March 10, 2026

VIEWPOINT 2026: Lukas Buske, CEO, Plasmatreat GmbH Yes. We presented new technologies for atmospheric plasma jets for electronic and semiconductor applications at Productronica and Semicon Europa in November 2025. These new technologies will be presented at upcoming shows in 2026 and customers can run trials as we speak. Our PDW100 plasma nozzle ... Plasmatreat GmbH

Sponsor Hermetic Package Seam Seal with HDHS® Technology Brings a new level of precision and automation for hi-rel microelectronic package encapsulation, increasing seal yields to 99.99% and lowering operation costs for Aerospace, Military, Microwave, Photonics and MEMS. MicroCircuit Laboratories, LLC

China's chip bosses endorse semiconductor push in next 5-year plan China's semiconductor firms including Cambricon and Tongfu Microelectronics back the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, prioritizing chips, advanced processes, materials and AI hardware as officials push infrastructure upgrades and domestic chip use. South China Morning Post

Current Characterization of Various Cu RDL Designs In Wafer Level Packages (WLP) This study evaluates copper redistribution layer fusing currents in wafer-level packaging through experiments and simulations, finding that silicon thickness significantly improves heat dissipation and fusing performance. Technical Paper

Sponsor In situ hydrogen plasmas — A New Paradigm for Advanced Packaging Hydrogen plasmas drive breakthroughs in 3D chip technology, enabling ultra-dense interconnects and faster signal speeds above 5 GHz. Surfx Technologies

Fallout From Nvidia-Groq Deal Validates AI Chip Startup Landscape Nvidia's $20B licensing deal with Groq signals rising demand for non-GPU AI accelerators and exposes GPU weaknesses in inference. The move validates heterogeneous chip architectures, boosts investor confidence in AI startups, and intensifies competition in inference hardware. EE Times

Samsung workers mull late-May strike Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics began voting on an 18-day strike over pay, with results due March 18. The unions demand a 7% raise and bonus transparency, raising concerns that a May walkout could disrupt memory production for AI chips. Taipei Times

Sponsor SAWA SC-BM500E Automatic Stencil Cleaner Ultrasonic combined with spray cleaning provides an excellent solution for all kinds of applications including wafer bump and electroform stencils. Seika

Technical Papers 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 Novel Molded FCBGA Package Platform For Highly Reliable Automotive Applications Eliminating Interfacial Delamination in High-Power Automotive Devices MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor RDL Interposers – USA Fabrication Organic Substrates/High Density Interposers - 20µm Dielectrics - 12µm Traces - 50µm "Stay Flat" Cores - Quick Turns. Learn more. Advanced Component Labs, Inc.

Six Trends Driving 3D IC Innovations in the AI Era Surging AI compute demand is pushing chip design beyond transistor scaling, accelerating adoption of 3D ICs. Engineers now use system-technology co-optimization, co-packaged optics and advanced cooling to manage interconnect, power and heat. EE Times

Nvidia's $4B Photonics Venture: What You Need to Know Nvidia is investing $4 billion in suppliers Lumentum and Coherent to secure components for AI centers. The deal combines equity, supply commitments, and joint R&D to expand indium-phosphide laser capacity and accelerate co-packaged optics for faster GPU cluster interconnects. EE Times

Sponsor Optically Clear, Low Outgassing Epoxy Master Bond EP4CL-80 is an optically clear, low outgassing epoxy for bonding and sealing that possesses excellent dimensional stability and low shrinkage upon curing. Master Bond

China's chip industry seeks more state support for AI dominance Chin's semiconductor leaders urged stronger state backing for AI chips and critical materials at the "two sessions," proposing pricing oversight and a national computing-power market while expanding domestic chip equipment to counter foreign curbs. South China Morning Post

Research Bits: Mar. 9 Researchers unveiled three semiconductor breakthroughs: UNIST built a low-noise clock circuit, Penn State developed tiny 2D-material thermal sensors, and KAIST engineered carbon-nanotube "sandpaper" to improve precision in chip manufacturing. Semiconductor Engineering

Sponsor Copper vs silver: a turning point for WBG die attach Copper sintering is challenging silver's dominance in power semiconductors. Read how new materials are enabling high performance at lower cost. Henkel AG & Co.

The Future of Semiconductors: Engineering in the Convergence era The semiconductor industry is pivoting beyond pure silicon scaling toward system-level innovation. Engineers now integrate software, physics, packaging, and AI, using digital twins and agentic AI to continuously verify designs and manage rising chip complexity. Semiconductor Engineering

Data Centers In Space? SpaceX, xAI, startups, and Google research are advancing plans for orbital data centers powered by constant solar energy. Yet huge power needs, cooling limits, launch costs, radiation, and maintenance challenges mean systems would rely on swarms of smaller satellites. Semiconductor Engineering

Sponsor IR Layer Release Technology for 3D Packaging and Logic Scaling Ultra-thin layer transfer from silicon carriers with nanometer precision using an IR laser and inorganic release layers revolutionizes 3D packaging & logic scaling. EV Group

Ubitium Tapes Out First 'Universal' RISC-V Chip German startup Ubitium completed the first silicon tape-out of its universal RISC-V processor on Samsung's 8-nm process, aiming to replace fragmented embedded chips with a single architecture that handles CPU, AI & real-time workloads, simplifying development, supply chains. EE Times

Sponsor Discover consistency for your operations Explore the reliable solutions for jet dispensing, conformal coating, plasma treatment, and selective soldering from Nordson. Nordson Electronics Solutions