Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ innovative 2.1D package technology utilizing an organic bridge, highlighted at KPCA Show 2026 from September 9-11.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is collaborating with Qualcomm to engineer a groundbreaking “organic bridge” technology pertinent to the advanced packaging of semiconductors, particularly those utilized in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The initiative extends to joint development efforts involving various clients in addition to Qualcomm.
This organic bridge technology parallels the silicon bridge employed in Intel’s Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) packaging but incorporates organic materials typically associated with printed circuit boards (PCBs) instead of silicon.
According to industry insiders as of Monday, the cooperative venture between Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Qualcomm has been instrumental in the evolution of organic bridge technology tailored for 2.1D packaging.
Over the course of more than a year, both entities have engaged in research and validation of the technology, scrutinizing the performance and reliability of flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) substrates where these organic bridges are incorporated to establish connections between Qualcomm chips.
Qualcomm is reportedly exploring organic bridges for deployment in substantial multi-die semiconductor architectures within data centers.
In October 2024, the company submitted a patent application for its “Interconnect Bridge” technology, which pertains to the integration of a separately manufactured organic-material bridge within a package substrate to interlink multiple dies.
Additionally, Qualcomm has been actively recruiting personnel in South Korea to bolster its organic bridge development efforts since March.
An organic bridge functions as a conduit connecting multiple semiconductor dies amalgamated into a singular package. Effectively, it is an extraordinarily diminutive substrate with ultrafine circuitry.
The construction involves multiple layers of fine circuits forged on an organic insulating medium through a redistribution layer (RDL) process.
This wiring surpasses the fineness of buildup circuits commonly utilized in traditional FC-BGA substrates, thereby facilitating greater signal transmission within a more compact area.
The technology is engineered to enhance input/output (I/O) density and bandwidth among dies, including graphics processing units (GPUs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
It mimics the role of the silicon bridge in Intel’s EMIB but is fabricated from organic materials via substrate manufacturing techniques rather than semiconductor fabrication processes.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is currently producing FC-BGA substrates featuring cavities designed for the embedding of organic bridges.
The company is contemplating dual strategies for sourcing these bridges: in-house production versus external procurement.
Short-run production of organic bridges is underway on its pilot line, while samples are also being developed by Samsung Device Solutions R&D Japan (DSRJ), a research arm under Samsung Electronics’ Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT).
Moreover, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is evaluating organic bridges fabricated by third-party partners for integration into its FC-BGA substrates.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is not limiting its development of 2.1D package substrates with organic bridges solely to Qualcomm, as it aims to collaborate with additional customers.
This strategy is particularly crucial for circumventing reliance on the intellectual property (IP) tied to Intel’s EMIB packaging.
Intel devised the EMIB technology to mitigate the cost and manufacturing challenges posed by silicon interposers by placing compact bridges exclusively where high-density connections are warranted.
Since starting mass production in 2017, Intel has accumulated substantial related IP. Increasingly, major technology firms are considering organic bridges as a viable alternative to their silicon counterparts.
The 2.1D package substrate technology developed by Samsung Electro-Mechanics employs organic bridges with five to seven RDL circuit layers embedded within FC-BGA substrates.
The company targets a reduction in the line width and spacing of organic bridge circuitry to dimensions ranging from 1.5 micrometers (μm) to 2 μm, while aiming for via sizes from 4 μm to 5 μm.
The desired pattern density between dies is earmarked for 500 to 1,000 connections per millimeter.
Additionally, the collaboration with Samsung Electronics’ foundry business is noteworthy. Upon the manufacturing of FC-BGA substrates with organic bridges by Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Electronics’ foundry is set to assess package performance and reliability.
Samsung Electronics’ foundry is currently innovating advanced packaging technologies, including 2.3D Cube-E, which utilizes a silicon bridge, and 2.3D Cube-R, based on an organic RDL interposer.
The organic bridge substrate from Samsung Electro-Mechanics is anticipated to underpin an expansion of Samsung Electronics’ foundry packaging services.
Source link: Thelec.net.
