Smarter Packaging: How AI is Reshaping Assembly and Materials Control


When a multi-die package worth $500 fails final test because of a defect that originated three process steps earlier, the economics of advanced packaging become painfully clear. Each excursion carries downstream costs that ripple across assembly, final test, and even system qualification. As packaging margins tighten, the industry is betting on artificial intelligence (AI) to catch those pro... » read more

How To Cool 3D-ICs


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss how to cool 3D-ICs and what's missing from the tool chain today, with John Ferguson, senior director of product management at Siemens EDA; Mick Posner, senior product group director for chiplet at IP solutions in Cadence's Compute Solutions Group; Mo Faisal of Movellus; Chris Mueth, new opportunities business manager at Keysigh... » read more

Voltage Regulation Moves Into The Package


Integrated circuits require a variety of voltages and a wide range of currents, typically supplied by voltage regulators. But increasing power density is resulting in higher power delivery losses. Moving those regulators closer to the chips they power can reduce those losses. Co-packaging them holds the most promise, but it comes with challenges. “What people have been talking about, ev... » read more

Navigating The Challenges Of Group Design Projects


All over the world, governments and industry have come together to solve large-scale chip design challenges. Groups such as the U.S. Department of Defense’s Microelectronics Hubs (ME Commons), the EU Chips Act pilot lines, and Japan’s government-backed Rapidus consortium often consist of established companies, research institutes, academia, and startups – each of which brings different sk... » read more

The Limits Of AI’s Role In EDA Tools


The world has been inspired by generative AI models like ChatGPT. These are very applicable to things like copilots and agentic AI, but the adoption of these models into EDA tools is less obvious. What may be appropriate, and can AI make EDA tools faster or better? EDA has been enabling Moore's Law for the past 40 years, and that has required pushing the limits of many of the algorithms and ... » read more

First Forays Into True 3D-IC Designs


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss initial forays into 3D-ICs and what problems early adopters will encounter, with John Ferguson, senior director of product management at Siemens EDA; Mick Posner, senior product group director for chiplet at IP solutions in Cadence's Compute Solutions Group; Mo Faisal of Movellus; Chris Mueth, new opportunities business manager... » read more

The Future Of Verification


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the state of functional verification with Mohan Dhene, director for architecture and design at Alphawave Semi; Andy Nightingale, vice president for product management and marketing at Arteris; Dinesha Rao, senior group director for software engineering at Cadence; Chris Mueth, new opportunities business manager at Keysight; Gor... » read more

Mitigating Warpage In Multi-Chiplet Systems


Warpage of dies, redistribution layers, and interposers is a growing problem in multi-chiplet packages, and it can have a dramatic impact on the behavior and reliability of these devices. Multiple factors contribute to warpage, including larger chip sizes, severe thinning of the silicon substrate, temporary bonding and debonding processes, and scaling of bump pitch and size. Each of these ca... » read more

Precision Under Pressure: Managing Materials Complexity In Advanced Packaging


In the race to extend Moore's Law through advanced packaging, the limits of precision are no longer defined solely by lithography. Increasingly, they are dictated by the unpredictable behavior of materials. Semiconductor packaging today is no longer limited to just silicon and copper. It includes an expanding range of polymers, adhesives, dielectrics, exotic metals, along with substrates suc... » read more

Scaling Memory With Molybdenum


Molybdenum is looking increasingly promising as a replacement for a variety of metals commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing today, especially at leading-edge nodes. One by one, chipmakers are crossing metals off the list at advanced nodes. While ruthenium liners are nearly ready for production, the metal is not ready to replace copper in highly scaled interconnects. Ruthenium is very ... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →