August 14, 2026

Vertical Integration Becoming Pervasive AI workloads are driving teams to design silicon around specific tasks, tightening hardware-software collaboration. Custom ASICs, RISC-V processors and heterogeneous architectures can boost performance, power efficiency and flexibility at scale. Semiconductor Engineering

Sponsor 1 of 10 Applications: Eutectic Bonding Swiss made Tresky die bonders can be fitted with temperature controlled chucks and protective gas suited to eutectic die bonding of chips with AuSn bumps for opto-electronic components. Dr. Tresky AG

Building a practical path to post-quantum cryptography Quantum computing may eventually break today's encryption, but experts see no immediate crisis. Businesses should phase in post-quantum cryptography, first protecting long-lived sensitive data and using government timelines to guide upgrades. MIT Technology Review

Advanced Microelectronic Packaging and Fiber Optics Technologies for the Military, Defense & Security Industries As modern military systems become increasingly compact, autonomous, and software-driven, the need for robust microelectronic integration and secure optical communication grows exponentially. Technical Paper

Sponsor Fusion and Hybrid Bonding Experts EVG's industry-leading process solutions, expertise and HI Competence Center accelerate the development and implementation of heterogeneous integration technology. EV Group

The U.S. Needs Both Domestic and Space-Based Semiconductors Space-based fabs could use microgravity and vacuum to reduce defects and improve crystal quality. Clarifying the U.S. 48D tax credit for orbital fabs could attract investment, speed innovation, strengthen domestic chipmaking, and counter China's growing technology ambitions. Rear Clear Defence

AI's Next Bottleneck Is Public Consent AI infrastructure expansion now faces a new hurdle: public consent. New York and Texas have tightened data-center oversight, while lawsuits nationwide expose growing disputes over power, water, environmental impacts, and community benefits, forcing developers to address concerns. EE Times

Sponsor OntosIS Atmospheric Plasma System The ONTOS Plasma Head is available for integration into third party equipment. The Plasma Curtain is available in several widths to enable optimization of the gas consumption on smaller devices. Ontos Equipment Systems

Technical Papers A New Optical Ball Grid Array Package Development for Automotive Optical Sensor Automated X-Ray Metrology: Enhancing Quality and Efficiency in Wafer and Panel-Level Applications Alpha Particle Emissions: An Overlooked Risk for Soft Errors in Advanced Packaging Revolutionizing IC Packaging with High-Density RDL Technology EOTPR Fine pitch probing for die-to-die interconnect failure analysis in chiplet devices Die-on-Tab for Compound Semiconductors: Enabling Advanced RF Power Systems Package Assembly Design Kits: The Future of Advanced Package Design MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor No more cartridge exchanges The unique Revolving Measurement Unit (RMU) houses up to 6 sensors of any type that enable continuous pull/push and shear testing up to 200 kgf. Learn more. xyztec

Neuromorphic Computing Needs More Than Novel Chips Researchers use Summit and Frontier to model energy-efficient, brain-inspired neuromorphic systems. Katie Schuman urges shared hardware, software and tools to close the field's maturity gap and enable practical, scalable deployment broadly. EE Times

AI demand drives triple-digit profit growth for Chinese chip foundries SMIC, Hua Hong SMIC and Hua Hong posted triple-digit profit growth in the second quarter as surging domestic AI chip demand boosts foundry utilisation. The companies expect strong demand and pricing to persist, driven by China's push for semiconductor self-sufficiency. South China Morning Post

Sponsor Dedicated Tool for Process Development Advanced plating capability at Uyemura Tech Center: Process Development, UBM, pilot production. ENIG, ENEPIG, EPIG/EPAG, RAIG immersion gold; all substrates. On-site analysis. Uyemura

Tesla semiconductor factory to be world's biggest building SpaceX's planned Terafab in Texas could become the world's largest building, surpassing a 65-million-square-foot Russian plant. Its $16.7 billion first phase will combine chip manufacturing, packaging & testing, employ 3,000 people & support growing SpaceX and Tesla compute demand. Global Construction Review

Is Pergrammable A Word? Bespoke SoCs can cost over $200 million and take years to develop, making future-proofing critical. Rapidly evolving AI models challenge fixed-function accelerators, forcing architects to balance performance and programmability as workloads outpace paired architectures. Semiconductor Engineering

Sponsor Plasma Treatment Before Anything Else Optimize PCB and advanced packaging performance with cutting-edge plasma surface activation and precision cleaning. Boost adhesion and yield. Learn more! Nordson Electronics Solutions

What Will It Take To Deploy CPO At Scale? Co-packaged optics is advancing from prototypes to production for scale-out AI networks. Wider adoption hinges on manufacturing, testing, standards, supply chains, packaging and rack-scale operations as systems evolve toward scale-up architectures. Semiconductor Engineering

From Tokens To Tasks: Why Agentic AI Changes The Infrastructure Conversation Agentic AI shifts performance measurement from model speed to completed tasks, requiring CPUs to coordinate retrieval, tool calls, sandboxes, testing, policies and telemetry. As AI agents increasingly execute workflows, distributed orchestration becomes as important as GPU inference. Semiconductor Engineering

Sponsor How heterogenous packaging benefits from atmospheric argon plasma Semiconductor packaging plasma processing improves reliability and yield. Chip manufacturers can rely on plasma processes to enhance applications. Surfx Technologies

China's YMTC breaks into global top 3 flash-memory suppliers with 14% market share YMTC captured 14% of global NAND bit shipments in Q2, overtaking Kioxia to rank third by volume. Its growth reflects rising domestic demand and new 3D NAND output, while the company targets higher-margin enterprise SSDs amid AI-driven storage demand. South China Morning Post

Sponsor Automotive chips need materials that DO NOT fail We asked semiconductor specialists what defines the future of automotive packaging. Reliability, thermal management, and sustainability topped the list. Free Research Report. Henkel AG & Co.