On the Simulation of Microelectronic Encapsulation with Epoxy Molding Compound

Transfer molding is the primary process method for microelectronic encap sulation with epoxy molding compound (EMC). Traditionally, the selection of the EMC as well as the tool and process design for microelectronic encapsulation are usually determined based on experience and intuition, which are costly and time-consuming. This article presents the numerical simulation for microelectronic encapsulation, which is aimed at providing designers useful information to detect various molding problems in an efficient and cost-effective way. In addition, it also discusses the material and geometry modeling which are critical to the accuracy of the simulation. As an illustration, a case study for a 40-lead dual-in-line (DIL) IC packaging is presented with comparison between the predic tions and experimental measurements from the literature. Finally, this article concludes with an overview of the future direction in this research.