AI-Driven Innovation For Manufacturing Automation


By Calvin Shiao, AshtonWS Huang, and Alfos Hsu Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the world and improving our lives in many ways. The semiconductor industry is a key part of the AI revolution, as it provides powerful computing chips for AI applications and leverages AI to optimize business operations and management, customer service, office workflows, as well as the intricate realms of... » read more

Photonic Debonding Provides A Cost-Efficient, High-Throughput Debond Process


As emerging technologies require ultrathinned device wafers, traditional debonding processes can pose some challenges. Photonic debonding is an innovative debonding process utilizing a carrier coated with an inorganic metal release layer that aids in the release of the thinned wafer from the carrier substrate with no force and no damage to the delicate wafer upon activation of the release layer... » read more

Semiconductors Accelerate The Artificial Intelligence Revolution


By Ajit Manocha, Pushkar Apte, and Melissa Grupen-Shemansky Five years ago, SEMI published an article predicting that Artificial Intelligence (AI) would change everything – and it has! AI has moved out of labs and taken popular imagination by storm. It is now a hot topic of discussion everywhere, from family dining tables and corporate boardrooms to corridors of government. While it m... » read more

Industry Luminaries Highlight Opportunities For Advancing The Non-EUV Leading Edge


The eBeam Initiative’s 12th annual Luminaries survey in 2023 reported a range of nodes from >5nm to 14nm as the most advanced non-EUV nodes using 193i lithography. A panel of semiconductor photomask and lithography experts debated several of the survey results, including this one, to provide more insights behind the results. Aki Fujimura, CEO of D2S, Inc., the managing company sponsor of t... » read more

High Performance, Multi-Chip Leadframe Package With Internal Connections


For high performance applications, demand for highly integrated packages has increased. This is due to the highly integrated package’s electrical performance advantages of reduction of interchip distance (delay), high density I/O counts for multi-function and small form factor [1-3]. With the increasing importance of highly integrated packages, the need for improved thermal management is also... » read more

Improving Semiconductor Yield Using Large Area Analysis


Design rule checking (DRC) is a technique used during chip design to ensure that a device can successfully be manufactured at high yield. Design rules are established based on the limits and variability of equipment and process technologies in use. DRC checking ensures that a design meets manufacturing requirements and will not result in a chip failure or DRC “violation.” Common DRC rules i... » read more

Smart Manufacturing Advances The Next Generation Of Semiconductor Chips


Semiconductor devices are ubiquitous in our everyday lives and foundational to today’s communication, education, manufacturing, health, and transportation industries. From the moment our phone’s alarm clock wakes us up to unwinding by streaming our favorite shows, it’s difficult to imagine modern life without the devices that semiconductors enable. To keep pace with performance and ... » read more

Shaping A Sustainable $1 Trillion Era


The semiconductor industry remains on course to reach a total of US$1 trillion in global revenue by 2030, with the journey from US$600 billion expected to take just a decade. At the CEO Summit during SEMICON Europa 2023, SEMI Europe President Laith Altimime attributed this remarkable growth to powerful megatrends, most notably artificial intelligence (AI). AI, in turn, is creating new opport... » read more

LAB Flip Chip Reflow Process Robustness Prediction By Thermal Simulation


By Gabriel Chang and Ricky Zang Nowadays, there are many interconnects in IC chips. One of the packaging goals is to connect an IC to the next level of subsystem circuitry (package substrates/print circuit boards). Mass reflow (MR) of solder joints is a widely adapted and stable process in the industry. The applications of MR include flip chip, ball mounting, surface mount technology (SMT), ... » read more

What Is TCAD And Why It Is Essential For The Semiconductor Industry


Modern technology computer-aided design (TCAD) technologies have been around now for years. Yet, many semiconductor engineers still run experiments directly on wafers to examine chip fabrication processes and device operation. While it can be challenging to become proficient in TCAD, conducting experiments on wafers isn’t exactly easy, nor is it quick or cost-effective to do. As with so ma... » read more

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