MOSIS deal with SEMPAC cuts packaging costs for custom ASICs

Open-Pak packages are made from semiconductor-grade plastics. They have copper lead frames that are gold plated to military standards. As a result, the packages are mechanically stable with similar electrical characteristics to fully encapsulated, molded types.

The MOSIS MPW service allows multiple products to be fabricated on each mask set and silicon wafer; cost sharing is based on the physical area used by each design. Both integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and fabless semiconductor companies use MPW services to dramatically reduce chip development costs when they need a few tens of samples for evaluation. However, the service is equally cost-effective for low volume production, typically up to 1000 pieces of each device. When device evaluation is complete, migration to a dedicated wafer run for high volume production is easily realized.

Commenting on the SEMPAC deal, MOSIS deputy director, Wes Hansford, said, "Our service is about enabling innovation amongst semiconductor businesses, particularly in an environment where shrinking chip geometries mean that dedicated mask sets and wafers are not affordable for some designs. Reducing the cost of packaging without compromising performance or reliability through this agreement is one more way in which we can help our customers attain their new product development goals quickly and economically."

SEMPAC packaging is available through MOSIS now and more information on the available options can be found at http://www.mosis/com/sempac. The MOSIS service is exclusively available in Europe through EDA Solutions Ltd.