RJR Polymers intros latest advances in LCP technology

OAKLAND, USA: RJR Polymers, a leading developer of high performance air cavity semiconductor packaging, announced today the newest generation of its innovative Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) technology.

Offering a low-cost, highly flexible alternative to traditional ceramic and over molded packaging options, RJR's LCP air cavity packaging technology delivers a high degree of electrical isolation to the silicon die in a modular assembly process that supports the use of various thermally-enhanced interchangeable bases. The company will demonstrate its revolutionary new IC packaging at the IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS) in Anaheim May 23-28, 2010.

By allowing OEMs to use very high thermal conductivity materials and by tolerating components with mismatched coefficients of expansion (CTE), this revolutionary packaging technology supports a wider band of power levels and frequencies while maintaining the same mechanical stability and moisture resistance as legacy ceramic packaging.

Just as important, LCP is lower cost than ceramic alternatives. This unique combination of characteristics offers highly attractive benefits in a wide range of applications from RF and wireless infrastructure to optical, imaging and sensors.

"In the cellular infrastructure market, for example, the move to smartphones and other multimedia-based devices is driving up bandwidth demands and forcing basestation designers to turn to devices operating at higher power levels and higher frequencies," said Dave DeWire, Director of Sales and Marketing.

"Traditionally these ICs have used ceramic packages, but they require a matched coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) to ensure reliability. By tolerating mismatched CTEs and allowing designers to swap out different thermal bases, RJR's LCP package technology allows customers to easily move to higher thermal conductivity materials that support the higher frequencies and power levels that today's designers require." Over the past few years RJR has sold over two million LCP packages for RF power ICs in the cellular infrastructure market.

Flexibility lowers cost
Moreover, since OEMs can use RJR's LCP technology to easily build different products by simply creating a single injection mold and swapping out the lead frame, this revolutionary packaging technology offers highly attractive cost and time-to-market advantages as well. "It's a very flexible platform for customers to use because they can tool a specific-size package and then use that same package to create a whole family of products at very low cost," noted DeWire.

RJR's LCP packaging also offers significant advantages in the rapidly growing MEMS market where OEMs have often opted for expensive hermetic-class packages to ensure survivability in rugged environments. By offering near-hermetic capabilities in a low-cost plastic package, LCPs present a highly attractive alternative to traditional ceramic solutions.

The LCP product line uses a standard molding process and features a flat seal surface with 1/3 the dielectric of ceramic and copper leads. Potential substrate materials for LCP solutions run the full gamut of possibilities from alloys and copper to diamond options.

The packaging can be built to industry standard configurations such as quad flat packs (QFPs), quad flat no-leads (QFNs), and small outline (SO) solutions or modified to meet custom requirements.