Open Innovation Using Open Laboratory Revolutionizes Materials Business

In June 2014, Hitachi Chemical set up Open Laboratory in its Tsukuba Research Laboratory, with the goal of strengthening its next-generation semiconductor packaging material technologies. Hitachi Chemical seeks to engage in open innovation by using the Open Laboratory to gain access to state-of-the-art information and to inspire collaborative R&D within its supply chain. By engaging in open innovation, Hitachi Chemical aims to lead an industry that delivers “wonders,” which exceed the expectations of customers and society, and that develops innovative solutions beyond the boundaries of chemistry.

Purpose and outlineRecent trends in development of semiconductor packag-ing materials, developing and supplying mounting materi-als swiftly is urgently important since quality of packaging technologies have been advancing and life cycle of prod-ucts have become much shorter. We also need to develop new ideas, coming from both inside the Group as well as  from other stakeholders, which can be applied to the  development of next- generation products. Hitachi Chemical has established Open Laboratory as a new approach to solve these problems.

New approachThe conventional approach in developing packaging materials was to repeat the time-consuming process of submitting samples for customers to evaluate. There were also many problems (such as differences in conditions) that were easily solved if we could test the samples with our customers. In the Open Laboratory, customers can package and analyze any material they want, regardless differences in suppliers, including other competitors and also they can

use our packaging or their own. Our customers can try any combination of materials they want, since the Hitachi Chemical are rich in our material stocks, we are able to offer almost all kinds of materials needed in the packaging process. This helps us make timely proposals regarding packaging materials and how they are used (processes) to get the results customers are looking for. In this way, not only can we sharply reduce the development lead time, but also discover new ideas by sharing customers’ development process.

Special Feature 1

Part 1. What is Hitachi Chemical’s Open Laboratory?

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Special Feature 1 Open Laboratory

New approachConventional approach

Identify customer’s needs and propose materials

Extract samples

Customer evaluation of materials/process

Repeat until customer approves

Identify customer’s needsand propose materials

Customer adopts new materialCustomer adopts new materialCustomer adopts new materialCustomer adopts new material

Parts andmaterials brought

in by customers

Open Laboratory

HitachiChemical’s

sample

Evaluation(propose solution)

Rapid advances in semiconductor packaging in terms of higher density and smaller size have accompanied the relent-less progress of devices such as smartphones and tablets. As a result, package structure is evolving from increasing the density of surface mount technology to three-dimensional packaging such as Through Silicon Via (TSV), accompanied by a diversifi cation of packaging processes.

At the same time, product cycles are becoming shorter. We must make timely proposals of new packaging materials and be quick to propose all-round solutions including packaging processes from the customer’s perspective to develop these complex semiconductor packages in limited time.

What is a semiconductor package?The various functions of semiconductor de-vices are produced by integrated circuits formed on a silicon chip (bare chip) by un-dergoing complex processes. Silicon chips are extremely delicate and can fail or mal-function when exposed to minute quantities of dirt or moisture. Silicon chips must thus be coated with resin (molding compounds) to prevent these problems to protect them from the external environment. As well, minute silicon chip electrodes must be connected to a printed circuit board to en-sure electronic data is conveyed accurately. Semiconductor packages fulfi ll these roles.

Trends in Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Packaging

Changing relationshipsChanging the relationships between Hitachi Chemical and its customers and competitors, we can evaluate and pro-pose to customers new packaging solutions in collabora-tion with equipment manufacturers who excel in the rele-vant fi elds and companies that supply input materials Hitachi Chemical does not.

The Hitachi Chemical Open Laboratory enables us to fulfi ll customers’ expectations by proposing packaging materials that offer the performance they are looking for in a timely manner. This enables us to play a leading role in  the packaging materials business by acquiring and employing the most advanced knowledge to develop new products and accommodate customers’ next generation of products. Our goal is to be a company trusted by our customers to help them drive their business forward.

Productionequipmentmanufac-

turers

Partnership

Alliance

Materialsmanufacturers(competitors)

Materialsmanufacturers(competitors)

Materialsmanufacturers

(partners)

Materialsmanufacturers

(partners)

HitachiChemical

Customers

Keeping within existing frameworks and perspectives (Reduced value for customers) Build a consortium of production equipment

and materials manufacturers with Open Laboratory as the hub

Previous structure Hereafter

What kind of materials do our customers use in combination? What kind of processing do they use?

HitachiChemical

OpenLaboratory

Customers

Provide value by leading the consortium

Consortium

Materialsmanufacturers

(partners)

Materialsmanufacturers

(partners)

Productionequipmentmanufac-

turers

Materialsmanufacturers(competitors)

Materialsmanufacturers(competitors)

Cooperation

Sharing information(feeding back

productionequipment/process

conditions, etc.)

Background to establishment of Open Laboratory

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Personal computers

Game consoles

Mobile phones

Digital cameras

Organicsubstrates

Accelerating trend of smaller, more powerful electronic devicesForms of semiconductor packaging become more complex

Shortened product cyclesDevice layer

Smartphones

Tablets

Wearable devices

Developing new semiconductor packages in less timeNot just materials: We also provide customers with ideas for packaging processes

Lead frames

Memory layer

Package layer

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Changing relationship with customers in each process of semiconductor package development

Part 2. Open Laboratory Concept Makes New Approach Possible

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We ask what customers are looking for, such as the structure of the semiconductor packages in need for their next generation of smartphones.We have installed the latest devices and equip-ment at our Open Laboratory so customers can be confi dent Hitachi Chemical will provide solu-tions to their needs. Being well equipped, we can more accurately identify customers’ specifi c needs in greater depth and detail.

We consider a range of materials and processes for evaluation to propose the best semiconductor package to the customer.At Open Laboratory, customers can choose any combi-nation of materials from competitors’ offerings as well as the extensive range supplied by Hitachi Chemical. We can discuss and decide with customers which materials and processes to be used.

Discussion about semiconductor

package for evaluationSimulation

Identifying customer’s needs and informing them about materials

Special Feature 1 Open Laboratory

Flexing simulation of a semiconductor package

After deciding on the materials to evaluate, we decide on detailed specifi cations.Even the same material will have different stress and fl exion depending on variables such as the coeffi -cient of elasticity, coeffi cient of thermal expansion, and thickness. At Open Laboratory, we conduct simulations with customers to determine which materials with which properties are best to decide on specifi c material properties and specifi cations for combinations.

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Aiming to Be Number 1 in the Packaging Materials Sector

In February 2015 we reorganized the Open Laboratory to transcend functional barriers. It followed that our people in materials development, marketing, and even working at overseas marketing locations could all share information and work more closely together towards common goals. Open Laboratory now gives us a means to collaborate proactively with both package assembly equipment manufacturers and other material makers in ways that exceed customers’ expectations in contributing to their businesses. We will also be working to extend the business model we use in semiconductor packaging to touch-panel and display applications.

Open Laboratory as the Core of Proactive Open Innovation

The Open Laboratory’s most salient attribute is that it has Hitachi Chemical’s full lineup of packaging materials, and a complete array of systems for evaluating completed packages. Its inception has generated massive interest among not only our own customers, but assembly-equipment and other material manufacturers as well, and it allowed us to collaborate with manufacturers with whom we had not worked with in the past. We hope to unleash Open Laboratory’s potential so that we are able to participate directly in the next-generation product development project of our customers.

After selecting the materials and processes, they are evaluated at Open Laboratory.After discussing requirements with our customers, we provide the equipment needed for each process of the same standard as their own. This allows customers to establish material specifi cations and process conditions quickly and reduce the time to fi nal selection, because they can test diverse combinations of materials and specifi -cations at once using the same equipment.

We analyze the informa-tion obtained in collabora-tion with customers and propose new materials and processes for the next generation of customer products.

Evaluation Adoption

Proposalsfor customers’

next-generation products

TadakazuMiyazaki

General Manager of Hitachi Chemical

PackagingSolution Center

HiroyukiMorishima

Executive Offi cerof Hitachi Chemical

Special Feature 1 Open Laboratory