Soft errors are caused by alpha particles that penetrate transistor junctions of semiconductor devices. While soft errors are not permanent in nature, they can cause device malfunctions. This leads to performance issues and can be a serious problem in devices used in critical applications.
In the past, cosmic rays and other environmental sources were the primary cause of soft errors in semiconductor devices. However, as device geometries have decreased and design complexities have increased, alpha emissions from semiconductor packaging materials such as wafer bumps (below right) have become a greater concern. This is because at more advanced nodes, lower alpha-emitting packaging materials are needed(see illustration below left).
Our rigorously tested high-quality materials do not affect device performance or behavior and meet your low alpha packaging needs.