Taipei: Taiwan's National Institutes of Applied Research (NIAR) has introduced an open R and D platform featuring a chip-level packaging technique that eliminates the use of substrates as part of its effort to bolster the country's advanced packaging ecosystem. NIAR's Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) presented the packaging platform at a press event in Taipei on Tuesday, saying that the technique will help shift Taiwan's competitive edge in the chip industry from manufacturing processes to system integration and application innovation.

According to Focus Taiwan, Wu Cheng-wen, minister of the National Science and Technology Council and NIAR chairperson, stated that advanced packaging is crucial for future AI applications requiring chips with higher performance, higher density, and lower power consumption. The newly unveiled Chip-on-Chip-on-Board (CoCoB) architecture is a specialized approach compared to the Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) technology currently employed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), explained TSRI Deputy Director General Juang Ying-zong.

While CoWoS achieves high-density integration of computing chips and high bandwidth memory (HBM) using interposer wafers and substrates, Juang noted the challenges associated with the substrate layer, including cost, signal transmission distance, and process complexity. In the CoCoB architecture, the interposer chip connects directly to the circuit board, enhancing integration density and system performance by significantly shortening signal transmission paths.

Juang likened the technical challenge to "placing a large sheet of tempered glass onto a pebble-covered ground while ensuring every single contact point is precisely connected." The TSRI addressed this by implementing a flowable interface material beneath each micro-solder ball to ensure all connection points are reliably bonded.

By eliminating substrate costs and reducing process complexity, CoCoB is particularly suitable for academic institutions and startups to conduct high-flexibility, low-cost heterogeneous integration experiments, as stated by TSRI. To date, the project has attracted participation from 16 professor-led research teams from Taiwan and abroad, according to Juang.