US assigns $3bn to domestic advanced packaging sector
The US government's CHIPS for America program has confirmed it will set aside $3bn for the country's advanced packaging industry in 2024.
The new funding is part of the US's “Vision for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program” (NAPMP) - one of four CHIPS for America R&D schemes to bolster the country's domestic semiconductor industry.
Advanced packaging is considered a strategically important sector. The technique places multiple chips with diverse functions on a substrate in two or three dimensions at extremely fine dimensions. It results in performance gains and power savings far greater than can be achieved with conventionally packaged chips on a printed circuit board.
The US advanced packaging sector is relatively under developed, so this USD 3 billion program will support projects that focus on:
- Materials and substrates
- Equipment, tools and processes
- Power delivery and thermal management
- Photonics and connectors
- A chiplet ecosystem
- Co-design for test, repair, security, interoperability and reliability
“Making substantial investments in domestic packaging capabilities and R&D is critical to creating a thriving semiconductor ecosystem in America. We need to make sure new leading-edge chip architectures can be invented in our research labs, designed for every end-use application, manufactured at scale and packaged with the most advanced technologies. This new vision for advanced packaging will enable us to implement President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and make our country a leader in leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
