Interconnect Technology Targets Multi-Element Integration, High Speed

An advanced thin-film interconnect technology will allow the integration of multiple die and passive components on a single substrate. It's being developed by semiconductor vendor Atmel Corp. of San Jose, CA and CS2, a semiconductor packaging and test services company based in Brussels, Belgium. Fully characterized in the lab, this technology is capable of operation up to 50 GHz.

For Atmel, the method will enable tight integration of components used in high-speed mixed-signal applications. In particular, it will make it possible for the company to combine state-of-the-art CMOS and silicon-germanium (SiGe) die with its nonvolatile memory and analog products. Taking this type of system-in-a-package approach gives Atmel a fast track to systems integration. That's in contrast with system-on-a-chip (SoC) approaches, which require the lengthy, and perhaps elusive, development of a common semiconductor-process technology. Atmel's manufacturing facility in Grenoble, France, will be equipped by CS2 and Atmel for high-volume production of this interconnect technology. The first demonstration products are expected to arrive in the first quarter of next year.

For more information on this advancement, go to www.atmel.com.