Hybrid Thickfilm Assembly

Thick Film Hybrid Manufacturing Equipment

2400 SF Class 10K Clean Room, Static Dissipative Flooring
1 Ceramic Substrate Wash System
5 DEK Manual Thick Film Screen Printers
1 DEK Automatic Thick Film Printer with Load
2 RTC Thick Film Firing Furnaces
2 CLS Passive Trim Laser with Step & Repeat Handler
1 CLS Active Trim Laser
1 MRSI Automatic Die Bonder
1 MRSI Epoxy Dispenser
1 K&S 1419 Automatic Ball Bonder
1 Palomar 8000i Wire Bonder
1 Fine Gold Manual Wire Bonder
1 Fine Aluminum Manual Wire Bonder
2 Trebor Die Bonders
1 Tencor Sigma Scan Thickness Measurement System

Thick Film Hybrid Engineering Equipment

1 Thick Film Design CAD Station
1 Accuprobe Hybrid Probe Card Station
1 Darkroom equipped for Screen Printing

What is a Hybrid Circuit?

A Hybrid Circuit is a miniaturized electronic circuit constructed of individual devices, such as transistors, resistors, diodes, inductors, transformers, capacitors, etc, that are bonded to a substrate or printed circuit board ("PCB").

A hybrid circuit serves as a component on a PCB in the same way as an integrated circuit ("IC") does. The difference between the two types of devices is in how they are constructed and manufactured.

The advantage of hybrid circuits is that they can include components which cannot be included in an IC and can be substantially smaller than a conventional assembly. They also offer superior performance and reliability in challenging environments such as extreme temperature fluctuations. A Hybrid circuit fits a niche bracketed by an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) on one side and a conventional circuit board on the other.

Hybrid Circuit Manufacturing Process

Hybrid circuits are primarily produced in a Class 10,000 clean room using a ceramic base material. The base material is custom ordered including composition, size and hole placements required for each job. The ceramic circuit material is then processed per the requirements of each job.

Processes may include:

• Silk screening metallic inks and dielectric (non-conductive) materials to produce circuits, transistors, resistors, diodes, inductors, transformers, capacitors, etc.
• Firing
• Laser trimming the resistors to desired values
• Placing the surface-mount components and subsequently reflowing the solder
• Cleaning
• Dispensing the adhesive and placing the bare semiconductor "die"
• Curing the adhesive
• Wire bonding the die to make electrical connection between the die and the circuits
• Encapsulating the die so to protect it and the wires
• Active trimming of the resistors
• Testing the circuit
• Packaging the new device as needed