Curvilinear Mask Patterning For Maximizing Lithography Entitlement


Curvilinear Mask Patterning is a cutting-edge lithography technique that promises to maximize lithography entitlement by addressing complex design challenges and critical yield limiters. However, its widespread deployment has been limited by significant computational challenges. This paper includes practical solutions to overcome the computational challenges associated with this technique, as w... » read more

What Can Go Wrong In Heterogeneous Integration


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss heterogeneous integration with Dick Otte, president and CEO of Promex Industries; Mike Kelly, vice president of chiplets/FCBGA integration at Amkor Technology; Shekhar Kapoor, senior director of product management at Synopsys; John Park, product management group director in Cadence's Custom IC & PCB Group; and Tony Mastroia... » read more

Gearing Up For Hybrid Bonding


Hybrid bonding is becoming the preferred approach to making heterogeneous integration work, as the semiconductor industry shifts its focus from 2D scaling to 3D scaling. By stacking chiplets vertically in direct wafer-to-wafer bonds, chipmakers can leapfrog attainable interconnection pitch from 35µm in copper micro-bumps to 10µm or less. That reduces signal delay to negligible levels and e... » read more

Big Changes Ahead For Photomask Technology


The move to curvilinear shapes on photomasks is gaining steam after years of promise as a way of improving yield, lowering defectivity, and reducing wasted space on a die — all of which are essential for both continued scaling and improved reliability in semiconductors. Interest in this approach ran high at this year's SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography Conference. Put simply, cur... » read more

Wirebonding Is Here To Stay


Few technologies in semiconductor manufacturing have stood the test of time as steadfastly as wirebonding. This process, which involves electrically connecting semiconductor devices to their packages, has been a cornerstone of the electronics industry since the beginning of the electronics industry. Like everything else in the semiconductor market, wirebonding technologies have changed over ... » read more

Heterogeneous Integration Finding Its Footing


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss heterogeneous integration with Dick Otte, president and CEO of Promex Industries; Mike Kelly, vice president of chiplets/FCBGA integration at Amkor Technology; Shekhar Kapoor, senior director of product management at Synopsys; John Park, product management group director in Cadence's Custom IC & PCB Group; and Tony Mastroianni, advanced packagin... » read more

The Impact Of Channel Hole Profiles On Advanced 3D NAND Structures


In a two-tier 3D NAND structure, the upper and lower channel hole profile can be different, and this combination of different profiles leads to different top-down visible areas. The visible area is the key metric to determine whether the bottom SONO layer can be punched through and ensure that the bit cells connect to the common source line. Performing channel hole profile splits on a silicon w... » read more

Why Curvy Design Now? Less Change Than You Think And Manufacturable Today


A curvilinear (curvy) chip, if magically made possible, would be smaller, faster, and use less power. Magic is no longer needed on the manufacturing side, as companies like Micron Technology are making photomasks with curvy shapes using state-of-the-art multi-beam mask writers today. Yet the entire chip-design infrastructure is based on the Manhattan assumption of 90-degree turns, even though i... » read more

Looking Forward To The New Chip Cycle


Charles Shi, Principal and Senior Analyst at Needham & Company, LLC., remains upbeat about the EDA, IP and services business, or what SEMI refers to as the electronic system design (ESD) ecosystem. I recently spoke with Shi about his talk “Looking Forward to the New Chip Cycle” during the opening of the 2023 Design Automation Conference, collocated in July with SEMICON West in San Fra... » read more

Negative-Tone Photosensitive Polymeric Bonding Material To Enable Room Temperature Prebond For Cu/Polymer Hybrid Bonding


An evaluation of a negative-tone i-line photosensitive polymeric bonding material for achieving prebonding in Cu/polymer hybrid bonding at low temperatures via the Cu damascene process. The polymeric material has a Tg≤100∘C ; Young’s modulus of 99 MPa, the dielectric constant of 2.6, and dissipation factor of 0.0016 at 10 GHz. Shear tests revealed a bond shear strength of over 10 MPa when... » read more

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