HERNDON, VA — The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) has released its 2005 Research Priorities, which presents the consensus on R&D needs identified in the 2004 iNEMI Roadmap. The document, intended to help the industry focus on areas critical to future competitiveness, highlights six key challenges the electronics manufacturing industry faces. “The 2004 iNEMI Roadmap indicates that most of today’s key semiconductor and electronic packaging technologies are not capable of meeting the needs of the industry in 2015,” said Robert C. Pfahl Jr., vice president of operations for iNEMI. “If these challenges are not promptly addressed with innovative solutions, the continued viability of the electronics manufacturing industry will weaken over the next decade. The iNEMI Research Priorities help focus attention on the critical areas that will yield the greatest return on research investment.”

The six challenges discussed include: (1) strategic gaps in active device technology, (2) thermal management, (3) increased communications bandwidth, (4) next-generation packaging technology, (5) design and simulation tools and (6) sustainability metrics. Evolutionary gaps identified include manufacturing challenges from miniaturization and materials reliability.
 
Of these six challenges, an issue of paramount importance is next-generation packaging technology. Every few decades the electronics industry introduces a new generation of packaging technology that significantly changes product design, manufacturing/assembly processes and system interfaces and requires several years to fully implement. It is apparent that a new generation of low-cost packaging technology will be required during the next decade. This next generation will need to interface with the interconnect structures of new nano-devices, provide required thermal cooling and electrical performance, and be compatible with a number of devices and applications (including RF, optical, sensors, MEMs and biological).  Next-generation packaging technology will also require materials with enhanced properties and advanced manufacturing processes to address the rapidly decreasing dimensions and cost expectations.
 
The Research Priorities are available for download: http://thor.inemi.org/webdownload/RI/iNEMI_2005_Research_Priorities.pdf