Monolithic Vs. Heterogeneous Integration


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss two very different paths forward for semiconductors and what's needed for each, with Jamie Schaeffer, vice president of product management at GlobalFoundries; Dechao Guo, director of advanced logic technology R&D at IBM; Dave Thompson, vice president at Intel; Mustafa Badaroglu, principal engineer at Qualcomm; and Thomas Po... » 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

Custom Substrates Save Assembly Time, Resources


Time-to-market (TTM) and performance are two of the most pressing issues in chip design and manufacturing. Designing devices for high-speed, high-performance applications requires immediate access to substrates so that product development can proceed quickly. Quick substrate access is also vital to validating intellectual property (IP) cores used in application-specific ICs (ASICs) – all of w... » read more

Addressing Yield Challenges In Advanced IC Substrate (AICS) Packaging


No matter how you get your news, it seems like everyone is talking about AI – and it’s either going to usher in a new era of productivity or lead to the end of humankind itself. Regardless, the AI era is here, and it’s just beginning to have an impact on our lives, our jobs and our future. To meet the rigorous demands of AI – along with high-performance compute, 5G and electric vehic... » read more

Addressing Total Overlay Drift In Advanced IC Substrate (AICS) Packaging


For years, many in the semiconductor industry have focused on the march toward advanced nodes. As these nodes have decreased in size, the size of input/output (I/O) bumps on the chip has grown smaller. As these bumps shrink, their ability to mate directly to printed circuit boards (PCB) diminishes, which, in turn, leads to the need for an intermediary substrate. Enter the advanced IC substrate ... » read more

Advanced Packaging for High-Bandwidth Memory: Influences of TSV size, TSV Aspect Ratio And Annealing Temperature


A technical paper titled "Stress Issue of Vertical Connections in 3D Integration for High-Bandwidth Memory Applications" was published by researchers at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Abstract: "The stress of TSV with different dimensions under annealing condition has been investigated. Since the application of TSV and bonding technology has demonstrated a promising approach for ... » read more

An Organic Package Designer’s Guide To Transitioning To FOWLP And 2.5D Design


The IC packaging design tool set has matured to the point where it can address not only classic plastic, organic and ceramic packaging substrates but can also address silicon substrates driven by interposer and chiplet designs. In most cases system and packaging teams do not have to abandon their existing tool set to support these designs. In fact, the packaging design tool set can offer additi... » read more

Equipment Suppliers Brace For GaN Market Explosion


A huge GaN market is opening up, driven by consumer devices and the need for greater energy efficiency across many applications. Suppliers are ready, but to fully compete with SiC in high-voltage automotive applications will require further technological developments in power GaN (gallium nitride). Still, the 2020s mark a very high-growth phase for GaN markets. Revenues in the power GaN mark... » read more

How Quickly Can SiC Ramp?


Device makers across the globe are ramping silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturing, with growth set to really take off starting in 2024. It’s been almost five years since Tesla and STMicroelectronics threw down the gauntlet with SiC in the Model 3. Now, no one doubts the market pull for electric vehicles, but consumers are still clamoring for better range and faster charging. SiC devices are a... » read more

Wirebond IC Substrates: Challenges Ahead


Substrate suppliers are slashing capacity allocated to wirebond IC substrates. We hear about "limited tenting capacity," "no support for EBS designs," and requests for "conversion to etchback" designs. What does all this mean? Let's start with "Line" and "Space." "Line" is the width of a trace on a substrate and "Space" is the distance between the two traces. For wirebond packages such a... » read more

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