AT&S tackles challenges of next-gen chip design

AT&S is a key player in the development of innovative technologies for Advanced IC substrates enabling future high-end microchips. The Austrian high-tech manufacturer is working hard to develop new ideas that will be paramount in overcoming current technological hurdles in chip packaging solutions. Learn more about key technologies like glass core substrates, multifunctional cores, and ultra-high-density substrates in our new series of blog posts about AT&S’s most important research efforts in the field of microchip packaging.

Although Moore’s law has been pronounced dead repeatedly in recent years, chip manufacturers are still making strides in creating even more powerful and efficient microchips. But the required effort is growing with each generation and semiconductor companies are busily exploring modern technologies to keep their miniaturization efforts going beyond current technological limits. AT&S is a key player in the hunt for efficient next-generation technologies and explores different avenues like glass core substrates, multifunctional cores, optical chip-to-chip communication, and ultra-high-density wiring that can sustain future high-end semiconductors.

AT&S prides itself on a strong tradition of in-house research and bold innovation, with strong R&D teams at multiple locations across a multinational production network. The company is also part of different publicly funded research efforts like the EU’s IPCEI ME/CT (Important Projects of Common European Interests on Microelectronics/Communication Technology) that allow for the targeted exploration of ideas towards specific goals, for example, developing the next generation of microelectronics for the semiconductor industry within the IPCEI framework.

Clear advantages

As transistor miniaturization approaches the hard physical limits imposed by quantum mechanics, different concepts for new chip designs are contending for market acceptance. When transistors shrink towards the single-nanometer scale, current solutions that guarantee mechanical stability, electrical connections and optimal thermal management start hitting a wall. Future chip packaging solutions must feature even smaller conducting structures to adequately provide semiconductors with energy and data. This is where AT&S’s ultra-high-density technology gets its chance to shine.

Once transistor miniaturization reaches atomic scales, different approaches in chip design will guarantee further improvements in processing power and energy use. By combining several specialized chips in a single, integrated computational module, manufacturers are already experimenting with one promising idea. However, this solution comes with a range of new challenges. Connecting multiple chiplets on a single substrate requires fast and short interconnects, high mechanical stability, excellent thermal expansion properties and ultra-smooth surfaces that allow for precise manufacturing processes. Glass core substrates could address all these problems and AT&S is already working on new processes to integrate glass into its existing manufacturing lines.

Multitalented substrates

Other ways to speed up the connections between multiple, tightly integrated chips include a switch from electrical signals to optical transmission. AT&S is developing integrated optical switches that can be placed right next to a chip or chiplet to guarantee ultra-fast transmission and translation between optical and electric pulses. This is highly relevant for modern data centers for AI and High-Performance Computing, as it allows for faster computations and significantly reduces energy losses.

Multifunctional cores are another new development in substrate technology and copy some of the achievements that AT&S has made in the development of modern PCBs. By integrating active and passive elements for regulating the power distribution to microchips inside a multilayered substrate, shorter and more efficient electrical connections can be realized to speed up inter-chip communications and lower energy demands.

If you want to learn more about cutting-edge microelectronics development, keep an eye on the AT&S blog in the coming weeks. We will present each of the new technologies mentioned above in greater detail in our ongoing series of posts on microchip innovations powered by AT&S.