Kaynes Semicon Achieves AEC-Q100 Automotive Grade Qualification at Sanand

Kaynes Sanand Becomes India's First Automotive-Qualified Chip Packaging Facility

Kaynes Semicon has achieved AEC-Q100 automotive semiconductor qualification for its OSAT facility in Sanand, Gujarat, certifying the plant as a qualified source for automotive-grade packaged chips. AEC-Q100, published by the Automotive Electronics Council, defines the stress test requirements that semiconductor packages must survive without failure to be considered reliable for use in automotive applications, where devices may experience wide temperature ranges, vibration, humidity, and other environmental stresses over the 15-plus-year life expected of modern vehicle systems. Achieving this qualification places the Kaynes Sanand facility in a select group of OSAT plants globally that are approved for automotive semiconductor supply, and it is the first time an Indian packaging facility has achieved this certification for commercial customer use.

What AEC-Q100 Qualification Involves

AEC-Q100 qualification is a rigorous process that involves subjecting packaged chips from a specific facility to a defined battery of stress tests across each qualification vehicle, which is a specific device in a specific package configuration assembled using the facility's production process. The stress tests include high-temperature operating life, which ages the device at elevated temperature under electrical bias; temperature cycling, which subjects the package to repeated excursions between low and high temperature extremes to stress the mechanical interfaces between die, solder, and substrate; humidity and bias testing, which evaluates resistance to moisture-driven corrosion; and electrostatic discharge sensitivity characterisation. Each test must be completed on multiple lots of samples, with failure analysis performed on any device that fails. The full qualification process typically takes six to twelve months from commencement to final certification, depending on the package family and stress conditions applicable to the grade being qualified.

Packages Qualified and Grade Coverage

Kaynes Semicon has qualified its QFN and BGA package families at AEC-Q100 Grade 1 and Grade 2, covering the operating temperature ranges of minus 40 to plus 125 degrees Celsius and minus 40 to plus 105 degrees Celsius respectively. Grade 1 applies to automotive applications where the semiconductor may be exposed to engine bay temperatures, such as sensors and control units in close proximity to heat sources. Grade 2 applies to applications in the passenger compartment and body electronics where temperature extremes are less severe. The qualification covers the wire bonding and moulding processes used in the QFN lines and the flip-chip and underfill processes used in the BGA lines, establishing a certified quality system for both package families that customers can rely on without conducting their own full re-qualification of the site.

Commercial Implications and Customer Discussions

AEC-Q100 qualification opens Kaynes Sanand to a category of customers and designs that were previously inaccessible without the certification. Indian automotive OEMs including Tata Motors, Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki, which are expanding their electronics content per vehicle and exploring domestic sourcing for regulatory and supply chain reasons, can now qualify Kaynes Sanand as a chip packaging source without navigating a gap in the facility's credentials. International automotive Tier-1 suppliers operating in India can similarly consider Kaynes for their locally-manufactured component programmes. The Qualcomm automotive SiP programme already under development at Sanand benefits from the AEC-Q100 qualification, as it provides the formal quality system foundation that Qualcomm requires of its OSAT partners for automotive product lines. Kaynes has indicated it expects its first automotive customer orders following qualification to arrive before the end of fiscal 2027.