Universities Augment Engineering Curricula To Boost Employability


Increasing numbers of universities are offering semiconductor courses in their engineering programs, and also in math, physics, and business degrees. Most universities now offer a broad foundation so students can pivot to other industries during cyclical downturns, or when technology and science create entirely new and potentially lucrative opportunities, such as generative AI, advanced pack... » read more

Using Test And Metrology Data For Dynamic Process Control


Advanced packaging is transforming semiconductor manufacturing into a multi-dimensional challenge, blending 2D front-end wafer fabrication with 2.5D/3D assemblies, high-frequency device characterization, and complex yield optimization strategies. These combinations are essential to improving performance and functionality, but they create some thorny issues for which there are no easy fixes. ... » read more

Screening For Known Good Interposers


Ensuring the quality of silicon and organic interposers is becoming harder as the number of signals passing through them continues to grow, fueled by more chiplets, higher processing demands, and more layers of devices assembled in a package. Interposers initially were viewed as relatively simple conduits. That perception has changed rather dramatically in recent years with the growing focus... » read more

Industry Standards For Chiplets And Their Role In Test


As the semiconductor industry increasingly moves to chiplets, 2.5D/3D packaging, and heterogeneous integration, there are significant new challenges for test. Leaders like Teradyne have the technologies necessary to respond and innovate, but to keep the industry running smoothly, we need effective collaboration, and that demands standardization. Source: Arizona State University There ... » read more

DFT At The Leading Edge


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss the rapidly changing landscape of design for testability (DFT), focusing on the impact of advancements in fault models, high-speed interfaces, and lifecycle data analytics, with Jeorge Hurtarte, senior director of product marketing in the Semiconductor Test Group at Teradyne; Sri Ganta, director of test products at Synopsys; D... » read more

Shortcutting Graduates’ Path To Productivity In Manufacturing And Test


Manufacturing, test, assembly, and analytics companies are finding unique ways to engage with universities in an effort to shore up the talent pipeline. The industry is recruiting graduates from universities across the U.S. while partnering with local institutes to serve specific needs. Industry/university co-operation includes: Mapping job descriptions Providing curricula frameworks... » read more

Semiconductor Test Faces Technology Shifts In The AI Era


The surge in data-rich applications shows no signs of slowing down, fueling significant evolution within the global semiconductor industry. This insatiable demand for data necessitates a comprehensive ecosystem involving sensors and systems to capture data, networks to transmit it, and storage and processing power to analyze it. Successful deployment of these applications relies on the devel... » read more

Silicon Lifecycle Management Gains Steam


Silicon lifecycle management (SLM) is gaining significant traction, driven increasingly by stringent reliability requirements for safety-critical devices in aerospace, medical, and automotive. Improving reliability has been a discussion point for years, but it has become especially important with the use of chips designed at leading-edge nodes in both mission- and safety-critical application... » read more

Testing For Thermal Issues Becomes More Difficult


Increasingly complex and heterogeneous architectures, coupled with the adoption of high-performance materials, are making it much more difficult to identify and test for thermal issues in advanced packages. For a single SoC, compressing higher functionality into a smaller area concentrates the processing and makes thermal effects more predictable. But that processing can happen anywhere in a... » read more

Advanced Packaging Drives Test And Metrology Innovations


Advanced packaging has become a focal point for innovation as the semiconductor industry continues to push for increased transistor density and better performance. But the pace of change is accelerating, making it harder for the entire ecosystem to keep up with those changes. In the past, major developments were roughly on an 18-month to 2-year cadence. Today, this is happening every few mon... » read more

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