Apple R1 Adopts TSMC’s Latest Package

In keeping with Apple’s habit of using TSMC’s advanced packaging capability, the new R1 chip in the Apple Vision Pro is packaged in an integrated fanout multichip (InFO-M) package manufactured by TSMC; the first time Apple has adopted this technology.

TSMC has not widely publicized InFOM, giving most attention to other variants such as InFOPoP (package-on-package) and InFOoS (on substrate). The former is in every iPhone, and the latter is targeted at large package, high-performance computing (HPC) and is a multichip package technology.

To quote TSMC, “InFOoS leverages InFO technology and features higher density 2/2 µm redistribution layer (RDL) line width/space to integrate multiple advanced logic chiplets for 5G networking application. It enables hybrid pad pitches on SoC with minimum 40 µm I/O pitch, minimum 130 µm C4 Cu bump pitch and >2X reticle size InFO on >65 x 65 mm substrates.”

With the large reticle size, InFOoS is clearly unsuitable for a mobile application such as the Vision Pro. InFO-M reportedly also has high-density RDLs, but TSMC has not published any dimensions. Consequently, InFOM has been a bit of a mystery, and our packaging analysts were keen to look at its use in the R1.