September 21, 2009 - Earlier this spring Texas Instruments said its new assembly/test facility in the Philippines was up and running. SST/AP got an update on their progress, and how in response to "unprecedented" demand they've ramped up the site far ahead of schedule.

One of six TI assembly/test facilities worldwide, the new 780,000 sq. ft site in the Clark Freeport Zone essentially doubles capacity in the region (the company has another facility in the Philippines' Baguio City), and "significantly increase[s]" TI's capacity for both wafer chip-scale packaging (WCSP) and quad-flat-no-lead (QFN). "What is unique about Clark is its packaging focus, much of which was previously done with our subcon partners," explained Richard Dotson, communications manager for worldwide semiconductor packaging and quality at TI, in an email exchange. Equipment was brought into the facility in May -- just 17 months after groundbreaking -- and the first QFN product was recently qualified, around seven weeks ahead of schedule.

Why the push to get Clark up and running? TI currently projects 11%-17% growth in 3Q09 sales, on top of an 18% surge in 2Q09 -- an "unprecedented" increase, Dotson noted, including "significant demand for several package types, including QFN." Thus the company is adding more production capacity, especially in assembly/test for those package types. Backend activity is generally seen picking up across the industry as well; just ask Rudolph Technologies.

QFN, in particular, offers a small form factor with high thermal and electrical performance, particularly attractive for analog components for what Dotson calls "personal electronics" -- i.e., handheld multimedia-friendly devices like 3G handsets and GPS systems. After first QFN qualification in August, "we have extended qualification to a wider number of products, [and] are beginning to ramp," he said. Though more of the Clark site's resources are currently dedicated to WCSP than to QFN, he indicated, "the demand for QFN is steep, and we’re ramping quickly."