Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1456062
20 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2022 9 An Analysis of the North American Semiconductor and Advanced Packaging Ecosystem TOWARD A SILICON TO SYSTEMS APPROACH Semiconductor chips—as marvelous as they may be—do not float in the air. They are useless on their own. So, too, are the advanced IC-substrates that the chips are bonded to. While they too are important and critical pieces of an electronic system, they are intermediate steps in a much larger process of designing and manufacturing final products and systems such as mobile phones, online games, HPC mainframe computers, and aircraft navigation. It is not until the final package is assembled — when semiconductor chips are bonded to substrates, encapsulated, and tested – when an advanced package becomes functional, valuable, and available to be integrated into electronic systems and products. Advancements in semiconductor packaging also have direct impacts on PCB technology and fabrication. The more sophisticated IC packages become, the more complex PCB designs must become. Final system- level assembly by EMS/ODM providers is where the final product comes to life; it's where electronics are assembled, powered-on, burned-in, firmware/software loaded, and final system tests are performed. Both PCB and EMS/ODM providers play a critical role in final system delivery and availability. A healthy, capable assembly ecosystem is needed to bring a wide variety of technologies together to manufacture finished products. Any disruptions or bottlenecks within this end-to-end ecosystem can lead to delays in new products and innovations. Therefore, it takes all elements within the supply chain–from silicon to systems–to successfully produce electronic hardware products and to meet customer and market demands.