Development of the green plastic encapsulation for high density wirebonded leaded packages

The push in the electronics industry toward miniaturization and high density wirebonds is a major driving force in integrated circuit (IC) package design. One problem has been the use of conventional mold compounds to encapsulate the high density wirebonded packages, due to performance issues, such as wire sweep and coplanarity. Additionally, in order to match lead-free solutions in the near future, antimony- and halogen-free molding compound must be developed because antimony (Sb) and halogens in current flame retardant systems pose environmental hazardous. This article, discusses a “green” compound that eliminated these environmentally hazardous elements, resolving moldability and reliability issues for high density wirebonded packages.