Given their potential to alleviate scaling limitations, increase performance and functionality and reduce cost 3D ICs will play an important role in the semiconductor industry’s future. While research on 3D IC technologies has been ongoing for many years, they have not yet made it to mainstream production due to lack of uniform standards and a limited understanding of key manufacturing parameters. In order to build critical industry infrastructure and drive 3D into mainstream, high volume manufacturing the industry will need to come to a consensus on the most promising and cost-effective options.
To do so SEMATECH, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) have announced a new 3D Enablement program to drive industry standardization efforts and technical specifications for 3D integration.
The new 3D Enablement program will focus primarily on developing technologies and specifications necessary for establishing standards in critical areas such as inspection, metrology, microbumping, bonding and thin wafer and die handling.
The 3D Enablement program is open to international fabless, fab-lite and IDM companies, outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) suppliers, and tool vendors. It will be administered by Sematech's 3D Interconnect program in partnership with SRC and will be based at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany.
