Resonac to lead US/Japanese consortium on advanced packaging
Ten semiconductor materials and equipment companies from the US and Japan are joining forces to accelerate R&D into semiconductor packaging of advanced devices.
US-based Resonac will lead the US-JOINT scheme, which comprises the following US and Japanese participants: Azimuth, KLA, Kulicke & Soffa, Moses Lake Industries, MEC, ULVAC, NAMICS, TOK, TOWA and Resonac.
US-JOINT is described as an open consortium designed for end-customer collaboration to verify the latest requirements for semiconductor packaging of advanced devices and validate new concepts in development.
R&D for the scheme will take place at a new centre in Union City California. The construction of cleanrooms and equipment installation will begin this year, and the facility is expected to be fully operational in 2025.
Asia has traditionally led in advanced packaging and the back-end processing of semiconductors. With the US-JOINT programme, semiconductor device makers in Silicon Valley hope to advance the technology, and solve technical issues, especially in the areas such as the substrate, interposer and fabrication of the package.
“Today’s rapidly expanding next-generation semiconductors for generative AI and autonomous driving require new approaches to advanced packaging technologies, such as 2.5D and 3D1,” said Hidenori Abe, Executive Director of Electronics Business Headquarters, Resonac. “In recent years, major semiconductor manufacturers and fabless companies in Silicon Valley, including GAFAM2, are designing semiconductors in-house and creating new concepts in back-end packaging one after another. This is where the US-JOINT consortium can contribute significantly with our leading technology in materials and equipment on-shore in the US.”
