CEO update – influence of extreme testing complexity on packaging

Electronics systems continue to undergo greater miniaturization and higher integration. Unfortunately, this results in ever more complex testing. And nowhere more so than for sensor systems. Unlike standard ICs, sensor systems also present an additional and unique challenge. Given their nature, they require customized encapsulation and packaging.  But that means there are no packaging standards and in turn there are no general testers and handlers available for sensor systems.

So as well as requiring customized encapsulation, each sensor needs its individual stimuli (light, pressure, current, temperature) and testing method. In general, the digital processing part of a sensor system can be tested directly on the wafer at the foundry. However, the sensor itself often cannot be tested because the package can have a direct impact on the sensor’s functionality.

The implication is that the entire sensor system can only be tested and calibrated at the end of the production line. In fact the sensor system’s final functional production test, just like it’s encapsulation requirements, needs to be considered right from the very beginning of development. Just one more challenge in the life of a sensor system developer!

Enjoy the approaching autumn’s coolness and colorful vistas.

Oliver Maiwald