Case Studies
Achievements that helped companies deliver new products:
1) Wafer Scale Printing & Bonding: Silicon Microstructures needed to develop a wafer scale glass frit printing and bonding process using silicon for an automotive sensor application. The process was to be optimized for fine-line geometries to match the sensor cavities. The Cpk target was 2.0 and DOEs (Design of Experiments) were required to achieve the goal.
Chris McKleroy worked with the Silicon Microstructures team to setup a dedicated "Glass Frit Print Room" and acquire all the equipment to meet the production targets. A significant cost savings was found by identifying an optical profilometer (0.45 um resolution) to accurately measure results from the DOEs. Typical capital cost was ~$100K+. Chris found a source and setup the equipment for ~1/4 the cost. (a $75K savings!).
Chris developed the process using multi-variable DOEs (with Minitab) for characterizing the deposition widths and profiles. The fine line corner geometries were optimized by Chris in ACAD to meet an overall bead flatness within 2um for high yield wafer bonding.
Chris delivered the PFMEAs and Procedures and trained the team for production. Currently Silicon Microstructures has a wafer printing facility and capability for wafer scale bonding.
2) 40G Transponder Ramp to Production: Chris joined the team at Big Bear Networks shortly after Big Bear had received a major production contract for 40G Short Reach Transponders. The company had delivered the prototypes however it was having difficulty with a few suppliers of critical components including a) the volume delivery of 40G LTCC RF packages from a key manufacturer and b) potential field failures resulting from assembly processes in the 40G optical receiver.
Chris did a mechanical/process analysis of the 40G RF package and held meetings on site and with the supplier to address both process and tolerance issues. As a result, the supplier delivered the required volumes to meet the production ramp. In addition, Chris set up quarterly quality reviews to reduce costs.
The 40G optical receiver had numerous issues including wirebond lifting, measurement repeatability with the optical connector, and production logisitics. Chris visited the supplier and addressed all issues with a weekly "Action Report" until a few key achievements were implemented including 1) argon ashing process for wirebonding 2) optical interferometer measurements to achieve repeatable testing ("used item" found through Chris' network) and 3) production processes to verify traceability and meet acceptable practices for high reliability products.
3) Flip Chip Equipment Expertise: At Endwave Corporation, the company landed large orders for point-to-multipoint high frequency radios that used technology based on the flip chip manufacturing process. The current process needed to be converted to high volume in order to meet the company’s sales targets for its IPO.
The major flip chip equipment vendors were investigated and a matrix was developed for machine specifications, cost and performance tradeoffs. After discussions with the team, we decided that the in-house prototype machine would be converted to production-ready equipment. This would meet our cost and schedule goals.
Potential engineering subcontractors were identified and Chris choose Automation Tooling Systems (ATS) to redesign the prototype machine for production. Chris managed the program which included adding both hardware and software upgrades, qualifying the machine for production and delivering the first 5 production machines (total cost: $300K) on schedule; ATS delivered the first 3 machines in four months and the subsequent 2 machines in 6 months from receipt of order. Operators were trained on all shifts at both Endwave’s Sunnyvale and Diamond Springs facilities. The production capacity was quadrupled to meet production our goals.
4) Cost Reduction: Package Conversion to LTCC: At Teraburst, we developed a 10G Broadband OMO (optical/millimeter wave/ optical) 1 X 64 Switch. The original base module used a 0.005" thin film (alumina) substrate for RF performance requirements; each OMO switch contained 256 switch modules. The alumina substrates cost ~ $80.00 with a total cost adder of >$20,000 per system.
Chris worked with packaging supplier Kyocera Corp. to develop an LTCC BGA package that would meet all the RF performance requirements for the 10G broadband application. Chris managed the design reviews to optimize the proposed package design and modeling results. In addition, Chris worked with the PCB designer to assure that the PCB layout met the RF performance (Input Loss, Return Loss) for 10 Gb broadband operation.
The result was that we met performance requirements and improved the overall switch Return Loss by 4 dB. The cost of the package was reduced (by converting alumina to LTCC) to meet our $5.00 target. The total cost savings realized was ~ $19,000 per OMO Switch.
5) Lead-free Hybrid Package Conversion: At Redclover Networks, we needed to qualify a new lead-free 40G broadband driver module for production that would meet the rigorous environmental standards for the Japanese market. The schedule requirement was 3 months.
Chris worked closely with SHP, a subcontractor specialized in hermetic housing products to develop a hermetic, lead-free, aluminum package. Chris also worked with procurement to identify suppliers and convert all internal components to lead free products. The package was sealed using YAG laser welding to achieve hermeticity for reliability. Chris identified a subcontractor to deliver the hermetic lead-free production units on schedule. After delivery of the first units, the 40G driver was reliability tested and met all the customer’s qualification requirements. A final report was published and delivered to our large Japanese customer.
6) 10G Transponder (120km) - Accelerated Schedule: Also at Redclover Networks, we needed to design and develop a 10G long reach (120km) transponder that would perform to the telecom's specification GR-468 temperature range (Most notably it needed to operate at 70 C.). This product was key to the survival of the company. The schedule from design to delivery for the compliant 10G transponder was 3 months!
Preliminary Design Review was held in March (2003) and the team generated schematics for the functional elements of the PCBA and module design. One key product in the transponder that was needed to achieve performance over 120 km was a specially designed and fabricated pigtailed collimator/etalon subassembly. Chris developed a plan to to meet 1) our aggressive schedule and 2) the reliability requirments of GR-468 for the complex optical assembly. Chris identified the optical CM and managed the chosen CM to deliver the product and meet the goals of the program.
The end result was that the 10G transponder with the 120km range was demonstrated over temperature to our customer on June 11, 2003. The product met all performance goals.