The Race To Zero Defects In Auto ICs


Assembly houses are fine-tuning their methodologies and processes for automotive ICs, optimizing everything from inspection and metrology to data management in order to prevent escapes and reduce the number of costly returns. Today, assembly defects account for between 12% and 15% of semiconductor customer returns in the automotive chip market. As component counts in vehicles climb from the ... » read more

Deep Learning In Industrial Inspection


Deep learning is at the upper end of AI complexity, sifting through more data to achieve more accurate results. Charlie Zhu, vice president of R&D at CyberOptics, talks about how DL can be utilized with inspection to identify defects in chips that are not discernible by traditional computer vision algorithms, classifying multiple objects simultaneously from multiple angles and taking into accou... » read more

Driving Toward More Rugged, Less Expensive SiC


Silicon carbide is gaining traction in the power semiconductor market, particularly in electrified vehicles, but it's still too expensive for many applications. The reasons are well understood, but until recently SiC was largely a niche technology that didn't warrant the investment. Now, as demand grows for chips that can work in high-voltage applications, SiC is getting a much closer look. ... » read more

Compound Semiconductor Innovation Advances EVs And Other Green Technologies


As the world works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is driving an increased demand for high-power, energy-efficient compound semiconductors, such as silicon carbide (SiC)-based components, throughout the entire EV assembly process. Renewable energy technology is now at the forefront of climate-forward research, with accelerating EV sales playing�... » read more

Novel E-Beam Techniques For Inspection And Monitoring


In this paper, we report an advanced e-beam defect inspection tool (eProbe®250) and the Design-for-Inspection™ (DFI) system that has been built and deployed by PDF Solutions down to 4nm FinFET technology nodes. This tool has a very high throughput which allows for in-line inspection of nanometer-level defects in the most advanced technology nodes. We also present eProbe applications for... » read more

Nip The Defect In The Bud


As technology nodes shrink, end users are designing systems where each chip element is being targeted for a specific technology and manufacturing node. While designing chip functionality to address specific technology nodes optimizes a chip’s performance regarding that functionality, this performance comes at a cost: additional chips will need to be designed, developed, processed, and assembl... » read more

Case Study — 3D Wire Bond Inspection and Metrology


The growing amount of electronics within modern vehicles has made the inspection process for wire bonds increasingly challenging, as active devices shrink and bonds are arranged in complex ways. CyberOptics addressed the need for an automated solution to replace labor-intensive and imprecise manual inspection methods for wire bonds and loop heights. After consideration of competitive products, ... » read more

Fundamental Shifts In IC Manufacturing Processes


High chip value and 3D packaging are changing where and how tests are performed, tightening design-for-reliability and accelerating the shift of tools from lab to fab. Heterogeneous integration and more domain-specific designs are causing a string of disruptions for chip manufacturers, up-ending proven fab processes and methodologies, extending the time it takes to manufacture a chip, and ul... » read more

The Importance Of Layering Data


The chip industry generates enormous quantities of data, from design through manufacturing, but much of it is unavailable or incomplete. And even when and where it is available, it is frequently under-utilized. While there has been much work done in terms of establishing traceability and data formats, the cross-pollination of data between companies and between equipment makers at various pro... » read more

The Gargantuan 5G Chip Challenge


Blazing fast upload and download speeds for cellular data are coming, but making the technology function as expected throughout its expected lifetime is an enormous challenge that will require substantial changes across the entire chip ecosystem. While sub-6GHz is an evolutionary step from 4G LTE, the real promise of 5G kicks in with millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology. But these higher-freq... » read more

← Older posts Newer posts →