Advanced Packaging’s Next Wave


Packaging houses are readying the next wave of advanced packages, enabling new system-level chip designs for a range of applications. These advanced packages involve a range of technologies, such as 2.5D/3D, chiplets, fan-out and system-in-package (SiP). Each of these, in turn, offers an array of options for assembling and integrating complex dies in an advanced package, providing chip custo... » read more

3D Stacking For Performance And Efficiency


Moore’s Law scaling is slowing down and limited improvements in performance, power, area, and cost are available from one process node to the next. As a result, advanced packaging and 3D stacking technologies are taking a front seat as the key drivers for next-generation high-performance energy-efficient designs. These types of system-in-package (SiP) technologies require designers to reima... » read more

What Goes Wrong In Advanced Packages


Advanced packaging may be the best way forward for massive improvements in performance, lower power, and different form factors, but it adds a whole new set of issues that were much better understood when Moore's Law and the ITRS roadmap created a semi-standardized path forward for the chip industry. Different advanced packaging options — system-in-package, fan-outs, 2.5D, 3D-IC — have a... » read more

Addressing IC Hyperconvergence Design Challenges


Recently in an article titled “A Renaissance for Semiconductors,” my colleague Michael Sanie highlighted some of the trends that are driving next-generation product development. He detailed how designs targeting new applications are innovating through a combination of advanced process node technologies and heterogeneous integration of stacked die/3D/2.5D systems. Additionally, advanced vert... » read more

Chiplets For The Masses


Chiplets are a compelling technology, but so far they are available only to a select few players in the industry. That's changing, and the industry has taken little steps to get there, but timing for when you will be able to buy a chiplet to integrate into your system remains uncertain. While new fabrication nodes continue to be developed, scaling is coming to an end, be it for physical or e... » read more

Predicting And Avoiding Failures In Automotive Chips


Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss automotive electronics reliability with Jay Rathert, senior director of strategic collaborations at KLA; Dennis Ciplickas, vice president of advanced solutions at PDF Solutions; Uzi Baruch, vice president and general manager of the automotive business unit at OptimalPlus; Gal Carmel, general manager of proteanTecs' Automotive Division; Andre van de ... » read more

Shortages, Challenges Engulf Packaging Supply Chain


A surge in demand for chips is impacting the IC packaging supply chain, causing shortages of select manufacturing capacity, various package types, key components, and equipment. Spot shortages in packaging surfaced in late 2020 and have since spread to other sectors. There are now a variety of choke points in the supply chain. Wirebond and flip-chip capacity will remain tight throughout 2021... » read more

Stronger, Better Bonding In Advanced Packaging


System-in-package integrators are moving toward copper-to-copper direct bonding between die as the bond pitch goes down, making the solder used to connect devices in a heterogenous package less practical. In thermocompression bonding, protruding copper bumps bond to pads on the underlying substrate. In hybrid bonding, copper pads are inlaid in a dielectric, reducing the risk of oxidation. ... » read more

Wafer Prep Key To Thinning SiP


In its ongoing push to create smaller, thinner, and denser chip packages, the semiconductor industry has intensified its focus on integrating separately manufactured components with different functionalities into systems-in-package (SIPs). Known as heterogeneous integration (HI), this approach now drives the industry’s roadmap for advancement. SiPs enable power-efficient, high-bandwidth conne... » read more

Taking Advantage Of Outsourced Test Services


The business model in today’s competitive world of commerce has shifted over recent years to “services.” Companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google are prime success stories that have advanced the industry with business-enabling services. These economic productivity improvement services allow their customers to focus on product architecture, design and quick time to market. The service p... » read more

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