Automated design tool for examining microelectronic packaging design alternatives

Microelectronic packaging design issues have been given greater attention mainly because the performance, reliability and cost of semiconductor chips are increasingly dictated by the choice and design of the package. The task of integrating the requirements imposed by different disciplines such as mechanical and thermal issues in an automated design tool, is discussed in this paper. Finite element analysis and nonlinear programming techniques are used in an iterative fashion to progress from an initial design concept to a design that satisfies all design requirements or one that is superior to other design alternatives. Two packaging design examples serve to illustrate the functionalities of the automated design optimization tool