How Arizona is Growing its Advanced Packaging Capabilities
Jan 20, 2025 · By Jillian McNichol · Blogs, Interconnectology 101
3D In Context View all
3D Integration Themes Become a Reality at IEDM 2024
The Transistor Wars are back, but they look a little different this time. I’ve been attending the IEDM conference off and on for 30ish years. If you are in the semiconductor process side of the world, this is one of the better conferences to attend to get up to speed...
Semiconductor Industry Forecast: Looking Forward to Balanced Growth in 2025
As the semiconductor industry moves into the last month of 2024, industry pundits are looking back and then looking forward to seeing what they missed in 2024 and preparing their assumptions for 2025. This post looks at what they are predicting to bring you the 3D InCites Semiconductor Industry Forecast....
Nuclear is Out. How Do We Solve the High Tech Sustainability Problem?
The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity in high tech sustainability. We’ve moved from using nuclear power for data centers to only some nuclear power for data centers. A change of administration where support for renewables and sustainability will not be as strong as under the previous...
The Funds Keep on Rolling for CHIPS for America R&D
The CHIPS Act continues to issue grants to help advance the United States position in semiconductor and advanced technology. Two CHIPS for America R&D facilities were announced in late October and early November. First announced was an $825 million dollar grant to Albany Nanotech in upstate New York to develop...
Francoise in 3D View all
Interconnectology Saves the World!
In 2007, when I was managing editor at the now defunct Advanced Packaging Magazine, we went out on a limb in our January Industry Forecast to declare, as our cover story: Advanced Packaging Saves the World! In 2008, we tempered that declaration to Advanced Packaging Drives the Industry! By 2009,...
The 3D InCites Podcast Backtrack – 2024 in Review
Buzzsprout, the platform where the 3D InCites podcast lives, does a cool thing at the end of the year. It provides the podcast backtrack – a recap of your stats, including the top performing episodes. So we thought we’d share it with you, our listeners and sponsors, to give you...
Catching Up on The Latest in Advanced Packaging at SEMICON Europa 2024
Now that imec’s Luc Van den hove declared advanced packaging is key to the advancement of semiconductors, everyone in the industry needs to catch up to those who have been following the course of these technologies while they were in development. The Advanced Packaging Conference (APC) at SEMICON Europa 2024...
Making Connections at SEMICON Europa 2024
Let’s be honest. When we get home from a trade show like SEMICON Europa 2024, it’s not all the presentations that we remember. It’s the connections we’ve made – new and old – with industry colleagues around the globe that stand out. You can go to any SEMICON Event around...
From Different Dimensions View all
December Member News: Celebrating Progress and Achievements
Despite being the holiday season for much of the world, many of our members have made remarkable progress and celebrated many achievements in December. From groundbreaking technological advancements and well-deserved industry awards to strategic collaborations and significant company developments, our members are continuing to lead the way in their fields....
Sustainability 101: How Green is Your Electricity?
Where does the energy come from to power your facilities? Even if your company claims to be 100% renewable energy, you might be surprised to learn that much of your power comes from natural gas or even coal. Keep reading to understand this paradox. Renewable Energy Certificates Just as there...
November 3D InCites Member News: Advancements and Milestones
This month has been full of exciting advancements and milestones for our members. From cutting-edge technological breakthroughs and prestigious award recognitions to innovative partnerships, impactful collaborations, and significant company developments, our members continue to make remarkable strides in their fields. Here’s a closer look at the highlights and achievements they’ve...
Sustainability 101: Let’s Talk Supply Chain
My blog post for November is about supply chains and sustainability. I’ll get to that, but first, I want to get a bit personal. I opened LinkedIn at 6 am Pacific time on November 6 and saw multiple posts from contacts around the world saying, “America, what have you done?”...
Interconnectology 101 View all
It’s Time to Put AI’s Growth Into Perspective
These days, it seems like artificial intelligence (AI) is taking over the world. In the last two years alone, we’ve seen the rise of ChatGPT, autonomous vehicles, Google Gemini, deep fakes, and my least favorite – soulless AI art. With so many new applications coming into focus, it can feel...
What to Know Before Buying an IMAPS Academy Course
If you’re new to the advanced packaging industry, it may have crossed your mind to invest in a professional development course. IMAPS, or the International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society, offers exactly that. Their packaging-specific, IMAPS Academy courses are aimed at promoting a stronger understanding of key parts of the...
What Are Glass Core Substrates?
You may be familiar with organic substrates, but as of recently, glass core substrates have been gaining traction in the world of semiconductor manufacturing. Glass core substrates are emerging as a possible solution for achieving the interconnect density needed to power applications like artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC)....
The Basics of Chiplet Integration and Importance of Adhesive Solutions
What You Need to Know as an Industry Newcomer If you’re a regular reader of 3D InCites, you’ve probably seen the word “chiplets” before, but you may not know what they are. To put it simply, chiplets are small “chips” that perform singular functions really well, but they can’t perform...
Packaging IFTLE View all
IFTLE 616: Broadcom eXtreme Dimension System in Package (XDSiP™)
Broadcom has recently announced the availability of its 3.5D eXtreme Dimension System in Package (XDSiP™) platform technology, enabling consumer AI customers to develop next-generation custom accelerators (XPUs). The new platform relies on TSMC’s CoWoS and other advanced packaging technologies. It will allow designers to build system-in-packages (SiPs) of 3D-stacked logic,...
IFTLE 615: TSMC Evolves CoWoS Technology Promising 9x Reticle Size by 2027
TSMC recently announced at its Open Innovation Platform (OIP) Ecosystem Forum in Europe that its chip-0n-wafer-on=substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology will achieve certification by 2027, introducing a version with 9x reticle size. This will allow twelve HBM4 memory stacks, providing unprecedented performance enhancements for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC)...
IFTLE 614: What’s in Store for Intel’s Future? Update on NAPMP Proposers Day
Intel Reaches The Fork in the Road Digitimes had some interesting recent opinions about the future of Intel. Let’s take a look. With Intel struggling to make its foundry business profitable, Digitimes questions whether Intel should consider abandoning its IDM model and separate its product design and manufacturing divisions. The...
IFTLE 613: Solder Joint Reliability of Glass Core Substrate Assemblies
We have seen considerable global activity focused on developing glass core substrate assemblies and interposers, yet, as some of us have often mentioned, we have seen little in the way of reliability data for any modules built from these substrates. IFTLE considers the work of Absolics (the US division of...
Latest Posts
IFTLE 612: Congratulations to the IMAPS 2024 Society Award Winners
Figure 1 shows a listing of the 2024 IMAPS Society Award winners and the feature photo above are some of...
IFTLE 611: Amkor Clarifies Arizona Facility Activity
Wolfspeed & Hemlock Semiconductor Get Their CHIPS Act Share Arizona Facility to Focus on High Performance Computing In IFTLE 577...
The Evolution of Interconnects in Microelectronics Packaging
Semiconductor packaging is a complex and evolving field, involving multiple disciplines. As a microelectronics packaging engineer, I focus on the...
Picking up the Pace of Panel-level Advanced Packaging at Onto Innovation
How A Collaborative Partnership Is Accelerating PLP Innovation Panel-level advanced packaging technologies have been in development for more than a...
From Words to a World of Chips: My Experience with IMAPS and The International Symposium
Recently, I worked on a grant proposal for the International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS) Academy, as part of the...
October 2024 Member News
October 2024 member news was marked by significant developments and milestones. From the grand openings of cutting-edge facilities that enhance...
IFTLE 610: Looking for Silicon Interposers? Try GlobalFoundries!
If you have been looking for reliable, dependable sources of silicon interposers in anything beyond prototype quantities – like I...
IFTLE 609: TSMC/Amkor U.S. Advanced Packaging Partnership; Reshoring at IMAPS 2024
TSMC/Amkor agreement Will Put U.S. Advanced Packaging on The Map TSMC has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Amkor...
My How the Pendulum Swings
Why the AI Energy Crisis is Driving Us back to Coal and Nuclear Energy When I was an undergrad in...
Sustainability 101: Materials, AI, and Sustainability
If you read my blog posts or follow me on LinkedIn, you probably know that I’m passionate about the intersection...
TSMC OIP 2024: Strong Partnerships Drive 3D Packaging
I have spent a considerable amount of time covering the technology associated with the front-, and back end of-the-line. So...
IFTLE 608: Is Chip Packaging the New Front on the US-China CHIP WARS?
US-China CHIP WARS Now Encompass Advanced Packaging In the Aug 21st issue of Asia Times, Scott Foster wrote an interesting...
Leaning Into Interconnectology – Musings from IMAPS Symposium 2024
Call me crazy, but after spending three days at the 2024 International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS) Symposium in Boston...
IFTLE 607: Why Nvidia’s Blackwell is Having Issues with TSMC CoWoS-L Technology
Plus: UCIe 2.0 for 3D stacking; Samsung slows down Texas expansion Nvidia’s Blackwell Experiences...
Community Member Highlights for September 2024
As summer holidays came to a close, September found our member companies ramping up new products and opening new facilities....
What is Causing the Semiconductor Workforce Paradox?
One of the challenges for the semiconductor industry over a significant time period has been finding workers who have the...
IFTLE 606: Is Intel CHIPS Act Money Being Delayed?
Also: hynix Advanced Packaging in Indiana; Fraunhofer Chiplet Center; Call to Unify Advanced Packaging Standards Is the U.S. Government Becoming...
ASU’s SWAP Hub and National Collaborations Shape U.S. Microelectronics Leadership
In August of 2023, I attended the inaugural meeting of the Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub, spearheaded by the Ira...
Sustainability 101: The Green Guides
What do you know about the Federal Trade Commission’s “Guide for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims,” also known as...
