We’ve been hearing so much lately from the 3D integration cheering section, that it’s actually hard to believe that there are folks who remain skeptical to the inevitability of 3D integration as a mainstream technology. But on December 6, during the evening 3D panel session at the 2011 IEDM, held at the Washington Hilton, Washington DC, we can expect it to all be laid on the line.
In what promises to be a provocative discussion, a panel of experts will address the topic “”Is 3 Dimensional Integration at Best a Niche Play?”. Moderated by IBM Fellow, Subramanian S. Iyer, the distinguished panel includes Sitaram Arkalgud, of SEMATECH; Paul Franzon from North Carolina State University; Vivek De, Intel; Si Young Choi, Samsung; John Lau, ITRI; and Jan Vardaman, Techsearch, Inc.
“There’s been a lot of hype surrounding 3D. We need to figure out if there is something real here. Perhaps this panel can help us understand if this is something legitimate,” notes Iyer. The panel will get to the heart of the matter, discussing whether the constraints of design methodologies, cost, power and thermal management, and noise are unsolvable problems, relegating 3D to a niche play.
To make things more interesting and encourage participation, the IEDM organizers have decided to ditch the usual panel format of presentations from each panelist followed by Q&A. Instead, Iyer will moderate a “fireside chat” without the use of slides or charts. He will get the discussion started by posing questions to the panelists. Audience participation is encouraged, with the ultimate goal of fostering an open and vigorous exchange of ideas. To this end, they’re even engaging the modern conveniences of social media. Tweet your questions to @ieee_iedm with the hash tag #3Dpanel right up to the afternoon of the panel discussion, and your question will be addressed during the discussion. If you don’t have a twitter account, you can email your questions to Chris.burke@btbmarketing.com.
Although I won’t be attending in person, you can bet that I’ll be tweeting some questions of my own, and Iyer has promised me a follow up interview so I can report the outcome of the panel. I have to admit that I’m really banking on 3D being real, because if it’s not, the last few years of effort I’ve put into creating this community will have been for nothing! ~ F.v.T.
