Die-to-Die IP enabling the path to the future of Chiplets Ecosystem

Die-to-Die IP enabling the path to the future of Chiplets Ecosystem
by Kalar Rajendiran on 05-30-2022 at 6:00 am

Die to Die Interface Figure of Merit

The topic of chiplets is getting a lot of attention these days. The chiplet movement has picked up more momentum since Moore’s law started slowing down as process technology approached 5nm. With the development cost of a monolithic SoC crossing the $500M and wafer yields of large die-based chips dropping steeply, the decision … Read More


Semiconductor Packaging History and Primer

Semiconductor Packaging History and Primer
by Doug O'Laughlin on 03-09-2022 at 10:00 am

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From DIP to Advanced, semiconductor packaging has become strategic

For ease of reading – I am going to be splitting this primer into two parts. First is the technical overview of everything. Next will be the company-specific writeups that follow over time – specifically Teradyne, Formfactor, Advantest, and Camtek

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Semiconductor Capital Equipment Series: Introduction

Semiconductor Capital Equipment Series: Introduction
by Doug O'Laughlin on 03-06-2022 at 10:00 am

Semiconductor Capital Equipment Series 1

Semicap is in some ways the unsung hero of American global dominance in semiconductors. The US punches above its weight in terms of market share compared to demand, but specifically in three categories. EDA, IP, and Equipment.

I hope to write about everything there can be said about semiconductors, and EDA is a place I understand… Read More


Advanced 2.5D/3D Packaging Roadmap

Advanced 2.5D/3D Packaging Roadmap
by Tom Dillinger on 01-03-2022 at 6:00 am

SoIC futures

Frequent SemiWiki readers are no doubt familiar with the advances in packaging technology introduced over the past decade.  At the recent International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco, TSMC gave an insightful presentation sharing their vision for packaging roadmap goals and challenges, to address the growing… Read More


Update on TSMC’s 3D Fabric Technology

Update on TSMC’s 3D Fabric Technology
by Tom Dillinger on 11-03-2021 at 8:00 am

3D eTV testchip

TSMC recently held their 10th annual Open Innovation Platform (OIP) Ecosystem Forum.  An earlier article summarized the highlights of the keynote presentation from L.C. Lu, TSMC Fellow and Vice-President, Design and Technology Platform, entitled “TSMC and Its Ecosystem for Innovation” (link).

Overview of 3D Fabric

The TSMC… Read More


Highlights of the TSMC Technology Symposium 2021 – Packaging

Highlights of the TSMC Technology Symposium 2021 – Packaging
by Tom Dillinger on 06-14-2021 at 6:00 am

3D Fabric

The recent TSMC Technology Symposium provided several announcements relative to their advanced packaging offerings.

General

3DFabricTM

Last year, TSMC merged their 2.5D and 3D package offerings into a single, encompassing brand – 3DFabric.

2.5D package technology – CoWoS

The 2.5D packaging options are divided into the CoWoS… Read More


Maximizing ASIC Performance through Post-GDSII Backend Services

Maximizing ASIC Performance through Post-GDSII Backend Services
by Kalar Rajendiran on 03-04-2021 at 6:00 am

Panel 1 Alchip – HPC ASIC Manufacturing Done Your Way 1030x579 1

ASICs by definition are designed to meet the respective applications’ requirements. ASIC engineers deploy various design techniques to maximize performance, minimize power and reduce chip size. But is there more that can be done after the GDSII is taped out? A recent press release from Alchip Technology dated Feb 4, 2021 claims… Read More


Highlights of the TSMC Technology Symposium – Part 3

Highlights of the TSMC Technology Symposium – Part 3
by Tom Dillinger on 09-09-2020 at 8:00 am

CoWoS features

Recently, TSMC held their 26th annual Technology Symposium, which was conducted virtually for the first time.  This article is the last of three that attempts to summarize the highlights of the presentations.  This article focuses on the technology design enablement roadmap, as described by Cliff Hou, SVP, R&D.

Key TakeawaysRead More


Highlights of the TSMC Technology Symposium – Part 2

Highlights of the TSMC Technology Symposium – Part 2
by Tom Dillinger on 09-07-2020 at 8:00 am

3D Fabric

Recently, TSMC held their 26th annual Technology Symposium, which was conducted virtually for the first time.  This article is the second of three that attempts to summarize the highlights of the presentations.  This article focuses on the TSMC advanced packaging technology roadmap, as described by Doug Yu, VP, R&D.

KeyRead More


Thermo-compression bonding for Large Stacked HBM Die

Thermo-compression bonding for Large Stacked HBM Die
by Tom Dillinger on 07-24-2020 at 8:00 am

HMB stack

Summary

Thermo-compression bonding is used in heterogeneous 3D packaging technology – this attach method was applied to the assembly of large (12-stack and 16-stack) high bandwidth memory (HBM) die, with significant bandwidth and power improvements over traditional microbump attach.

Introduction

The rapid growth of heterogeneous… Read More