Finding And Applying Domain Expertise In IC Analytics


Behind PowerPoint slides depicting the data inputs and outputs of a data analytics platform belies the complexity, effort, and expertise that improve fab yield. With the tsunami of data collected for semiconductor devices, fabs need engineers with domain expertise to effectively manage the data and to correctly learn from the data. Naively analyzing a data set can lead to an uninteresting an... » read more

Transistors Reach Tipping Point At 3nm


The semiconductor industry is making its first major change in a new transistor type in more than a decade, moving toward a next-generation structure called gate-all-around (GAA) FETs. Although GAA transistors have yet to ship, many industry experts are wondering how long this technology will deliver — and what new architecture will take over from there. Barring major delays, today’s GAA... » read more

Technology Advances, Shortages Seen For Wire Bonders


A surge in demand for IC packages is causing long lead times for wire bonders, which are used to assemble three-fourths of the world’s packages. The wire bonder market doubled last year, alongside advanced packaging’s rise. Wirebonding is an older technology that typically flies under the radar. Still, packaging houses have multitudes of these key tools that help assemble many — but no... » read more

Design Challenges Increasing For Mixed-Die Packages


The entire semiconductor ecosystem is starting to tackle a long list of technology and business changes that will be needed to continue scaling beyond Moore's Law, making heterogeneous combinations of die easier, cheaper, and more predictable. There are a number of benefits to mixing die and putting them together in a modular way. From a design standpoint, this approach provides access to th... » read more

Next-Gen 3D Chip/Packaging Race Begins


The first wave of chips is hitting the market using a technology called hybrid bonding, setting the stage for a new and competitive era of 3D-based chip products and advanced packages. AMD is the first vendor to unveil chips using copper hybrid bonding, an advanced die-stacking technology that enables next-generation 3D-like devices and packages. Hybrid bonding stacks and connects chips usin... » read more

Future Challenges For Advanced Packaging


Michael Kelly, vice president of advanced packaging development and integration at Amkor, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about advanced packaging and the challenges with the technology. What follows are excerpts of that discussion. SE: We’re in the midst of a huge semiconductor demand cycle. What’s driving that? Kelly: If you take a step back, our industry has always ... » read more

Expanding Advanced Packaging Production In The U.S.


The United States is taking the first steps toward bringing larger-scale IC packaging production capabilities back to the U.S. as supply chain concerns and trade tensions grow. The U.S. is among the leaders in developing packages, especially new and advanced forms of the technology that promise to shake up the semiconductor landscape. And while the U.S. has several packaging vendors, North A... » read more

Next Steps For Panel-Level Packaging


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

Using Manufacturing Data To Boost Reliability


As chipmakers turn to increasingly customized and complex heterogeneous designs to boost performance per watt, they also are demanding lower defectivity and higher yields to help offset the rising design and manufacturing costs. Solving those issues is a mammoth multi-vendor effort. There can be hundreds of process steps in fabs and packaging houses. And as feature sizes continue to shrink, ... » read more

A Broad Look Inside Advanced Packaging


Choon Lee, chief technology officer of JCET, sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to talk about the semiconductor market, Moore’s Law, chiplets, fan-out packaging, and manufacturing issues. What follows are excerpts of that discussion. SE: Where are we in the semiconductor cycle right now? Lee: If you look at 2020, it was around 10% growth in the overall semiconductor industry. ... » read more

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