Next Steps For Panel-Level Packaging

By Mark LaPedus - 20 Dec, 2021 - Comments: 1

Tanja Braun, group manager at Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM), sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about III-V device packaging, chiplets, fan-out and panel-level processing. Fraunhofer IZM recently announced a new phase of its panel-level packaging consortium. What follows are excerpts of that discussion. SE: IC packaging isn’t new, but years a... » read more

Missing Interposer Abstractions And Standards

By Brian Bailey - 29 Nov, 2021 - Comments: 0

The design and analysis of an SoC based on an interposer is not for the faint of heart today, but the industry is aware of the challenges and is attempting to solve them. Until that happens, however, it will be a technique that only large companies can deploy because they need to treat everything almost as if it were a single die. The construction of large systems uses techniques, such as ab... » read more

Heterogeneous Integration Using Organic Interposer Technology

By Amkor - 17 Nov, 2021 - Comments: 0

As the costs of advanced node silicon have risen sharply with the 7 and 5-nanometer nodes, advanced packaging is coming to a crossroad where it is no longer fiscally prudent to pack all desired functionality into a single die. While single-die packages will still be around, the high-end market is shifting towards multiple-die packages to reduce overall costs and improve functionality. This shif... » read more

3D Printing For More Circuits

By Ann R. Thryft - 27 Oct, 2021 - Comments: 0

After several years of experimentation, and growing success in volume manufacturing for some use cases, technologies for 3D printing of electronic circuits are becoming more common. Some innovations in processes and materials are moving these technologies closer to mainstream electronics manufacturing. Christopher Tuck, professor of material science at the University of Nottingham, observed ... » read more

HBM3: Big Impact On Chip Design

By Ann Mutschler - 14 Oct, 2021 - Comments: 0

An insatiable demand for bandwidth in everything from high-performance computing to AI training, gaming, and automotive applications is fueling the development of the next generation of high-bandwidth memory. HBM3 will bring a 2X bump in bandwidth and capacity per stack, as well as some other benefits. What was once considered a "slow and wide" memory technology to reduce signal traffic dela... » read more

Architecting Interposers

By Brian Bailey - 14 Oct, 2021 - Comments: 0

An interposer performs a similar function as a printed circuit board (PCB), but when the interposer is moved inside a package the impact is significant. Neither legacy PCB nor IC design tools can fully perform the necessary design and analysis tasks. But perhaps even more important, adding an interposer to a design may require organizational changes. Today, leading-edge companies have shown ... » read more

PCB And IC Technologies Meet In The Middle

By Bryon Moyer - 12 Oct, 2021 - Comments: 1

Surface-mount technology (SMT) is evolving far beyond its roots as a way of assembling packaged chips onto printed circuit boards without through-holes. It is now moving inside packages that will themselves be mounted on PCBs. But SMT for advanced packages isn’t the same as the SMT we’ve been used to. “Many systems include multiple ASICs, a lot of memory, and that's all integrated i... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Aug. 9

By Jesse Allen - 09 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

Capacitors in interposers Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology developed a 3D functional interposer containing an embedded capacitor. They tout the design as saving package area and reducing wiring length, resulting in less noise and power consumption. The capacitive elements are embedded inside a 300mm silicon piece using permanent adhesive and mold resin. The interconnects between ... » read more

Chipmakers Getting Serious About Integrated Photonics

By Brian Bailey - 12 Jul, 2021 - Comments: 3

Integrating photonics into semiconductors is gaining traction, particularly in heterogeneous multi-die packages, as chipmakers search for new ways to overcome power limitations and deal with increasing volumes of data. Power has been a growing concern since the end of Dennard scaling, which happened somewhere around the 90nm node. There are more transistors per mm², and the wires are thinne... » read more

Mapping Heat Across A System

By Ann Mutschler - 13 May, 2021 - Comments: 0

Thermal issues are becoming more difficult to resolve as chip features get smaller and systems get faster and more complex. They now require the integration of technologies from both the design and manufacturing flows, making design for power and heat a much broader problem. This is evident with the evolution of a smart phone. Phones sold 10 years ago were very different devices. Functionali... » read more

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Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

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3.5D: The Great Compromise

Pros and cons of a middle-ground chiplet assembly that combines 2.5D and 3D-IC.

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by Laura Peters

What Comes After HBM For Chiplets

The standard for high-bandwidth memory limits design freedom at many levels, but that is required for interoperability. What freedoms can be taken from other functions to make chiplets possible?

by Brian Bailey

Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

by The SE Staff

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.

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tag: interposers