ECTC 2024 Session Readout: Advancement of Metrology


A Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC) session report titled "2024 ECTC Special Session Report: Advancing Metrology for Next-Generation Microelectronics" was published by NIST, Binghamton University, and TechSearch International. Abstract: "Metrology plays a pivotal role in semiconductor research, manufacturing, packaging and assembly. It is critical to the success of this... » read more

New AI Processors Architectures Balance Speed With Efficiency


Leading AI systems designs are migrating away from building the fastest AI processor possible, adopting a more balanced approach that involves highly specialized, heterogeneous compute elements, faster data movement, and significantly lower power. Part of this shift revolves around the adoption of chiplets in 2.5D/3.5D packages, which enable greater customization for different workloads and ... » read more

Simultaneous Bi-Directional Signaling: A Breakthrough Alternative For Multi-Die Assemblies


In designing multi-die systems-in-package, with or without chiplets, it is easy to think of the interconnect between dies as simply analogous to the interconnect between functional blocks on a single die. But this analogy can lead architects and designers into a blind alley from which it becomes impossible to meet system performance and power requirements. The reason lies in fundamental differe... » read more

3.5D: The Great Compromise


The semiconductor industry is converging on 3.5D as the next best option in advanced packaging, a hybrid approach that includes stacking logic chiplets and bonding them separately to a substrate shared by other components. This assembly model satisfies the need for big increases in performance while sidestepping some of the thorniest issues in heterogeneous integration. It establishes a midd... » read more

Five Questions To Ask When Selecting A Temporary Bonding And Debonding System


High-bandwidth memory blocks (HBM), microprocessors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), AI accelerators, and other devices used in advanced system-level packaging all rely on temporary bonding and debonding systems to shrink their footprint. Understanding which properties play the most crucial role in device reliability and efficient production will ensure you are maximizing your yield, whi... » read more

Ensuring Multi-Die Package Quality And Reliability


Multi-die designs are gaining broader adoption in a wide variety of end applications, including high-performance computing, artificial intelligence (AI), automotive, and mobile. Despite clear advantages, there are new challenges that need to be addressed for successful multi-die realization. This article gives a high-level overview of the multi-die test challenges that go beyond the design p... » read more

Making Electronics More Efficient


Projections about the amount of energy required for AI in data centers and other electronic devices are putting a spotlight on more efficient electronics. But making chips and systems more efficient is an enormous challenge. It used to be as simple as turning down the voltage or moving to the next process node, but those approaches are no longer yielding the same kinds of benefits as in the pas... » read more

Where Power Savings Really Count


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss why and where improvements in architectures and data movement will have the biggest impact, with Hans Yeager, senior principal engineer, architecture, at Tenstorrent; Joe Davis, senior director for Calibre interfaces and EM/IR product management at Siemens EDA; Mo Faisal, CEO of Movellus; Trey Roessig, CTO and senior vice presi... » read more

Will AI Disrupt EDA?


Generative AI has disrupted search, it is transforming the computing landscape, and now it's threatening to disrupt EDA. But despite the buzz and the broad pronouncements of radical changes ahead, it remains unclear where it will have impact and how deep any changes will be. EDA has two primary roles — automation and optimization. Many of the optimization problems are NP hard, which means ... » read more

Legacy Process Nodes Going Strong


While all eyes tend to focus on the leading-edge silicon nodes, many mature nodes continue to enjoy robust manufacturing demand. Successive nodes stopped reducing die cost at around the 20nm node. “In the finFET era of processes, esoteric process requirements necessary to move technology forward with each generation have added significant cost and complexity,” explained Andrew Appleby, p... » read more

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