Package Security

Abstract

Integrated circuit (IC) packaging plays a crucial role in the reliability and assurance of semiconductor products. Adversarial changes to packaging parameters by a malicious manufacturer can result in undetected features, which can lead to early failure of a chip. Furthermore, globalization of the IC packaging supply chain and the complexity of packaging for advanced semiconductor devices make malicious modifications both easier to perform and harder to detect. Modern in-process inspection methods and accelerated wear tests are prominently used to monitor and prevent intentional or unintentional changes in packaging. However, detection of structural or packaging modifications before receiving a device is still a complicated task for an end user. The complexity and time-consuming nature of modern reliability testing methods are not the only challenges in packaging reliability evaluation. The numerous packaging parameters involved in the entire process also need to be assessed. In this chapter, common IC packaging vulnerabilities and possible countermeasures are discussed.