RESEARCH

The requirements for miniaturization while enhancing functionality is best exemplified in the cell phone industry. This industry has proven the adage ‘size matters’. In the modern world of electronics, smaller must be accompanied by better. NxGEN and its technology partners have taken this task as integral to our mission. The work is best classed as System-in-a-Package (SIP) and is what we are becoming experts at achieving. One capability crucial to being successful in this endeavor is employing mixed technologies — surface mount, flip chip, mixture of packaged and bare die solutions, flexible substrates, etc.

NxGEN is one of a rare breed, with all this experience in one company. Systems-in-a-Package (SIP) R&D work is being conducted in conjunction with several customers based on our advanced packaging concepts. These concepts take advantage of the low-cost and highly reliable commercial-off-the-shelf components, µZ™Ball Stack memory technology, and advanced FPGA designs configured in modules of high density using rigid-flex substrates. For example, consider the following design in early stage development as a 21/4" x 21/4" x 1/3" module:

Our technology group has the capability to quickly miniaturize your design using a widerange of advanced packaging techniques. In these advanced packages, any combination of bare die, bumped die, and discrete surface mount components are interconnected with a high-performance substrate,and encapsulated if desired. This approach allows more flexibility, quicker time to market, and often compares favorably with system-on-a-chip approach. This results because each function is implemented in the appropriate process technology and extraneous features eliminated. Our designers can extend these packaging techniques formost types of applications using advanced laminate substrates such as 'flex' and/or 'rigid-flex'.

Special Competencies/Features

Initial designs are based on the latest inprocessor and memory technologies. The NxGEN systems approach to engineering these designs requires knowledge of computer architectures, high-performance I/O structures, and interactions between architectures and software as they affect module performance.