ABSTRACT
Semiconductor packaging is a middle link in electronics systems manufacturing, starting from wafer fabrication of multiple integrated circuits and proceeding all the way to final enclosure for the finished product. The package is dubbed the first level of packaging, with the circuit board being the second level and the final enclosure the third level. This chapter addresses background information needed to understand the use and importance of the various materials and components used in semiconductor packaging. The plastic version of the dual in-line packaging family was introduced in the early 1970s and then proceeded to dominate the market for plastic packages until the late 1980s, when surface-mount technology arrived on the scene, with quad flat packs, small outline packages, and plastic leaded chip carriers. Manufacturing operations have gone from manual, labor-intensive operations to highly automated, high-volume production.
