Reliability Risks Shift To The Materials Stack


The semiconductor industry’s push into 3D integration and large-format substrates has fundamentally changed the role of materials in packaging. What were once structural supports and electrical insulators have become critical performance limiters. Modern packages contain far more polymers, adhesives, advanced dielectrics, thermal materials, and composite laminates than previous generations... » read more

What Is 3D-IC Technology? Fundamentals, Architecture, And Design Concepts


As process nodes continue to advance into the sub-micron era, the limitations of traditional scaling are becoming increasingly evident. Larger monolithic chips are facing challenges such as higher power density, routing congestion, and reduced yield. Three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D-IC) technology represents a breakthrough approach by stacking multiple dies vertically. This design red... » read more

HBM Leads The Way To Defect-Free Bumps


High-bandwidth memory stands at the forefront of multiple technology developments as a critical enabler of AI, but it is one of the most difficult modules to manufacture. Leading HBM device makers and foundries must simultaneously handle multi-layer chip stacking, die warpage, and shorter product lifecycles that are shrinking from two years down to just one. But perhaps the most formidable c... » read more

System-HW Co-Design Approach Combines Mono3D DRAM, NMP, and GPU Acceleration (UCSD, Georgia Tech, UIUC, Illinois Tech)


A new technical paper titled "Stratum: System-Hardware Co-Design with Tiered Monolithic 3D-Stackable DRAM for Efficient MoE Serving" was published by researchers at UC San Diego, Georgia Tech, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Illinois Institute of Technology. Abstract "As Large Language Models (LLMs) continue to evolve, Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture has emerged as a preva... » read more

Interconnect Innovations In High Bandwidth Memory: Part 2


By Damon Tsai, Woo Young Han, and Tim Kryman Interconnect technology in high bandwidth memory (HBM) is at a fork in the road. One direction leads to tried-and-true microbump technology, and the other leads to a compelling alternative, hybrid bonding. Both technologies are evolving to address the stringent requirements of next generation HBM in pursuit of increased I/O density supporting high... » read more

Enabling In-Line Process Control for Hybrid Bonding Applications


As demand grows for high-performance computing (HPC) and AI-driven applications, manufacturers are turning to hybrid bonding to enable the ultra-dense 3D integration required for next-generation chip architectures. This advanced packaging technology presents significant process challenges. Surface preparation must be precisely controlled to eliminate particles, excess recess, and copper pad ... » read more

CDI For The Metrology Of Copper Pads Used In Hybrid Bonding (Paul Scherrer Institute, Samsung)


A new technical paper titled "Coherent diffractive imaging simulations for wafer inspection of periodic structures" was published by researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute and Samsung. Excerpt "We present a study of phase retrieval algorithms applied to the metrology of copper pad topography for hybrid bonding. We demonstrate that by including a priori information in the update functi... » read more

Interconnect Innovations In High Bandwidth Memory: Part 1


By Damon Tsai, Woo Young Han, and Tim Kryman The demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) is accelerating across the semiconductor industry, driven by boundary-pushing artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and advanced graphics. These technologies require access to vast datasets, which in turn increases the need for memory solutions that combine speed, density, and power efficie... » read more

Challenges In Stacking HBM


AI data centers are pushing for higher density in high-bandwidth memory. Today, the maximum number of layers that can be stacked is 8, but that increases to as many as 24 layers by 2030. The big challenge will be in the interconnects, and making sure the microbumps align. At 16 layers, the bump pitch will be less than 10 microns, and the dies will be thinner. Damon Tsai, head of product marketi... » read more

Manufacturing At The Limits


Hybrid bonding has been in production for several years, with mature flows capable of delivering robust yields using 10µm interconnects. At that scale, processes can tolerate hundreds of nanometers of overlay variation, modest differences in wafer bow, and particle sizes rivaling the interconnect height without catastrophic impact. Hybrid bonding is compatible with optical metrology, existing ... » read more

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