Effective power delivery in Double-sided 3-D glass interposer packages was proposed, investigated, and demonstrated towards achieving high logic-to-memory bandwidth. Such 3-D interposers enable a simpler alternative to direct 3-D stacking by providing low-loss, wide-I/O channels between the logic device on one side of the ultra-thin glass interposer and memory stack on the other side, eliminating the need for complex TSVs in the logic die. A simplified PDN design approach with power-ground planes was proposed to overcome resonance challenges from (a) added parasitic inductance in the lateral power delivery path from the printed wiring board (PWB), due to die placement on the bottom side of the interposer, and (b) the low-loss property of the glass substrate. Based on this approach, this dissertation developed three important suppression solutions using, (a) the 3-D interposer package configuration, (b) the selection of embedded and SMT-based decoupling capacitors, and (c) coaxial power-ground planes with TPVs. The self-impedance of the 3-D glass interposer PDN was simulated using electromagnetic solvers, including printed-wiring-board (PWB) and chip-level models. Two-metal and four-metal layer test vehicles were fabricated on 30-μm and 100-μm thick glass substrates using a panel-based double-side fabrication process, for potential lower cost and improved electrical performance. The PDN test structures were characterized upto 20 GHz, to demonstrate the measured verification of (a) 3-D glass interposer power delivery network and (b) resonance suppression. The data and analysis presented in this dissertation prove that the objectives of this research were met successfully, leading to the first demonstration of effective PDN design in ultra-thin (30-100μm), and 3-D double-sided glass BGA packages, by suppressing the PDN noise from mode resonances.

Recent trends to miniaturized systems such as smartphones and wearables, as well as the rise of autonomous vehicles relying on all-electric and smart in-car systems, have brought unprecedented needs for superior performance, functionality, and cost requirements. Transistor scaling alone cannot meet these metrics unless the remaining system components such as substrates and interconnections are scaled down to bridge the gap between transistor and system scaling. In this regard, 3D glass system packages have emerged as a promising alternative due to their ultra-short system interconnection lengths, higher component densities and system reliability enabled by the tailorable coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high dimensional stability and surface smoothness, outstanding electrical properties and low-cost panel-level processability of glass. The research objectives are to demonstrate board-level reliability of large, thin, glass packages directly mounted on PCB with conventional BGAs at pitches of 400µm SMT and smaller. Two key innovations are introduced to accomplish the objectives: a.) Reworkable circumferential polymer collars providing strain-relief at critical high stress concentration areas in the solder joints, b.) novel Mn-doped SACMTM solder to provide superior drop test performance without degrading thermomechanical reliability. Modeling, package and board design, fabrication and reliability characterization were carried out to demonstrate reliable board-level interconnections of large, ultra-thin glass packages. Finite-element modeling (FEM) was used to investigate the effectiveness of circumferential polymer collars as a strain-relief solution on fatigue performance. Experimental results with polymer collars indicated a 2X improvement in drop performance and 30% improvement in fatigue life. Failure analysis was performed using characterization techniques such as confocal surface acoustic microscopy (C-SAM), optical microscopy, X-ray imaging, and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS). Model-to-experiment correlation was performed to validate the effectiveness of polymer collars as a strain-relief mechanism. Enhancement in board-level reliability performance with advances in solder materials based on Mn-doped SACMTM is demonstrated in the last part of the thesis.The studies, thus, demonstrate material, design and process innovations for package-to-board interconnection reliability with ultra-thin, large glass packages.