The geopolitical race to take the lead in semiconductors is heating up as global investments in semiconductor manufacturing take hold. Several weeks ago, the Department of Commerce finally made a big US CHIPS Act award, giving Intel $8.5 billion of the allotted 38 billion set to go to semiconductor manufacturing....
When you replace your PC with an AI-enabled one, will you make sure your old device goes into an electronics recycling program? In November of 2023, I wrote about artificial intelligence (AI) personal computers (PCs) possibly being a growth driver of the 2024 PC and semiconductor growth. Our trusty editor...
The foundry world has been big news in the past few weeks. TSMC started up the Kumamoto Fab, Japan’s leading-edge semiconductor technology center, partnering with Tenstorrent on RISC-V and chiplets to be manufactured at Rapidus. The biggest non-surprise news flash was the roll-out of Intel’s Foundry Direct Connect, which they...
From November to April for the past seven years, I have spent a considerable amount of time on the snow as a ski instructor. In 2019 the International Ski and Snowboard Federation implemented a ban on fluorinated waxes that took place in July of 2021. The change left skiers scrambling,...
At last week’s International Microelectronics and Packaging Society’s Device Packaging Conference, (IMAPS DPC 2024) we didn’t need TrendForce to tell us that advanced packaging is the hottest technology in the semiconductor industry. We just needed to look at the record attendance of more than 700 advanced packaging enthusiasts who turned...
When I interview members for the 3D InCites Podcast at industry events, I often ask them, “What did you come here to learn?” As this is my first time at ISS Europe, I asked myself that question. Here’s what I came up with. I attended ISS Europe 2024 to learn...
It was an interesting year for the 2024 3D InCites Awards as we changed our processes, criteria, and categories to improve the program. We intended to provide more opportunities for participation across the heterogeneous integration supply chain, and we are happy with the outcome. A special thank you to the...
A Conversation About Leadership with SEMI CEO Ajit Manocha For the past few years, we’ve heard semiconductor market analysts prognosticate that based on estimated demand, semiconductors have the potential to become a $1Trillion industry in the next 7-10 years. This number is based on analysts’ projections of driving markets including...
Riding the 3D/Heterogeneous Integration Wave For decades, the ability to achieve the necessary power, performance, area, and cost (PPAC) in semiconductor manufacturing had been largely driven by 2D design rule shrinks enabled through advances in lithography. In recent years, however, the rising costs and complexity associated with 2D shrinks have...
March buzzed with innovation and collaboration in the semiconductor industry, as key players across the globe joined forces to advance technology, foster education, and address sustainability challenges. From groundbreaking product launches to strategic partnerships and workforce development initiatives, here are the highlights of 3D InCites members’ industry news, events, and...
Automotive compute processors are rapidly adopting advanced process nodes. NXP announced the development of 5nm automotive processors in 2020 [1], Mobileye announced EyeQ Ultra using 5nm technology during CES 2022 [2], and TSMC announced its “Auto Early” 3nm processes in 2023 [3]. In the past, the automotive industry was slow...
When I worked for Advanced Packaging magazine in the early 2000s, we sometimes got pitches from companies that made cardboard boxes or foam cushioning materials. Their spokespeople obviously had not read the magazine or looked beyond the word “packaging” in the title. We ignored those pitches. However, many levels of...
The Department of Commerce (DoC) has announced Intel as the fourth program it will fund under the CHIPS and Science Act CHIPS for America includes the CHIPS Program Office (responsible for manufacturing incentives), and the CHIPS Research and Development Office, (responsible for R&D programs). Both activities sit within the National...
The Creating Helpful Innovations in the Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS) workforce initiatives are shown in Figure 1: The CHIPS vision for success for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) is to establish U.S. leadership in advanced packaging and provide the technology needed for packaging manufacturing in the U.S. Ex-IBM...
In late Feb INEMI hosted a Packaging Tech Topic Webinar: Glass Substrates for Advanced Packaging which was presented by Dr. Dilan Seneviratne and Dr. Gang Duan of Intel Corporation. Dilan Seneviratne is a Principal Engineer and Director of Dielectrics and Surface Prep Area within Intel’s Substrate Packaging Technology Development organization....
US Chip Fabrication, Packaging & Assembly Industry In August 2023, one year after the U.S. CHIPs Act was signed into law, the White House announced that over 460 companies had already submitted statements of interest to receive funding. GlobalFoundries The U.S. Dept of Commerce has announced $1.5B in direct funding...
I have attended my share of DEI and allyship-focused events in the past few years attended by both women and men. In fact, I have moderated a few and recorded several for the 3D InCites podcast. But this was my first SEMI Women in Semiconductors (SEMI WIS) event, and it...
In a recent LinkedIn post about The Barbie Movie, former Women in Semiconductors (WiS) committee co-chair Garima Gautam wrote that “every year there are multiple industry conferences that have topics like gender bias, women in the workplace and women in the semiconductor industry. We have struggled to get the other half of our workforce...
The CHIPS and Science Act aims to bring semiconductor research & development and manufacturing back to U.S. soil. Not only will this make the U.S. less reliant on the international supply chain, but it is estimated that this investment in onshore semiconductor and research facilities will create over half a...
I attended my first SEMI Foundation-organized Women in Semiconductors (WIS) event on May 1st. It was held in conjunction with the Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC) in Saratoga Springs, NY. I really didn’t know what to expect but I know I wasn’t expecting standing-room-only with 200 people attending. The other...