Casio Exilim EX-M1 DS Camera/Recorder/Audio Player
The Exilim EX-M1 is a credit-card sized digital camera with audio recording functions, an integrated MP3 player, 12MB of internal storage, and an SD or MMC card slot. The device features a 1.2 megapixel, 1/2.7" progressive CCD with integrated spherical lenses that make possible a thickness dimension of only 13.5 mm (maximum). The sister model (EX-S1) is 1.1 mm thinner, but only provides the digital camera. Both models include a 1.6" digital interfaced TFT color LCD monitor as well as a optical viewfinder.
 External Dimensions |
 Main Board - front and back sides |
 Main Board with Hitachi MCM |
 MCM Detail - 4 solder flip chips |
Summary
Aside from its small size, the most interesting aspect of the Casio Exilim EX-M1 camera is the use of a multi-chip substrate for implementing a major portion of the architecture. The 8-layer FR4 substrate, shown in the lower left corner in the upper photo, is attached to one side of the Main Board as a 408-ball BGA. The four Hitachi devices are solder flip-chip mounted on the substrate with underfill, and include an 8MB DRAM, a 16MB Flash, a 32-bit RISC processor, and a image processor ASIC.
The multi-chip substrate uses 4.5 square centimeters of the 12 square centimeter Main Board. The Main Board itself is an 8-layer ALIVH (Any Layer Interstitial Via Hole) substrate. Consequently, a total of sixteen layers are available on the Main Board for interconnection immediately under the four Hitachi devices. The remainder of the Main Board is primarily associated with power management. In addition to the Main Board, the camera uses a larger, but far less complicated, Interface Board and several smaller boards. The 4-layer Interface Board contains the media card slot, interface with the battery, USB (audio and charger) interface, and the navigation control.
Although the credit-sized camera performed well, the boards were extremely tight fit in the stainless enclosure with numerous discrete wires and hand soldered connections, somewhat unusual for a product assembled in Japan and resulting in a higher than normal DFA assembly cost.
This report is part of an ongoing Market Intelligence Project undertaken by DPC member companies. For information on how your company can join the DPC, please contact us.