Quick Decision Making and Backup System

Sony has taken on the challenge of a new area: mass production of LAMINATE substrates.
It was in July 2007 that the corporate officer in charge at Sony Corporation sounded out Mr. Hirokazu Toyoda and his associates at the Sony Chemical & Information Device Corporation regarding this idea. This was to be an enormous project in which Sony Corporation, Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corporation, and Sony Chemical & Information Device Corporation would work together as a unit on this concept. Initially, Kyushu was proposed as a candidate, but the Neagari Plant was seen as more promising since it already had the substrate production infrastructure.
“Won't it be possible to do this at Neagari?” When asked by the corporate officer in charge, Toyoda paused briefly. He did not think that just moving production in house would be all that meaningful. If they were to take on these challenges at all, he wanted to adopt new technologies and new processes and aim for a level of monozukuri more typical of Sony.
When he offered his honest opinion on the required equipment and budget, he was told “We'll give you whatever authority you need. Just do whatever you think necessary.” The corporate officer in charge came to a decision quickly. And Toyoda also committed himself. They decided to push forward aiming to start mass production as soon as possible. No matter how difficult the problems that had to be resolved would be.
The Neagari Plant was the main site for the production of motherboards for Sony products, and it clearly had the basic facilities and infrastructure, such as chemical supply and wastewater processing, that would be required. However, the required standards for aspects such as substrate surface cleanliness were orders of magnitude higher for production of LAMINATE substrates. This meant that the project had to start with a thoroughgoing review of the production environment and production line.

Determining Goals and Resolving Issues from the Standpoint of the User

Next, the members of the team proceeded with preparations for project startup under Toyoda's direction. Most of the members of the team already had experience working with multilayer build-up substrates. So what would the problems be? Where would we trip up? The issues were already understood at the start. In October 2007 we started the project, with a name based on the Kaga region, the “Hyakumangoku Project.”
Although there is occasionally a tendency for technological development to be selfserving,” said Toyoda, “in this project that was a collaboration between three companies, there was no concern about that. For example, the project members from Sony Semiconductor Kyushu Corporation, which was in charge of Sony semiconductor assembly, had accumulated a rich store of knowledge from their experience as users of LAMINATE substrates, including what sorts of circuit forms and electrical characteristics were desirable and what could cause problems.
Since we had such sharp eyes in the team, our targets were clear and we were able to take measures to resolve problems in advance.” Since we firmly grasped the desires of the set designers who will be using the chips, mounting, and substrates, we are able to take advantage of that in our daily efforts. This environment, which is rare for a substrate manufacturer, became a huge advantage.