Our Focus Is On Supporting Innovation And The New Tendencies In Semiconductor Packaging

Being the important thing marketplace for adhesives, India’s semiconductor and electronics manufacturing ecosystem is engaging. Talking to EFY’s Yashasvini Razdan, Ram Trichur, World Market and Technique Director of Henkel Adhesive Applied sciences, bought candid about what they create to India.

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Q. How does the worldwide semiconductor packaging market examine with the home market when it comes to expertise?

A. World gamers in semiconductor packaging are extremely motivated to serve new finish gadgets and novel packaging codecs. Panel-level packaging is changing into a scorching subject globally, particularly with developments in glass-core substrates and panel-level fan-out packages. Moreover, we see co-packaged optics as an rising format to boost information centre processors. At the moment, gadgets talk largely utilizing electrical indicators inside a package deal, which limits information switch charges. This shift in direction of optical packaging provides vital alternatives, and Henkel is well-positioned to contribute on this house.

By way of India’s function, we’re gearing as much as help these world improvements. Henkel’s presence in India on the adhesives facet is already substantial, the place we serve the nation’s adhesive wants throughout numerous purposes. We even have a longtime manufacturing footprint for a number of adhesives used broadly in India. As we glance towards the longer term, we’re evaluating India’s want for localised electronics manufacturing.

Q. What sort of investments are you making in India?

A. We presently have a robust crew of gross sales and technical engineers in India who’re well-equipped to help our clients. With places of work in each the southern and northern areas, we’re in a beneficial place to serve our increasing buyer base. Moreover, we’re within the course of of building an purposes engineering centre, set to open within the first quarter of subsequent yr, which is able to allow us to co-create with our clients. This centre will characteristic state-of-the-art gear to help electronics growth, staffed by our engineers and geared up with all essential supplies and instruments for the ecosystem.

Q. What are the most recent developments you might be witnessing in chip packaging?

A. That is an thrilling time for semiconductor packaging, with synthetic intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), autonomous driving, and automotive electrification driving developments on this subject.

For AI and HPC purposes, we see new packaging applied sciences rising, significantly 2.5D and 3D packaging, that are supporting information centre processors. In automotive, autonomous driving depends closely on superior semiconductor packaging, with AI and HPC being central to autonomous driving processors, that are more and more constructed utilizing 2.5D and 3D packaging. There may be additionally a shift in automotive energy electronics, with silicon-based gadgets transferring in direction of wide-bandgap supplies like silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). These supplies are particularly necessary for energy modules, a important element in electrical automobiles.

In shopper electronics, there’s a robust push for miniaturisation, resulting in improvements in wafer-level packaging. Collectively, these developments are driving fast innovation in semiconductor packaging, making it a very thrilling time to be concerned on this subject.

Q. What does Henkel have to supply clients working with these new applied sciences?

A. Henkel is among the earliest suppliers of wire bond packaging and encapsulation supplies. In wire bond packaging, we provide a variety of supplies, together with die-attach paste, die-attach movie, and high-thermal die-attach supplies, equivalent to sintering die-attach supplies. We additionally present a broad choice of encapsulation supplies for wire bonding.

For superior packaging, now we have an in depth underfill supplies portfolio. Henkel is among the solely suppliers with numerous underfill codecs, together with pre-applied and post-applied choices. Pre-applied underfills can be found in each paste and movie codecs, whereas our post-applied options embody capillary underfills appropriate for each small and enormous die purposes.

We additionally provide lid and stiffener connect adhesives in each conductive and non-conductive codecs tailor-made to the precise necessities of flip-chip packages. Moreover, we’re increasing our choices in liquid compression moulding supplies, that are important for wafer-level packaging purposes equivalent to panel fan-out. These supplies characterize a number of the key parts of our intensive portfolio.

Q. Who’s your goal buyer in India?

A. All main built-in machine producers (IDMs) concerned in energy electronics manufacturing—whether or not in energy discrete parts or energy modules—are our clients.

Q. Who’s the goal buyer persona you attain out to in these firms?

A. Promoting a die-attach materials just isn’t so simple as simply talking with the engineering crew. We preserve robust relationships with innovation, course of growth, product growth, course of engineering, and manufacturing groups. Moreover, we have interaction with different gatekeepers on the buying and enterprise sides.

Q. Is the India centre restricted to gross sales and help, or is it additionally concerned within the product growth course of for the worldwide product?

A. At current, our focus in India is totally on offering engineering and gross sales help. We are going to proceed to take action for semiconductor packaging, however Henkel already has a longtime footprint serving India’s adhesive market within the adhesives phase. Now we have the potential to develop digital adhesives domestically because the electronics market grows.

Q. What function does your crew play within the product growth course of on the shopper facet?

A. Engineering engagement is important in semiconductor packaging. Our engineers are deeply concerned in understanding the package deal design, the processes, and the worth that clients anticipate from our merchandise. They work carefully with our counterparts on the shopper facet to develop these supplies and determine the worth we have to present.

Q. Out of your total vary of choices, what do you’ve gotten for India, contemplating the foray in direction of chip manufacturing?

A. India is at an thrilling juncture as the federal government seems at establishing a semiconductor ecosystem, each in front-end and packaging, making this an opportune time for progress. Although it’s simply starting, we see rapid alternatives in conventional wire-bond packaging purposes, that are simpler to provoke in comparison with superior packaging. On the similar time, there may be rising curiosity in flip-chip and superior packaging architectures, indicating India’s innovation potential and eagerness to discover new applied sciences. We’re ready to help this rising market with our portfolio in wire-bond and superior packaging options to fulfill India’s evolving wants.

Q. What function do adhesive options play in widespread warmth and structural challenges?

A. As the two.5D and 3D packages turn into bigger, it’s common to come across packages as massive as 120 x 120 mm and even as much as 150 x 150 mm, particularly in information centres, the place these gadgets deal with excessive energy. This enhance in dimension and energy typically results in stress points, which makes warpage management necessary. We offer conductive and non-conductive lid and stiffener attachments, that are important to take care of the structural integrity for end-users.

Interfaces current between the processor and the interposer or between the reminiscence and the interposer require capillary underfill supplies that move effectively inside small gaps and tighter pitches. With warmth dissipation being a significant problem in 2.5D and 3D packaging, we’re creating high-thermal-capable capillary underfills to unravel this drawback.

Q. What sort of merchandise or applied sciences do it’s important to help the combination of two.5D and 3D packaging?

A. In 2.5D and 3D packaging, separate important gadgets (processor and reminiscence) are built-in right into a single 2.5D package deal. When a processor and reminiscence are mixed this manner, numerous interfaces are created. At Henkel, we provide supplies for these interfaces, significantly underfill supplies between the interposer and the substrate, which frequently require large-die-capable capillary underfills as a result of massive dimension of interposers.

Excessive-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) is often utilized in superior AI and HPC gadgets. HBM sometimes includes stacking 8, 12, or much more skinny dies in a excessive tower, which requires particular underfill and encapsulation supplies. We additionally present underfill and encapsulation options for superior reminiscence purposes, masking the complete spectrum of supplies wanted for two.5D and 3D packages.

Q. With new expertise developments evolving within the automotive business, how do adhesive applied sciences assist fight thermal dissipation challenges?

A. Electrification and autonomous driving closely contain thermal administration. Automotive producers are transitioning from conventional silicon-based insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) for energy conversion to SiC or different wide-bandgap gadgets. This transition permits firms like Henkel to innovate new high-thermal die-attach supplies to help these energy modules and discrete energy parts.

With autonomous driving, sensors and processors are important. Henkel provides a robust portfolio of die-attach and encapsulation supplies for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) picture sensors utilized in automobiles, together with superior packaging supplies to help the computational wants in autonomous driving programs. These embody underfill supplies, liquid compression moulding, and lid and stiffener adhesives.

Q. What type of partnerships are you constructing in India?

A. As India scales, we anticipate a scarcity of expert engineers who perceive semiconductor processes and packaging. To deal with this, we see a robust want for partnerships between academia and business in India. Henkel is presently exploring collaborations with completely different tutorial establishments, and discussions are underway to evaluate how we will help expertise growth and utilise the abilities rising from these ecosystems. We additionally anticipate a few of our world buyer relationships to develop into India as a result of rising want for self-sufficiency within the nation.

Q. What ability units are you on the lookout for once you speak about expertise?

A. We’re on the lookout for STEM-oriented expertise in each the industrial and engineering sectors in India. Our clients need us to unravel their issues and deal with their ache factors instantly, which requires a deep understanding of the processes and supplies concerned.

We wish to construct a gross sales crew with experience in semiconductor packaging and the operation of assorted gear used within the meeting of semiconductors. As innovation in adhesives grows in India, we may also be eager about hiring formulation chemists. Moreover, as we scale manufacturing in India, we are going to want course of engineers able to scaling semiconductor-level manufacturing. These are the important thing abilities we are going to want sooner or later.

Q. What are the challenges you see in reaching the targets that you’ve got set for India, and the way do you propose to beat them?

A. I feel the challenges and alternatives in semiconductor packaging are fairly comparable globally. Once we take a look at these challenges globally, we instantly take into consideration how we will help the continued megatrends driving semiconductor packaging, equivalent to the necessity for innovation in wire bond packaging and superior packaging. These challenges translate into India as effectively.

Nonetheless, there are additionally region-specific challenges, equivalent to expertise growth, logistics administration, and scaling inside India. However these are widespread to any creating area. Globally and in India, our focus is on supporting innovation and the brand new developments in semiconductor packaging, as these are probably the most important components.

We’re excited to see and contribute to developments from Henkel in India as effectively. That’s our objective—to help India’s progress and progress.