category: Manufacturing, Packaging and Materials

category: IoT, Security & Automotive

Fan-Out Packaging Gains Steam
By Mark LaPedus - 23 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 1

Fan-outs are creating a buzz and gaining steam in the market at a pace far beyond what anyone would have expected even at the start of the year. The approach, which has been around for several years, is a wafer-level packaging process that enables ultra-thin, high-density packages. So why the buzz? Apple is apparently moving to [getkc id="202" kc_name="fan-out"] packaging, according to an... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing
By Mark LaPedus - 20 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 0

Is Moore’s Law alive or dead? That’s still a topic for debate. In any case, chipmakers continue to move to advanced nodes, but the transitions are taking longer. Even mighty Intel is struggling, based on what the company said about its 14nm finFET process during an investors meeting this week. In fact, Intel continues to struggle with its yields. “14nm yield is maturing; 14nm is still not... » read more

You’re Not Alone
By Srinivas Velivala - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 0

All too often we get caught up in our own work and our own issues, thinking no one else could possibly be having as much trouble as we are. The reality is that many, if not most, of the problems and challenges in IC verification are not unique to one design, one team, or one person. The natural reluctance of people to admit they are struggling with some aspect of their job often keeps them from... » read more

Can Nano-Patterning Save Moore’s Law?
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 0

For years the academic community has explored a novel technology called selective deposition. Then, more than a year ago, Intel spearheaded an effort to bring the technology from the lab to the fab at 7nm or 5nm. Today, selective deposition is still in R&D, but it is gaining momentum in the industry. With R&D funding from Intel and others, selective deposition, sometimes called ALD-e... » read more

Why Packaging Matters
By Ed Sperling - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 1

The semiconductor package is changing. What was until very recently considered an afterthought is now becoming a key part of the design process at all major chipmakers, and a critical factor in the extension of Moore's Law. This is a sharp reversal of what was almost universally an afterthought in planar silicon design and manufacturing. Rarely was the package an integral part of the archite... » read more

Measuring FinFETs Will Get Harder
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 2

The industry is gradually migrating toward chips based on finFET transistors at 16nm/14nm and beyond, but manufacturing those finFETs is proving to be a daunting challenge in the fab. Patterning is the most difficult process for finFETs. But another process, metrology, is fast becoming one of the biggest challenges for the next-generation transistor technology. In fact, [getkc id="252" kc_n... » read more

Packaging Wars Ahead
By Ed Sperling - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 0

There has been much talk about semiconductor industry consolidation, but the shift into advanced packaging could have more far-reaching effects than all the mega-deals so far. Packaging is big business. Yole Développement has pinned the market at $30 billion, but that's only a thin slice of the pie that's in play. Companies that win the packaging deals also have a good shot of winning the m... » read more

Inside X-ray Metrology
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers are ramping up a new class of chip architectures, such as 3D NAND and finFETs. Measuring and characterizing the tiny structures in these technologies is a major challenge. It will not only take the traditional metrology tools, but also various X-ray techniques. To get a handle on X-ray metrology, Semiconductor Engineering recently discussed the trends with the following experts: ... » read more

Inside Multi-Beam E-Beam Lithography
By Mark LaPedus - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 4

Semiconductor Engineering sat down with David Lam, chairman of Multibeam, a developer of multi-beam e-beam tools for direct-write lithography applications. Lam is also a venture capitalist. He founded Lam Research in 1980, but left as an employee in 1985. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: How has the equipment business changed over the years and what’s the state of the i... » read more

The Growing Role Of Extended Supply Chain Collaboration
By Karen Savala - 19 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 0

At the executive keynote panel held at Semicon West 2015, one of the key industry challenges discussed was the growing need for closer collaboration between supply chain partners in order to support the fast time to market and shortened product lifecycles of today’s consumer electronics. Traditionally, the yield ramp phase has been a critical time to resolve manufacturing issues, enable high ... » read more

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