complexity and integration density: wafer level packaging and module level integration.