Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 24

By Mark LaPedus - 24 Aug, 2021 - Comments: 0

Panel packaging consortium Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM has provided an update on a consortium that is developing panel-level IC packaging technologies. Fraunhofer IZM is leading the consortium. The R&D organization and its partners, including Intel and others, have made progress in terms of equipment, processes and other technologies in the so-called Pa... » read more

Week In Review: Manufacturing, Test

By Mark LaPedus - 07 Dec, 2018 - Comments: 0

Fab tools/manufacturing Lam Research has accepted Martin Anstice’s resignation as chief executive and a member of the board. Lam has named Tim Archer as president and chief executive effective immediately. Archer, who served as Lam’s president and chief operating officer, has been named to the board. One analyst provided a comment on the situation at Lam. “In our view, Mr. Archer is very... » read more

What Happened To Nanoimprint Litho?

By Mark LaPedus - 29 Mar, 2018 - Comments: 4

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is re-emerging amid an explosion of new applications in the market. Canon, EV Group, Nanonex, Suss and others continue to develop and ship NIL systems for a range of markets. NIL is different than conventional lithography and resembles a stamping process. Initially, a lithographic system forms a pattern on a template based on a pre-defined design. Then, a separa... » read more

Challenges For Future Fan-Outs

By Mark LaPedus - 07 Jul, 2017 - Comments: 1

The fan-out wafer-level packaging market is heating up. At the high end, for example, several packaging houses are developing new fan-out packages that could reach a new milestone and hit or break the magic 1µm line/space barrier. But the technology presents some challenges, as it may require more expensive process flows and equipment like lithography. Fig. 1: Redistribution layers. Source: L... » read more

The Week In Review: Manufacturing

By Mark LaPedus - 02 Sep, 2016 - Comments: 0

Chipmakers AMD has entered into a long-term amendment to its wafer supply agreement (WSA) with GlobalFoundries for the period from Jan. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2020. Today, GlobalFoundries’ Fab 8 in Malta, N.Y. is playing a big role in providing leading-edge foundry capacity for AMD's graphics and processor products. As part of the amended deal, AMD will grant to West Coast Hitech, a subsidia... » read more

China’s Fab Tool Biz Heats Up

By Mark LaPedus - 28 Oct, 2015 - Comments: 0

For years, China has been a steady growth market for suppliers of semiconductor equipment. Internally, though, the country is comprised of trailing-edge fabs and IC-assembly houses, which means equipment vendors sell relatively mature tools and compete on price. That’s about to change, however. Today, the IC equipment business is heating up in China as the nation begins to upgrade and pour... » read more

Challenges Mount For EUV Masks

By Mark LaPedus - 17 Oct, 2013 - Comments: 0

ASML Holding’s first production-worthy scanners for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography are expected to ship this year, but there are still a number of challenges to bring the technology into high-volume manufacturing. As before, the three main challenges for EUV are the power sources, resists and photomasks. To date, the resists are making progress, while the EUV power sources remain a ... » read more

Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

A transformative change is underway for semiconductor design and EDA. New languages, models, and abstractions will need to be created.

by Brian Bailey

Partitioning In The Chiplet Era

Understanding how chiplets interact under different workloads is critical to ensuring signal integrity and optimal performance in heterogeneous designs.

by Ann Mutschler

3.5D: The Great Compromise

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

by Ed Sperling

AI’s Role In Chip Design Widens, Drawing In New Startups

Focus is on letting engineers do much more with the same or fewer resources — and less drudgery.

by Karen Heyman

Key Technologies To Extend EUV To 14 Angstroms

Alongside high-NA EUV will be better-performing photoresists, reduced roughness using passivation and etch, and lateral etching to reduce tip-to-tip dimensions.

by Laura Peters

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

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

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

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

by Bryon Moyer