System-on-package: a broad perspective from system design to technology development

Abstract

In this paper, we summarize and analyze main challenges towards system-on-package (SoP) integration with a broad perspective from system design to technology development. We see that the future SoP faces a main challenge of changed system architecture that will be different from today’s personal computer or PC-based systems. It is likely that communication-network based system architectures will be interesting to future SoP platforms. Second, we find that a major paradigm shift will occur in design methodology for SoP integration that emphasizes a coherent co-design of chip, package and system in a mixed signal environment and in combination with new issues such as virtual components integration. On the technology side, the major challenges will be power dissipation and system cooling, low-cost and thermal-matched high-density interconnect substrates, as well as low-cost passive components integration. Finally, we present some research examples that aim to cope with these new challenges on a strategic basis.