ASMPT Joins 'JOINT3' Consortium to Develop Next-Generation Semiconductor Packaging

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ASMPT Limited (ASMPT), a leading global supplier of hardware and software solutions for the manufacture of semiconductors and electronics, announced its participation in the "JOINT3" consortium to develop next-generation semiconductor packaging.

JOINT3 is a co-creation evaluation framework established by Resonac Corporation (President and CEO: Hidehito Takahashi, hereinafter "Resonac") with the aim of accelerating the development of materials, equipment, and design tools optimized for panel-level organic interposers through collaboration among material, equipment, and design companies. JOINT3 brings together global leaders across the semiconductor supply chain. Using a prototype line for 515 x 510mm panel-level organic interposers, the consortium promotes the development of materials, equipment, and design tools optimized for panel-level organic interposers.

In recent years, packaging for back-end processes have emerged as a key technology in the field of next-generation semiconductors. This includes 2.xD packages, whereby multiple semiconductor chips are arranged in parallel and connected via interposers, demand for which is expected to grow in line with the need for increased data communication capacity and speed. As semiconductor performance improves, interposers are becoming larger, and there is a shift from silicon interposers to organic interposers made from organic materials.

Conventional manufacturing methods involve cutting rectangular pieces from circular wafers. However, as interposers increase in size, the number of them that can be obtained from a single wafer decreases, posing a significant challenge. To address this issue, a manufacturing process that transitions from circular wafer shapes to square panel shapes is gaining attention, as it allows for an increased number of interposers to be produced from a given area of wafer.

ASMPT's Strategic Contribution to Panel-Level Innovation

As the consortium's dedicated advanced packaging assembly solutions provider, ASMPT brings its market-leading thermo-compression bonding (TCB) expertise to enable panel-level manufacturing capabilities. With more than 500 TCB systems deployed in mass production worldwide, ASMPT has established the industry standard for precision heterogeneous integration across 2D, 2.5D, and 3D packaging formats.

"ASMPT's participation in JOINT3 represents a natural extension of our leadership in advanced packaging technologies," said Lim Choon Khoon, Advanced Packaging Chief Counsel for ASMPT Semiconductor Solutions (SEMI). "Our proven track record spanning chip-to-substrate, chip-to-wafer, and HBM applications, combined with our unique position as the consortium's sole back-end assembly specialist, enables us to serve as the critical bridge between panel-level packaging innovation and manufacturing reality. This collaboration with Resonac and the JOINT3 partners underscores our commitment to enabling next-generation packaging solutions that meet the demanding requirements of AI and high-performance computing applications."

ASMPT SEMI's FIREBIRD TCB platform is capable of sub-micron placement accuracy and is equipped with ASMPT’s proprietary residue-free fluxless AOR process for fine pitch TCB bonding on panel. These capabilities directly address the unique challenges of panel-level processing, including thermal uniformity across large substrates up to 515x510mm, compensation for panel warpage, and high-throughput requirements for cost-effective manufacturing.