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Multi-chip Modules (MCM)

An early approach to bundling multiple functions into a single package.
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Description

A multi-chip module is the earliest form of a system-in-package, adding two or more integrated circuits to a common base and a single package.

Early adopters of this technology were high-reliability users, such as the military, which underwent a shift in the early 1990s from custom design and development to off-the-shelf parts due to cost pressures and funding cutbacks. By utilizing multiple chips instead of one custom part made in low quantities, many of the features could be combined for a far lower cost.

MCMs saw only limited adoption in their earliest form, which typically relied on wire bonding, but they helped paved the way for more sophisticated 2.5D and 3D-IC packaging.


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