Below the Surface: From Substrate to System—Why Integration Is the Real RF Breakthrough
By Chandra Gupta In my last column, I described the ceramic substrate itself, and why material choice matters so deeply in RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave applications. Dielectric constant, loss tangent, thermal conductivity, stability across temperature, and frequency are the physical rules that govern whether a signal arrives intact or collapses...
Intel Foundry Achieves Breakthrough with World’s Thinnest GaN Chiplet Technology
Han Wui Then is a senior principal engineer at Intel Foundry Technology Research specializing in advanced semiconductor materials and advanced transistor development. Co-authors include Samuel Bader, Ahmad Zubair, Heli Vora, Prafful Golani, Pratik Koirala, Michael Beumer, Trianggono Widodo, Aris Orbase, Patrick McIllece, Andrey Vyatskikh, Thomas Hoff, Rambert Nahm, Kirby Maxey,...
Why Die Bonding Fails to Scale: How Do You Move from Prototype to Production Without Starting Over?
By Tobias Gleichmann In advanced packaging, the real challenge usually doesn’t show up during development. It shows up when processes need to run reliably in production. Everything works in the lab. Then production begins. And suddenly, nothing behaves the same. But in many cases, the issue was already built in....
Advanced Optical Metrology for Wire Bond Inspection Using 3D Area Multi-Focus (AMF) Imaging
By Austin Rose, Troy Frappier and Alan Emmans of VIEW Micro Metrology Abstract Wire bonding remains one of the most widely used semiconductor interconnect technologies, supporting applications ranging from power electronics and automotive devices to memory packages and legacy logic. Shrinking wire diameters, combined with material variability across aluminum and...
Engineering Copper Grain Structure for High-Yield Hybrid Bonding in 3D Packaging
Why copper grain size matters for hybrid bonding and how to control it for HBM and chiplets. Read the article here. Abstract Hybrid bonding is reshaping advanced packaging by enabling ultra-fine pitch copper-to-copper interconnects, essential for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), chiplet integration, and 3D heterogeneous systems. While alignment precision, oxide control,...
From Classroom to Career: Building the Next Generation of Microelectronic Talent
The semiconductor ecosystem is facing a significant workforce gap, with industry demand continuing to grow faster than the available talent pool. Long-term projections suggest the semiconductor workforce pipeline will struggle to keep pace with this growth. The National Science Foundation’s estimates indicate that between 60,000 and 100,000 semiconductor roles in the United...
Packaging the Future of AI – Key Themes from the IMAPS Device Packaging Conference
This year’s annual International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS) Device Packaging Conference (DPC) in Arizona was bursting with excitement and acted as a platform for the industry’s brightest engineers, researchers, suppliers, and students from across the microelectronics packaging ecosystem to come together to share innovations shaping next-generation computing systems. With record...
VIEW Micro Metrology: Point of View at Device Packaging 2026
A Commitment to the Next Generation The event opened with a comprehensive series of Professional Development Courses, followed by the inaugural Student-Industry “Classroom to Career” session. This interactive session featured insightful career‑focused presentations from iMAPS President Dan Krueger and Director Scott Hayes, Arizona State University student Pallavi Jithendrriyan, and industry...
The Next Mode of Transformation: 3D IC Integration
The semiconductor industry finds itself at a critical juncture, where the traditional paradigms of Moore’s Law are encountering fundamental physical and economic limitations. As the industry grapples with the imperative to sustain innovation and meet the escalating performance demands of contemporary computing applications, the transition to 3D IC design emerges...
IMAPS Announces Purchase of the 3D InCites Platform
The International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society (IMAPS) is pleased to announce a major milestone for the Society, with IMAPS taking over the “stewardship” of the trusted 3D InCites platform which was owned by Françoise von Trapp and her partner Martijn Pierik. Following Françoise’s retirement, IMAPS purchased the 3D InCites...
Backyard Olympics returns to Device Packaging 2026
The IMAPS 3D InCites Backyard Olympics (BYO) is back for the 2026 Device Packaging Conference. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the IMAPS Microelectronic Foundation 3D InCites Scholarship Fund. The BYO will be held on Wednesday, March 4th from 7:00-9:00pm at the Hemapik Lawn, our varying levels...
Panelists Announced for “Addressing Barriers to Co-Packaged Optics” Panel Session at DPC 2026
A stellar lineup is the foundation of a great panel discussion ~ and we have the perfect group for the “Addressing Barriers to Co-Packaged Optics” panel session on March 3 at Device Packaging Conference in Phoenix. Continuing the tradition, Jan Vardaman will serve as moderator for the 6:45pm evening panel....
3D InCites Grows Up: Passing the Torch
While raising my daughters, I ascribed to the philosophy: “A parent’s charge – give them roots and give them wings.” I believe this also applies to brainchildren. At some point, your work is done, and rather than clinging to them and holding them back, you let them go, so they...
IFTLE 652: The End……….
By now you know that Francoise von Trapp is retiring from 3D InCites. That has led me to also pull the curtain down on “Insights from the Leading Edge” or IFTLE as it has become known. As I told you all in IFTLE 500, IFTLE’s predecessor PFTLE (Perspectives from the...
Beyond Transport Modes: Balancing Cost and Speed in Semiconductor Logistics
Before a chip becomes a CPU or GPU, it undergoes a complex journey through fabrication, assembly, testing, and packaging, often spanning continents. With major OSAT facilities still offshore, the packaging process adds cost, delays, and emissions, while every hand-off increases the risk. For businesses managing key semiconductor materials and components...
December Monthly News: That’s a Wrap on 2025
December 2025 was an action-packed month for the 3D InCites community and the semiconductor industry. Major leadership appointments, innovative technology launches, and global collaborations highlighted the month. Advances ranged from AI-powered process optimization and hybrid bonding production to new materials and solder solutions. Industry events showcased cutting-edge manufacturing experiences and...
IFTLE 651: Intel and Amkor Join Forces for EMIB
Amkor and Intel report that they are teaming up for Amkor high volume manufacturing (HVM) of EMIB due to “interest from the AI Industry.” Through this agreement, Amkor will implement EMIB assembly processes at its Korea, Portugal and upcoming Arizona manufacturing facilities, creating an alternative source for this advanced packaging...
Memories, IEDM, and Looking Forward
How to start what is potentially my final blog for 3D InCites: Memories, So Long, Farewell, (that one might get me in trouble), or Back to the Future? I started this venture at SEMICON West in 2019, where I helped Françoise cover the show and wrote my first 3D InCites...
Sustainability 101: Farewell From Julia
It’s bittersweet to be writing my last blog post for 3D InCites after 50+posts over four and a half years. My professional relationship with Francoise goes back much further to when we were both at Advanced Packaging Magazine 20 years ago. In Dec of 2015, Francoise approached me about writing...
My Message for the Advanced Packaging Industry
Since 2009, when Francoise started 3D InCites, she’s been sharing her insights on advanced packaging – an industry, she told me, that people used to dismiss. “Back then, advanced packaging was still seen as a cost-adder, versus adding value through enhanced performance.” she said. So much has changed since then....
