Chip packaging tech in US gets $1.6 billion boost
Semiconductor packaging allows components to be combined as a single electronic device, and the latest funding under the CHIPS and Science Act seeks to drive innovation in this process.
The United States expects to direct up to USD 1.6 billion in funding to boost semiconductor packaging to stay ahead in the tech amid intensifying competition with China.
The funding comes under the CHIPS and Science Act, which frees up to USD 52 billion in subsidies to bolster domestic semiconductor production in the United States.
“Securing domestic packaging capabilities is a key part of our mission to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The Biden-Harris Administration’s investments in the NAPMP, including the advanced packaging piloting facility, expected to be announced later this year, will bring innovative and new technologies directly to American manufacturers and consumers — helping achieve the economic and national security goals of the CHIPS and Science Act,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Semiconductor packaging allows components to be combined as a single electronic device, and the latest investment seeks to drive innovation in this process.
The aim is to help develop a “self-sustaining, and profitable, domestic advanced packaging industry,” said the Commerce Department.
Packaging is the process of encasing semiconductors and connecting them to devices, and is a crucial subset of the chipmaking industry. Asian countries such as Taiwan and South Korea are leaders in this field.
“This ambitious funding opportunity is designed to fill key technology gaps in advanced packaging to ensure US leadership in the global semiconductor ecosystem,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Laurie E. Locascio. “CHIPS for America is delivering on its mission to create a domestic packaging industry where advanced node chips manufactured in the US and abroad can be packaged within the United States.”
The US government has given incentives to companies like Intel, SK Hynix, Amkor and Samsung to build chip packaging plants in the country.
In October, Amkor Technology and TSMC signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate and bring advanced packaging and test capabilities to Arizona.
