Francoise von Trapp (aka the Queen of 3D) has been following and reporting on the progress of 3D integration technologies since 2009. Francoise in 3D provides a high-level perspective of 3D industry events, offers executive viewpoints, and focuses on process and manufacturing aspects of 3D integration.
All it takes is one look at the recent line-up on IHS iSuppli’s annual Semiconductor company ranking-by-revenue to see change is afoot in the industry, driven by the growing demand for mobile devices and declining demand for PCs and laptops. And overall, iSuppli has downgraded its semiconductor market forecast for 2012;...
You may recall that just before Halloween, I posted a survey inquiring whether readers thought the market would bear the plethora of mobile offerings being introduced on the market. Despite the rather underwhelming number of responses (8 if you include the open response comment from Rudolph Technologies’ Rajiv Roy). I...
In last week’s coverage of the Known Good Die Symposium, I talked about the notion of shifting focus from Known Good Die to Probably Good Die. It got me to thinking how by simply changing vernacular that we use, we can alter perspective and thereby affect a complete paradigm shift...
After wrapping up a run of blog posts from two weeks of travel and 4 conferences,(IWLPC 2012, the IEEE 3D Test Workshop, and MEPTEC’s co-located Roadmaps to Multi-die Integration and Known Good Die Symposium) it’s time to catch my breath and see what else has been going on in the...
The day after Nicolas Sillon presented his keynote at IWLPC on interposer technology, we sat down to coffee and a one-on–one discussion about Leti’s accomplishments and position in the 3D space, and the upcoming European 3D TSV Summit, which takes place in Grenoble, January 22 & 23. Sillon has served...
It’s been a whirlwind of conferences these past few weeks, and as a result, I have attended FOUR panel discussions on 2.5D and 3D related topics. (I already wrote about the 3D Test Workshop Panel – 3D Buzz Hype or Reality. It’s stirred quite a discussion.) The day before I...
At last week’s 3D Test Workshop in Anaheim, CA, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of industry experts, analysts and bloggers, with a topic focused on 3D ICs, Hype vs. Reality? Jan Vardaman (TechSearch International), Herb Reiter (eda2asic) Paul Werbaneth (executive marketing consultant) and Ira Feldman (Feldman Engineering)...
After listening to John Ellis, semiconductor industry veteran and author of the techno-thriller, The Dormant Curse, expound on the threat of Trojan chips in smartphones, I know what's next on my reading list. While I've never really been much for techno-thrillers (although I did read Stieg Larsson's Girl with the...
Today's 3D day kicked off with a very broad and thorough state-of-the-technology report from imec's perspective, presented by Paul Marchal. I covered imec's progress a few weeks ago in an interview with Eric Beyne, after the research center's technology forum event. In his keynote, Marchal drills down into some detail,...
Tomorrow's the big 3D day, but today's keynote from Nicolas Sillon of CEA Leti on "Silicon Interposer: Much More than a Piece of Silicon" solidified the concept for me that interposers are not merely a bridge to 3D, but have a future all their own in parallel to 3D ICs. ...
