IFTLE 497: Ajinomoto Expands Materials Offerings; BESI readies for Chiplet Era
Sep 22, 2021 · By Phil Garrou · Blogs, Packaging IFTLE
3D In Context View all
A Look at Semiconductor Equipment Supplier Sustainability Efforts
Most semiconductor equipment companies have been focused on sustainability programs longer than most other industries. In part, some of the focus is probably due to customers, such as Intel and ST Microelectronics, that have had sustainability or environmental programs of some sort since 1993. In 2019, at the last face-to-face...
Golden Era or Short-Term Cycle?
Day 2 of SEMI’s Innovation for a Transforming World featured the outlook on semiconductor market growth over the next 2-3 years. The pandemic to a certain extent has turned the semiconductor and the supporting markets on their head so to speak. After a strong 2018, 2019 saw slower growth. As...
Sustainability in the Semiconductor Fab and Sub-Fab
Building a state-of-the-art integrated circuit takes a lot of resources. Water, energy, chemicals, gases, and silicon wafers are just a few of the key elements required to build a chip. According to Scotten W. Jones at IC Knowledge LLC, there are 600 to 800 process steps at 5nm depending on...
Managing in Times of Change: SEMI’s Innovation for a Transforming World
Day 1 In place of the SEMICON West in July, SEMI presented a virtual event titled Innovation for a Transforming World. The event format was a bit different than the way SEMI normally runs a conference. Historically, SEMI leans heavily on the semiconductor infrastructure for presentations with a keynote from...
Francoise in 3D View all
How Europe Should Navigate Its Semiconductor Supply Chain Challenges
Over the last 18 months, the European semiconductor industry has felt the repercussions of supply chain interruptions due COVID 19 and trade wars, combined with exploding global demand for chips driven by the digital transformation. There are also questions about regional sovereignty and the need to strengthen the local supply...
How Can We Tap into $52 Billion to Reshore Advanced Packaging?
One of the things that are missing from virtual events is the candid conversations we engage in when we meet up with industry colleagues in the halls and cocktail receptions at in-person events. In a way, that’s the tone we’re trying to capture in the conversations we have on the...
Chip Shortage: A Summary on Consumer Impact
The global chip shortage rages on, and we’ve heard a lot about its impact on the automotive industry. So, I thought I’d take a look at the impact on consumers through the eyes of the mainstream media, as people begin to understand the connection between semiconductors, and the products and...
Anyone Else Excited about a Hiatus from SEMICON West in July?
People often tell me that I say out loud what everyone else is thinking. So there it is. It’s July 1, 2021, and I have to admit I’m feeling a little off. Probably because this time of year we are usually in the throes of SEMICON West preparations. Even last...
From Different Dimensions View all
You’ve Been Through an M&A – Maybe It’s Time to Rebrand?
Much consolidation has happened in the semiconductor industry over the last decade or so. And it’s not over yet if recent news is anything to go by. By consolidation, I’m referring to specific mergers and acquisitions (M&As) between companies making similar products, materials, or devices. It’s happened in the materials...
Total Cost of Ownership Success Begins (or Ends) with Your Equipment
Lower cost. Everyone wants it. There are many ways to reach it. On the surface, a low initial purchase price seems like the obvious solution. But is that really the best way to control cost? Savvy buyers look at the total cost of ownership to maximize their return on investment....
Is Humpty Dumpty Really Broken?
Can the USA wrestle back Front- and Back-end Semiconductor Manufacturing? Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall Humpty Dumpty had a great fall All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again Recently, Congress has been tossing ideas about investing $Bs into the high...
Interview with Håkan Persson, Incoming CEO of Smoltek
Håkan Persson, with many years of experience from leading and developing listed technology companies, will take over as CEO of Smoltek. He will join the company no later than October 15, maybe sooner. In anticipation of his accession, we have had a short Q&A with him. Q: Can you provide...
Packaging IFTLE View all
IFTLE 495: Siemens – Chiplets are the New Generation of SiP
The virtual IMAPS SiP conference recently took place under the Chairmanship of Mark Gerber of ASE. Siemens EDA Keith Felton of Siemens gave a keynote presentation about the company’s perspective on heterogeneous integration (HI) and chiplets and what it brings to system in package (SiP). Recall Siemens acquired Mentor Graphics...
IFTLE 494: Intel Accelerated – Becoming a Foundry and Onshoring
Watching the Intel Accelerated event recently brings to mind one of my favorite movies of all time: Rocky. Let me share the fact that Sylvester Stallone (3 years older than I am) and I actually grew up in the same NYC neighborhood, Hell’s Kitchen (he later moved to Philly). At...
IFTLE 493: TSMC Considering Chip Packaging in Japan; US “On Shoring” Report Issued
Will TSMC build advanced packaging facilities offshore? In IFTLE 490, we reported that TSMC is considering building an advanced IC packaging plant in the US. Now, from the Asia Times we learn in an article by Scott Foster, an analyst with Lightstream Research – Tokyo that in February, it was...
IFTLE 492: Will Intel Acquire GlobalFoundries? Intel/IBM R&D Partnership
Intel in Talks to Acquire GlobalFoundries Trustworthy sources such as the Wall Street Journal are reporting that Intel is in talks to acquire GlobalFoundries (GF). They report that the deal could value GF at around $30 billion. Talks appear to be directly between Intel and the Abu Dhabi government (which...
SemiSisters View all
Smartphone Addiction is Not a Gender-Specific Problem
An open letter to David Benjamin, EE Times Dear David, You really don’t get it. Why? Why, when more women are joining the microelectronics industry in technical and non-technical roles, would you resort to female stereotypes from the 1950s as a vehicle to discuss such an important topic as global...
2021 3D InCites DEI Fundraiser a Success; Thank You Sponsors
We took our annual mural project online this year! Illustrator Ronna Encarnacion created this original watercolor to reflect the importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in creating sustainability. Proceeds from the project will be used to seed the 3D InCites DEI Fund to support technology businesses owned by women and...
How is COVID 19 Impacting the Semiconductor Industry’s Diversity and Inclusion Efforts?
A headline on CNN Business caught my eye last night: Working mothers are quitting to take care of their kids, and the US job market may never be the same. I started reading and went down a rabbit hole of related articles that revealed a few things: Unlike the recession...
SemiSister Success Story: A Woman on the Edge of 3D Technology
Severine Cheramy has devoted her career to developing 3D integration technologies and bringing them to market. She was the first person to show me what a TSV wafer looked like when I visited CEA-Leti’s cleanroom in 2009 during my Tour de France in 3D. At the time, she was a...
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Sustainability 101, The Product Lifecycle: Sustainability and the Supply Chain
Sustainability should start in the design phase. When engineers consider environmental impact during product design, they may be able to...
ESiPAT-TC Team Prepping for Successful In-Person Event
Aiming at facilitating mutual engagement, the SEMI Packaging Technology Seminar will foster collaboration among semiconductor packaging, assembly, test manufacturing, and design experts, to collectively strengthen the semiconductor back-end industry in...
We Want to Hear from our Industry’s Summer Interns
Calling All Semiconductor/Microelectronics Packaging Interns! – We want to know what your summer internship was like. Here’s your chance to...
Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Bitcoin Mining and Other HPC Applications
Can semiconductors help with reducing the carbon footprint of bitcoin mining and other high-performance computing (HPC) applications? Can the overall...
Semiconductor Summer Conference Highlights: Hardware is Back Baby!
June and July have been busy months from a semiconductor conference perspective. VLSI, IITC, imec IFT America, CEA-Leti Innovation Days,...
Sustainability 101: Circular Economy, Part I –What is Zero Waste?
Someone once asked me if the circular economy requires a specific type of currency. Let’s clear up some basic misconceptions....
IFTLE 491: IBM Simplifies Si Bridge Technology
Continuing our coverage of ECTC 2021, let’s take a look at the session on Heterogeneous Integration (HI) using 2.XD/3D packaging,...
IFTLE 490: TSMC considers Packaging Facility in the US; EMIB Technology Advances
TSMC considers Packaging Facility in the US The Taipei Times is reporting (via Nikkei Japan) that TSMC is considering building...
IFTLE 489: AMAT Addresses Hybrid Bonding; DECA M-Series Continues to Develop
Let’s take a final look at some of the presentations from the 2021 IMAPS Device Packaging workshop. Applied Materials Applied...
Achieving Carbon Neutral Computing
According to the Wall Street Journal, (WSJ) the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing that public companies be required...
The ESD Alliance: A Forum to Address Cross-Industry Issues
Members of the ESD Alliance are vital to the semiconductor industry, providing comprehensive solutions for the planning, design, and verification...
Sustainability 101: Sustainability Reporting Standards and Trends
You have probably heard that what gets measured is what matters. That is the idea behind sustainability reporting. Companies that...
IFTLE 488: Nepes Readies Commercialization of mPoP Technology
This week we’re looking at some packaging presentations from the 2021 IMAPS Device Packaging Workshop. The focus is on Nepes...
As Semiconductor Spending Explodes,This Sure Feels Like a Super Cycle!
What a time to be in the semiconductor industry! If you’re a chip manufacturer you’re currently being blamed for the...
3D InCites Launches WeChat Platform
Audiences in China have no access to social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, but they’ve completely embraced...
ECTC 2021: Economic Outlook Focuses on the Impact of the Pandemic
For the first time in its 71-year history, the ECTC committee veered away from strictly technical topics to include a...
More Thoughts And Lessons Learned During My Career in Semiconductors
In the Spring 2020 issue of the MEPTEC Report, Herb Reiter briefly emerged from his recent retirement to pen an...
Introducing the 3D InCites Podcast
Over the past month, you may have noticed a new addition to the 3D InCites platform. The 3D InCites Podcast...
IFTLE 487: Yole Développement Reviews the Advanced Packaging Market
Vaibhav Trivedi of Yole Développement gave an outlook for the advanced packaging market with a focus on 3DIC. The semiconductor market...