August 29, 2011 — Foundry GLOBALFOUNDRIES entered into a strategic partnership with packaging house Amkor Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) to develop integrated semiconductor assembly and test processes for advanced silicon nodes. The aim is integrated fab–bump–probe–assembly–test steps that can be commercialized across multiple customers and end-market applications.
Amkor is becoming a founding member of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Global Alliance for Advanced Assembly Solutions, formed to foster semiconductor interconnect, assembly and packaging technology innovation.
The integration of interconnect, assembly and packaging at advanced semiconductor nodes makes supply chain management more critical, as chip designers can exploit packaging technologies as part of the silicon development. 3D IC stacking is also an alternative to traditional technology node scaling at the transistor level. Chip-package interaction is becoming more complex. This was the topic of "Collaboration to Strengthen the IC Supply Chain," held at The ConFab 2011, in which Amkor and GlobalFoundries gave presentations. Read summaries from the talk in More Moore & More than Moore require fabless, foundry, and packaging houses on board.
The companies also recently expanded their lead-free wafer bump licensing relationship by amending their existing lead-free bumping technology license agreement.
The joint development effort on advanced packaging will target lower costs, faster time-to-volume, and reduced technical risks, said Gregg Bartlett, senior vice president of technology and research and development at GLOBALFOUNDRIES. Dr. Robert Darveaux, Amkor’s corporate vice president, technology and platform development, noted the value of major packaging and foundry companies working together, serving "our common customers."
GLOBALFOUNDRIES is a full-service semiconductor foundry with a global manufacturing and technology footprint. For more information, visit http://www.globalfoundries.com.
Amkor is a leading provider of semiconductor assembly and test services to semiconductor companies and electronics OEMs. More information at www.amkor.com.
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