Enhancing the Warpage of JEDEC Trays to Exceed International Standards

    In the storage and cross-border transportation of semiconductor components, the flatness of JEDEC Trays (JEDEC standard trays) directly determines the safety of chip storage and transportation. As a critical carrier connecting chip manufacturing and end-use applications, warpage deformation can lead to chip displacement, collisions, or even damage, causing incalculable losses to customers.

    According to the Jedec-Tray-DGuide4-10D design standard, the warpage control for JEDEC Trays with standard dimensions (322.6 135.9 12.19mm and 322.6 135.9 7.62mm) should generally be less than 0.8mm. Manufacturing enterprises typically use this standard as a reference for production. It is widely recognized that smaller tray warpage reduces the likelihood of chips and modules popping out of their cavities/pockets, thereby facilitating safer storage and transportation. To uphold industry quality standards, Hiner-Pack launched a dedicated JEDEC Tray warpage optimization project, pushing product performance to new heights through multi-dimensional technological breakthroughs.

Facing Challenges: Defining Standards and Core Pain Points

    At the project's inception, we set optimization goals based on stringent industry standards. According to the Jedec-Tray-DGuide4-10D standard and related testing specifications, the warpage of JEDEC Trays must be controlled within 0.8mm after continuous baking at 150°C. Trays for smaller chips or components demand even higher precision and flatness. Through comprehensive testing and data analysis of past batches, we identified three core pain points contributing to warpage: thermal deformation caused by mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) in materials, uneven stress distribution during molding, and insufficient structural symmetry. These issues are exacerbated during temperature cycling in high-temperature storage and long-distance transportation, posing critical bottlenecks in quality control.

Multi-Dimensional Breakthroughs: Full-Chain Optimization from Design to Manufacturing

1. Structural Design: Mitigating Stress Through Symmetry

    Drawing inspiration from high-density IC substrate design principles, we applied the "symmetry principle" throughout the tray design process. The groove matrix distribution was reoptimized to ensure uniform copper foil and resin layer thicknesses across the tray. Additionally, "balance islands" were added to non-functional areas, maintaining an area ratio of 40%-60% between layers with adjacent layer deviations not exceeding 10%. Using finite element analysis (FEA) tools, we established thermomechanical behavior models to accurately predict deformation trends under varying temperatures during the design phase, enabling proactive parameter optimization to counteract potential warpage risks.

2.Manufacturing Process Control: Precision Control and Real-Time Monitoring

    In production, we introduced a "staged curing" process, gradually releasing internal stresses during molding through graded temperature control, replacing traditional one-time curing methods. Layer press equipment was upgraded with uniform pressure distribution technology to precisely control pressure and temperature ranges, ensuring consistent resin curing. To achieve quality closure, we deployed a non-contact laser triangulation measurement system for real-time monitoring of warpage data in each batch, forming a manufacturing process optimization feedback mechanism through AI analysis.

Achieving Results: Quality Upgrades and Enhanced Customer Value

    Through continuous iterative optimization, the warpage of our JEDEC Trays has been stably controlled below 0.3mm, significantly outperforming the industry standard limit of 0.8mm. This breakthrough not only reduced product defect rates by 92% but also met the high-precision packaging requirements for full-size chips ranging from 33mm to 22mm. We will continue to explore the application of cutting-edge materials such as graphene-reinforced substrates and develop embedded active compensation structures to safeguard the quality and safety of the semiconductor supply chain with even greater precision.