Cooling Chips Still A Top Challenge


Increasing levels of semiconductor integration means more work needs to be done in smaller spaces, which in turn generates more heat that needs to be dissipated. Managing heat dissipation in advanced node dies and in multi-die assemblies is critical to their functionality and their longevity. And while much of the focus has been on improving power efficiency, which reduces the rate of power ... » read more

Mask Complexity, Cost, And Change


Experts at the Table: As leading-edge lithography nodes push further into EUV and beyond, mask-making has become one of the most critical and costly aspects of semiconductor manufacturing. At the same time, non-EUV applications are stretching the lifetime of older tools and processes, challenging the industry to find new solutions for both ends of the spectrum. Semiconductor Engineering sat dow... » read more

Advanced Packaging Depends On Materials And Co-Design


Multi-die assemblies offer significant opportunities to boost performance and reduce power, but these complex packages also introduce a number of new challenges, including die-to-RDL misalignment, evolving warpage profiles, and CTE mismatch. Heterogeneous integration — an umbrella term that covers many different applications and packaging requirements — holds the potential to combine com... » read more

Can Chiplets Serve Cost-Conscious Apps?


Chiplets are emerging as a significant new phase in the evolution of the semiconductor market, providing a way to continue scaling performance well beyond the size limitations of a reticle. But that improvement comes with a high price tag and a lot more complexity, which so far has limited adoption. One of the main reasons for the cost increase is the need for advanced packaging when employi... » read more

Packaging With Fewer People And Better Results


Advanced packaging has evolved far beyond the simple stacking of dies and connecting of interposers. Once a passive conduit between silicon and the outside world, it has become an active component of overall device performance. In today’s multi-die assemblies, the assembly and packaging lines are expected to maintain signal integrity at multi-gigahertz frequencies, manage heat in verticall... » read more

Advanced Packaging Fundamentals for Semiconductor Engineers


Advanced packaging is inevitable. Large systems companies and processing vendors already are working with various types of highly engineered packaging. The rest of the semiconductor industry will follow at some point, whether they're designing their own packages, developing the tools, processes, materials, and methodologies to create them, or developing components that will be used inside of th... » read more

Benefits And Challenges In Multi-Die Assemblies


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to discuss chiplets, hybrid bonding, and new materials with Michael Kelly, vice president of Chiplets and FCBGA Integration at Amkor; William Chen, fellow at ASE; Dick Otte, CEO of Promex Industries; and Sander Roosendaal, R&D director at Synopsys Photonics Solutions. What follows are excerpts of that discussion. To view part one of t... » read more

What Exactly Are Chiplets And Heterogeneous Integration?


The terms “chiplet” and “heterogeneous integration” fill news pages, conference papers, and marketing presentations, and for the most part engineers understand what they're reading. But speakers sometimes stumble during a presentation trying to figure out whether a particular die qualifies as a chiplet, and heterogeneous integration comes in different guises for different people. Both t... » read more

Many Options For EUV Photoresists, No Clear Winner


In EUV lithography, and especially high-numerical-aperture EUV, balancing tradeoffs between resolution, sensitivity and line-width roughness is becoming increasingly difficult. Lithography patterning using extreme UV exposure depends on a resist mask that can simultaneously meet targets of small feature resolution, high sensitivity to EUV wavelength, and acceptable linewidth roughness. Unfor... » read more

Challenges Grow For Medical ICs


Demand for medical ICs used inside and outside the body is growing rapidly, but unique manufacturing and functional requirements coupled with low volumes have turned this into a complex and extremely challenging market. Few semiconductor applications demand this level of precision, reliability, and long-term stability. Unlike consumer electronics, where failure might mean a reboot or chip re... » read more

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