Then
- Monolithic integration or System-on-Chip (SoC)
- Entire blueprint on a single piece of silicon
- Expensive
- Prone to defects and low manufacturing yields
Packaging of chips isn’t
getting any simpler
getting any simpler
The global semiconductor industry continues to grow at a remarkable pace. For decades, innovation was driven primarily by front-end wafer fabrication processes such as lithography, etching, and deposition. Guided by Moore's Law, the number of transistors integrated into a chip continued to increase, delivering greater computing performance year after year.
Today, as semiconductor manufacturing approaches sub-2nm process nodes, physical, thermal, and cost challenges are making traditional front-end scaling increasingly difficult.
Today, major breakthroughs in performance, power efficiency, and cost optimisation now happen at the “back-end”. The Assembly, Test, and Packaging (ATP) segment has transformed from basic routine into a sophisticated pillar of advanced engineering. Driven by artificial intelligence (AI), High-Performance Computing (HPC), and localised supply chain strategies, semiconductor ATP equipment had a market size of $15 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at 12% CAGR until 20301.
Advanced packaging is no longer just protective housing; it is active architecture used to boost transistor density, reduce latency, and enhance system bandwidth.
Discover the innovations shaping the future of advanced semiconductor assembly and packaging.
HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION AND
THE CHIPLET REVOLUTION
THE CHIPLET REVOLUTION
Now
- Heterogeneous Integration (HI)
- Combine separate components into 1 advanced package2
- Made of small functional “chiplets”
- Stitched together inside housing to form a single high-performance microchip
2.5D and 3D Packaging Architectures
To connect these decentralised chiplets without sacrificing communication speed, advanced multi-die architectures are necessary. Technologies like CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) have become the industry standard for AI accelerators.
2.5D
- Dies and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) stacks placed side-by-side on an interposer
- Microscopic copper wires let data travel horizontally between components
- High speeds with low power
3D
- Dies stacked vertically
- Microscopic copper tunnels (Through-Silicon Vias) let data travel vertically between stacked chips
- Minimises data latency and physical footprint of the chip
Advanced 2.5D and 3D packaging technologies are fundamentally linked to the emerging DRAM cell structures of 6F² and 4F². As memory performance approaches a physical limit, the industry is shifting from scaling laterally (shrinking features on a flat 2D plane) to scaling vertically.
Hybrid Bonding Integration
Then
- Chips joined with microbumps
- Distance between bumps cannot drop below 10 to 20 microns
- Solder risks bridging across gaps that are too small
- Risk of electrical short circuits
Now
- Chips joined with hybrid bonding
- Chips or wafers are fused together directly
- Dielectric-to-dielectric bond for structural insulation
- Direct copper-to-copper bond for electrical pathways, along a completely flat interface
Semiconductor Testing
Moves Up a Notch
The complexity of multi-die, heterogeneous systems has made testing a bottleneck. Testing a 3D stack of interconnected chiplets is far more challenging than a single, monolithic chip.
In advanced packaging, the margin for error is zero. One defective chiplet buried inside a stacked package can ruin an entire assembly, wasting money and materials. As a result, the industry is shifting from basic screening to more predictive diagnostics, and implementing the ultra-stringent Known Good Die (KGD) testing.
Traditionally, Automated Test Equipment (ATE) used to verify a chip's structural integrity and basic logic paths. However, when multiple chiplets interact dynamically inside a 2.5D or 3D package, one could face:
Unexpectedsoftware bugs
Timingdelays
Electromagneticinterference
and other issues that standard structural testing cannot detect.
This has made System-Level Testing (SLT) increasingly important.
Package fully assembled and inserted into test environment
Replicate hardware, software and environment workloads of the final end-device
Chip is tested to ensure performance in real-world environments
For an AI chip, this means running real machine learning workloads under extreme heat to guarantee the chiplet-to-chiplet communication protocols function flawlessly.
LAPP's Role in the ATP Ecosystem
The ATP segment is the primary engine driving the next generation of semiconductor performance. As physical transistor scaling nears its limits, structural architecture, materials science, and predictive testing protocols will dictate the future of computing.
By leading in these ultra-precise back-end disciplines, one can become key to the future of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and the global technological industry.
LAPP develops and evaluates new cable harnessing solutions tailored to our customers' needs, supporting you from launch to manufacturing, scaling and beyond.
As machines demand more low-emission components, LAPP ensures solutions meet IPA Class 1 or 2 standards.
By working closely with equipment manufacturers, LAPP's expertise in cables and connections powers machines from within.
Download the ATP Application Guide: Explore the Future of Chip PackagingReferences:
1. https://www.semi.org/en/semi-press-release/semi-reports-global-total-semiconductor-equipment-sales-forecast-to-reach-125.5-billion-dollars-in-2025
2. https://www.appliedmaterials.com/sg/en/semiconductor/markets-and-inflections/heterogeneous-integration.html
