As December rolls in and 2014 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the past 11 months, and the predictions industry experts made in for 2014 in their 3DInCites industry outlooks for 2014. There’s no doubt about it, 2014 has been a good year for 3D integration technologies, with multiple product announcements particularly around 3D stacked memory’s imminent ramp to production. Additionally, efforts continue to optimize processes to lower the cost of ownership for interposers and 3D ICs, so that the next round of consumer products are able to implement them.
Here are some 2014 predictions from our contributors that are ringing true:
Herb Reiter, eda2asic: I expect 2014 to be the year (interposer) solutions are aimed at many more applications that need higher bandwidth, shorter latency, lower power dissipation, smaller form-factor, easier heterogeneous integration and/or other benefits (interposers) offer over PoPs, SiPs or PCB-mounted SoCs.
Dave Butler, SPTS: We will take a big step towards 3D high volume manufacturing (HVM) with the introduction of the stacked memory cubes for high bandwidth applications.
Vincent Tong, Xilinx: We are now well past the experimental stage and well into the deployment stage for 3D technology. In the future, we will be adding other types of die to the mix when the proper business case presents itself.
Paul Lindner, EV Group: The increasing memory content and data streaming capability of mobile/smart devices will drive 3D technology adoption in the cloud centers. High-end servers, high-performance computing and networking products will further implement FPGAs and stacked DRAM to satisfy demand.
Frederic Reynal, Alchimer: In 2014, we expect to see the industry begin ramping to 3D, while at the same time, work continues to optimize technologies for improved yield and reduced cost of 3D TSVs.
Leo Linehan, Dow Electronic Materials: 3D IC can’t become a reality until all the process cost and technology come together to deliver a viable solution. We expect that great progress will be made in 2014, because the need for 3D ICs is well established.
Paul Werbaneth, 3D+: The MEMS industry is going to continue to push the commercialization of 3D IC technology. …A trillion sensors launched on a sea of TSVs. I like where this is going.
Many are already anticipating great things for 3D in 2015 – and some say that 2015 will be THE YEAR for interposers and 3D integration. We want to know what you think. So it’s that time again to contribute your industry outlooks for 2015. This year’s topic: What does 3D integration have in store for your company in 2015? Please submit your blog post of 300-500 words and a head shot to francoise@3dInCites.com. We will begin accepting submissions immediately, and will post them in the order they are received beginning on Monday, January 5, 2015. All guest bloggers must be registered members of 3D InCites to participate. ~ F.v.T.
