Can packaging technology keep up with current technology? Packaging is simply the process of wrapping plastic around an object to create a protective volume around it, like a capsule, the technology has been in use since the invention of Integrated microelectronics (also known as Integrated Circuits, IC “Integrated Circuits”) in semiconductor package and assembly processes 40 years ago. Packaging technologies come in many forms, such as injection, Glob topping, compression, and transfer. The purpose of transfer packaging is to protect the IC components and their precision circuits from mechanical interference and bad external influence. This transfer molding technology may seem ancient compared to other technologies, but due to the development of Plastic Encapsulated Microelectronics (Pem) technology, packaging technology, and even Plastic materials used to protect ICS, great progress has been made in transfer molding technology. Transfer Molding, or transfer molding, is a method of packaging in which thermosetting polymer material called epoxy is loaded in granular form and preheated in a metal tank, it is then forced into the mold cavity where the PEM is to be protected. The process uses a heated plunger through a series of gate and runner Piping (see figure 1) . Image 1: ASMPT’s complete transfer molding process. The advantage of transfer molding is that it allows for standardization of the packaging, resulting in less variation in the thickness of each package. This is because transfer molding has stricter tolerances for more complex shapes and can produce higher hourly production volumes (Units Per Hour, UPH) for high-volume applications, helping to shorten the production cycle and speed up installation time, and ultimately reduce operating costs. In addition, transfer molding is cost-effective when molding large quantities of PEM in a typical 30-second machine cycle time.

The advantage of transfer molding is that it facilitates the standardization of packaging, so that the difference in the thickness of each package becomes smaller. This is because transfer molding has stricter tolerances for more complex shapes and can produce higher hourly production volumes (Units Per Hour, UPH) for high-volume applications, helping to shorten the production cycle and speed up installation time, and ultimately reduce operating costs. In addition, transfer molding is cost-effective when molding large quantities of PEM in a typical 30-second machine cycle time.

One of the key technical advantages of transfer molding is its Pinnacle Gating System (PGS gate System) . PGS Uses pin-point Gates (see figure 2) , which is ideal when packaging designers need to produce large quantities of PEM with a maximized scale. For example, when the flow stress in the mould must be properly controlled, especially by minimizing the flow injection, the PGS can reduce the stress on the wire connection, thus reducing the occurrence of gold wire offset.

PGS technology can also be cost-effective because it optimizes the available space in the lead frame or substrate, reduces waste of available space, and increases output per hour. PGS Can also reduce the loss of epoxy, at the same time with environmental benefits, reduce unit costs, bring operating income.

Packaging automotive power module transfer molding is an effective protection technology for high power module packaging. It is designed to package application components that carry over 100 years of heavy current load, sensing and protection of Electronic Control Units (Ecu). Transfer Molding provides mechanical and environmental protection for power modules, including Single Side Cooling (SSC) and Dual Sided Cooling (DSC) . One of the toughest challenges in this type of packaging is how to provide a certain thickness of the package with no more than 40 grams of epoxy, as well as good molding results. In general, such packages are thicker and require larger tonnage and higher strength of double epoxy particles to be encapsulated. Such transfer molding machines require dual-core blocks and dual-row can-type plungers to maintain a high UPH output while Molding Thicker Packages (& GT; 4 mm) . In addition, in order to obtain good molding results (no solder joint bubbles or incomplete filling) , high pressure is used to ensure that sufficient packing material is available to coalesce the epoxy after curing. This means that the transfer molding machine usually has a force of more than 170 tons, compared with 80 tons for other machines.

There may be bare metal surfaces on the DSC power packaging of SSC with single-side Cooling and double-side cooling. In this case, how to achieve zero flash is very important, because the exposed metal surfaces will emit heat generated by IC when electrifying. This requires two requirements: Die Design with a special anti-flash design, and the use of film-assisted molding technology. The flashover design ensures that exposed metal surfaces are sufficiently restricted to prevent resin or epoxy from infiltrating the striated lines of the metal lead frame, while the film complements the design by blocking surface defects. In addition, in addition to the transfer tooling design, a special handling mechanism is needed to load and unload the equipment, especially for the automotive-level sensor packages with complex design. Therefore, the handling mechanism in the tooling must be strong enough to ensure that there is no mechanical or functional damage to the packaging before and after packaging. These pick and place mechanisms are often more complex for automotive level components because they require force and pressure sensing capabilities to handle complex package content and weight, especially for large ecus, automotive electronic control units.And finally, the demoulding process. Automotive power packages are usually very reliable due to the use of high-quality, environmentally friendly epoxy molding compounds (without halogen elements) , but are more likely to stick to molds and tools during demoulding. Therefore, a layer of anti-sticking metal coating is applied to the die to minimize the occurrence of this during the discharge process after the molding cycle is completed.