More 2.5D/3D, fan-out packages ahead

An article written by Mark LaPedus for Semiconductor Engineering – Progress on 3D-ICs, using HBM with fan-outs, and other new approaches. A new wave of 2.5D/3D, fan-out and other advanced IC packages is expected to flood the market over the next year.

The new packages are targeted to address many of the same and challenging applications in the market, such as multi-die integration, memory bandwidth issues and even chip scaling. But the new, advanced IC packages face some technical challenges. And cost remains an issue as advanced packaging is still relatively expensive for the masses.

It’s difficult to list all of the new package types on the horizon, but here are some of the major technologies coming down the pike:

• 3D-ICs: After years of modest success in developing true 3D packages, the industry is launching a new version of the technology for logic on memory and logic on logic integration. This enables hybrid chip architectures, SRAM cubes and other technologies.
• Chiplets: With chiplets, you have a menu of modular chips, or chiplets, in a library. Then, you assemble chiplets in a package and connect them using a die-to-die interconnect scheme.
• Fan-out on substrate packages: These support high bandwidth memory (HBM), while some will break the sub-µm line/space barrier.

Each technology is geared toward a different application. Generally, though, the idea behind these and other advanced package types is to integrate multiple die in the same package, which is a form of heterogeneous integration. This, in turn, enables the package to perform a specific and advanced function in a small form factor… Full article

Source: www.semiconductorengineering.com