ECTC 2015 returns to my favorite of its three rotating locations at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina almost exactly one month from now, May 26-29, 2015. This year, the ECTC technical committee has selected 350 papers on topics related to 3D and TSV technologies, wafer level packaging, electrical and mechanical modeling, RF packaging, system design, and optical interconnects. I guarantee that I will not attend all of them. However, I’ll do my best to hit the highlights in my coverage and report back on anything particularly new and innovative from the eleven 3D sessions. Herb Reiter will also be covering ECTC 2015 for 3D InCites, so you can look forward to his perspective in 3D in Context.
While 3D is most definitely on the technical agenda, it did not make the cut this year for plenary and panel topics, which is ok, because we’ve pretty much beat the life out of all the 3D panel topics at various events over the past five or six years, and there’s not a whole lot left to say that hasn’t already been said. Instead, I look forward to gaining insight on different topics and maybe figuring out how these emerging and important areas can be enabled by 3D integration.
It all gets underway Tuesday morning, with a panel session chaired Ibrahim Guven, Virginia Commonwealth University, on Sustainability in Microelectronics, which will cover topics like data center and performance computing efficiency, conflict minerals, responsible sourcing and supply chain, design for reuse and recycling, sustainable operation, product ecology, and collaborative efforts within the electronics industry.
Tuesday afternoon’s offering is a special session co-chaired by Shawn Shi, Medtronic,
and John Knickerbocker, IBM, on “Advancements in Bio-Medical Technology & Associated Packaging”, during which panelists will talk about advancement of battery technology for medical device applications, electronic packaging challenges in the medical device industry, tomorrow’s implantable electronics and brain implants for disease prevention and monitoring, and trends and challenges of wearable medical electronics and sensors.
The SemiSister in me is thrilled to announce that ECTC General Chair, Dr. Beth Keser, will chair the VERY FIRST CPMT Women’s Panel and Reception, Own Your Professional Success – What You Should Do, featuring women in distinguished technical and management roles in the microelectronics industry who will speak on their experiences and achievements in the microelectronics industry and provide insights into how they have cultivated successful careers. This session is followed by a Q&A session and a reception.
Tuesday’s activities don’t end there. For those who have the stamina for evening panel sessions, you’ll want to be sure to attend the ECTC Panel Discussion “Nanopackaging: Hype, Hope, or Happening?” Panelists from industry and academia will present a primarily industrial view of the status quo and near future of nanotechnologies in microelectronics packaging, including nano-particles, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and even a peek at the post-CMOS future.
Matthew Grob, Executive VP and CTO, Qualcomm, will discuss how smartphone technology is driving the pace of technology innovation and extending the boundaries of what’s possible, during Wednesday’s luncheon keynote, Smartphone-Powered Future.
No industry event worth its salt this year would dare to not have a panel discussion devoted to the Internet of Things. ECTC’s takes place Wednesday evening from 7-8:30: “The Internet of Things and the Future of Interconnected Electronics”. Jan Vardaman, TechSearch International Inc., has assembled a panel of technology and business leaders to help us understand the true impact of IoT on the way we live, do business, design and fabricate our semiconductor products, and assemble them.
Thursday evening’s session, chaired by Georgia Tech’s Venky Sundaram IBM Research’s Yasumitsu Orii, will tackle one of the industry’s most challenging topics: thermal management. Liquid and Phase-Change Cooling for High-Performance Systems will discuss cutting edge cooling technologies from the user perspective. As thermal is a critical challenge remaining for 3D technologies, I’m pretty sure they will be part of the discussion.
Be sure to stretch your legs and visit the Technology Corner under the tent to see what the exhibitors are showcasing this year. As always, the various receptions and the gala on Thursday provide multiple opportunities for networking. For session times, details, and to register for ECTC 2015, visit the website. The full program is also available there for download.
