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DECEMBER 2024 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 39 Lastly, the availability of specialized materi- als, equipment, and skilled personnel impacts the scalability and adoption of novel packag- ing technologies. Can you explain the significance of moving from traditional chip scaling to advanced packaging methods, such as 3D stacking and chiplet architectures? While semiconductor chip transistor density increases, efficiency gains flatten. As Moore's Law scaling slows down, designers are turn- ing to advanced packaging to continue perfor- mance improvements in end applications. e simplest integration level is 2D, where multiple chips are placed side-by-side on a common substrate (usually a silicon wafer or organic substrate). rough the combination of multiple dies on a silicon interposer, 2.5D architectures provide electrical connectivity between the dies. Higher interconnect density is required for shorter signal paths. e industry is shiing toward advanced packaging methods, such as 2.5D and 3D pack- aging. e key to advanced packaging is het- erogeneous integration, where multiple func- tions originating from different chip technolo- gies are integrated together in a single package. 3D packaging involves vertically stack- ing multiple dies using TSVs (through sili- con vias) to create a true 3D stacking struc- ture. is will reduce the form factor and data transfer distances and improve the overall system performance. Chiplet architecture, on the other hand, breaks down a large chip into smaller, modular chiplets that can be combined in a single pack- age to create a custom solution. is approach allows for increased flexibility and scalability, as chiplets can be mixed and matched to meet the specific needs of a particular application. By using chiplets—small, modular chips that can be combined in various configurations— manufacturers can create highly customized and powerful high-performance comput- ing (HPC) solutions. is approach not only improves performance but also reduces costs and development time. ese innovative packaging technologies invite novel ways to add more functions and optimize interconnect densities. ey bring chip functions physically closer together to unlock computing, latency, and power advantages. Overall, the industry is shiing from the system-on-chip concept to system-of-chips through disaggregation of functions previously built on a single die. How do you think the shift from chip-centric to package-centric design impacts the overall performance, power efficiency, and reliability of electronic systems? Today's advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) are a great example of how heteroge- neous integration makes possible the high-per- formance architecture that's essential for deliv- ering AI-caliber computing power. GPU memory has grown by 16X over the past decade. is was achieved through high- bandwidth memory-dynamic random-access memory (HBM)–DRAM) chips stacked on top of each other. Using advanced packaging, Heterogenous integration vs. chiplets.