MCEN5228-011/4228-011: Microsystems Integration

Homework #10, Due Date: Wednesday, May 3

The Word file of the homework is posted on the class web site. Email your PDF or Word file with answers to efore the class on the May 3rd. There is a penalty, e.g. 5 to 25 points, for late submission.

Name: ______, Email: ______

Notes: You are expected to provide a short, one-paragraph, answer to each question. No need to provide long answers.

  1. (5 points) What is the difference between AMOLED and Super AMOLED?
  2. (5 points) Explain the difference between time-division multiplexing and wavelength-division multiplexing concepts.
  3. (5 points) The printed circuit board (PCB) used for iPhone 4 is shown below. It is a hybrid version of the substrate technologies developed for MCM-L and MCM-D. Please identify one feature resulting from typical MCM-D processes.

  1. (5 points) What’s the reason the trace density is increased when the pitch of interconnect lines is decreased for a given number of layers? Use the figure shown below as a reference. Note: the unit of the pitch is in mil, i.e. 0.001 inch.
  1. (5 points) We have reviewed Samsung Gear Live released in 2014, Samsung S 3G released in 2014 and Samsung S3 LTE, released in 2016. What is the main reason the battery life in Gear Live is much longer than that in S 3G? What is the main reason the battery life in S3 LTE is much longer than that in S 3G?
  2. (5 points) Samsung Gear S3 LTE’s packaging technology for its application processors integrated with memory chips is different from that applied to A4 used in iPhone 4. Identify two major differences.
  3. (5 points) Why is ALD an enabling technology for FinFET?
  4. (5 points) The improvements of iPhone series have been driven by semiconductor design and manufacturing. The chip sizes in the series have varied as shown below. Explain the reason for the size variation.
  5. (5 points) TSMC applies its wafer level packaging technology to manufacturing A10’s for iPhone 7. Please mark the following components or features in the image below: a) A10 application processor, b) memory chip, c) redistribution layer, d) molding compound used to fabricate the redistribution layer, e) BGA/CSP solder joints, and f) logic board (or motherboad) in iPhone 7.

  6. (5 points) 3D NAND is a critical technology applied to manufacture flash memory for iPhone 7. Some of its processes are illustrated in the following figures. Please select one of its key concepts from the following choices: a) fabrication of 3D-stacked layers of transistors; b) fabrication of 3D-stacked layers of gates; c) 3D packaging of NAND chips interconnected by through silicon vias. What is the reason this concept is better than the other two choices?