Package Lid-Attach System

Package lid-attach and package singulation sit at opposite ends of final package assembly — lid attach seals the finished package closed, and singulation cuts the completed package array apart into individual, shippable units — closing out the molded or assembled package before it leaves the line.

Lid attach isn't used on every package type, and whether it's needed at all depends entirely on the package's own construction. Overmolded plastic packages are already environmentally sealed by the mold compound itself and never need a separate lid; cavity-style packages — ceramic or metal-lid packages common in hermetic, RF, or optical applications — have an open cavity around the die that a lid must physically seal, often with hermeticity requirements tight enough to need welding, soldering, or glass-sealing the lid rather than simple adhesive attach. Lid attach exists as its own equipment category specifically for that second package construction style.

Singulation has to be precise enough to separate packages cleanly without damaging the die or interconnects now sealed inside each unit. By this point in assembly, each package site contains a fully attached, wire-bonded or bumped, and often molded or lidded die — a singulation saw or punch cutting through the array has to separate individual units along precisely defined streets without chipping, cracking, or otherwise damaging the finished package it's cutting apart, since any damage at this final step scraps a package that's already absorbed every prior assembly cost.

Lid attach and singulation represent the last two steps most packages go through before they're actually shippable products — sealing the cavity where the package construction calls for it, and then physically separating the completed array into the individual units a customer actually receives.