Resources · Reference

The Visitech technology glossary

DLP imaging, direct imaging lithography and additive manufacturing carry a vocabulary that is half acronym. This is what we mean by each of them — in plain terms, written by the engineers who build the hardware.

Browse the termsData sheets

A to Z

Every term, defined

Search for a term, or narrow the list to a theme. Every entry links to itself, so you can send a colleague straight to the definition you meant.

24 terms

A

Advanced packaging
The set of techniques for connecting dies at higher density than a conventional package allows — fan-out, flip chip, chiplets, interposers — and increasingly where the hardest lithography outside the fab happens.
2 pages · 6 articles — what Advanced packaging links to

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C

Chip first
A fan-out sequence in which the dies are placed and moulded before the wiring is built on top of them. Fast, but the dies move slightly during moulding, so the wiring has to be adapted to where they actually ended up.
Chip last
A fan-out sequence in which the wiring is built first and the dies attached to it afterwards. Slower, but the wiring is not at the mercy of die shift.

D

Die
One individual chip, as cut from the wafer it was made on.
1 article — what Die links to

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Die shift
The small movement of dies out of their intended positions during moulding in a fan-out process. It is why the wiring layer has to be aligned to where the dies actually are, panel by panel.

F

Fan-out panel level packaging
Fan-out packaging carried out on a large rectangular panel instead of a round wafer, so far more packages are processed in one pass. Shortened to FOPLP.
Fan-out wafer level packaging
Packaging in which a die's connections are fanned out beyond its own footprint into a moulded area around it, so a small die can carry more I/O than its edges would allow. Shortened to FOWLP.
FCBGA
Flip chip ball grid array — a package where the die is mounted face-down onto the substrate and the package connects to the board through a grid of solder balls underneath.
3 products · 3 documents — what FCBGA links to

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FCCSP
Flip chip chip scale package — a flip-chip package barely larger than the die inside it.
4 products · 4 documents — what FCCSP links to

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Flip chip ball grid array
A package in which the die is mounted face-down and the package connects to the board through a grid of solder balls underneath. Shortened to FCBGA.
Flip chip chip scale package
A flip-chip package barely larger than the die inside it. Shortened to FCCSP.
FOPLP
Fan-out panel level packaging — fan-out packaging carried out on a large rectangular panel rather than a round wafer, so far more packages are processed in one pass.
3 products · 5 articles · 3 documents — what FOPLP links to

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FOWLP
Fan-out wafer level packaging — the same idea on a wafer: the die's connections are fanned out beyond its own footprint into a moulded area around it, so a small die can carry more I/O than its edge would allow.
3 products · 5 articles · 3 documents — what FOWLP links to

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H

HDI
High-density interconnect — printed circuit boards built with finer lines, smaller vias and more layers than a conventional board, to fit more connections into the same area.
3 products · 1 article · 3 documents — what HDI links to

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Heterogeneous chiplet
A design built from several smaller dies — often made on different processes, by different suppliers — packaged together instead of being drawn as one large chip.
4 products · 4 documents — what Heterogeneous chiplet links to

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High-density interconnect
Board construction using finer lines, smaller vias and more layers than a conventional PCB, to route more connections through the same area. Usually shortened to HDI.

M

Maximum panel size
The largest substrate a lithography configuration can handle end to end.
1 product · 1 document — what Maximum panel size links to

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O

Organic substrate
A package substrate made from resin and glass fibre rather than ceramic or silicon. Cheaper and available in large panels — and it moves with heat and humidity, which is why the pattern has to be corrected to the panel.
4 products · 4 documents — what Organic substrate links to

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P

Panel
A large rectangular substrate. Processing on panels instead of wafers puts more product through per pass, at the cost of a substrate that is harder to hold flat and stable.
6 products · 1 article · 5 documents — what Panel links to

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S

SiP
System in package — several dies, and often passive components, combined inside one package so the finished part behaves as a single component on the board.
3 articles — what SiP links to

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Substrate
Whatever is being exposed: a panel, a wafer, a board, a package carrier. The word is used when the process does not depend on which of those it is.
6 products · 1 article · 5 documents — what Substrate links to

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System in package
Several dies, and often passive components, combined inside one package so the finished part behaves as a single component. Shortened to SiP.
1 article — what System in package links to

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W

Wafer
A thin round disc of semiconductor material, the form in which chips are made. Round, so it wastes the corners of any rectangular pattern — which is the argument for panel-level processing.
4 products · 1 article · 4 documents — what Wafer links to

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Y

Yield
The proportion of finished units that pass. On fine-pitch work it is decided largely by registration and line-width control, which is where imaging either earns its place or does not.
2 pages · 6 articles — what Yield links to

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Still not clear?

Ask the people who built it

A definition only goes so far. Tell us the substrate, the line/space you are aiming at and the format, and we will come back with what it means for your machine — usually within two business days.

Ask an engineer