Aug 28, 2026 The U.S. is Building CHIPS Act Fabs but Neglecting R&D GAO finds CHIPS Act manufacturing incentives advancing, but R&D funds remain largely unused. Experts warn delays in research requirements could weaken U.S. technology leadership, even as manufacturing projects move toward completion by 2033. IEEE Spectrum

Sponsor UV DIE Bonding Special Technology Liquid adhesive is cured using ultraviolet (UV) light. In contrast to epoxy, the UV adhesive remains in the liquid state until it is exposed to high-energy UV radiation with UV DIE Bonding technology. Tresky Automation

Issues Stack Up With More HBM Layers HBM's rising bandwidth demands are straining DRAM manufacturing, as thinner dies, more TSVs, thermal challenges and lower yields consume more wafer capacity. AI-driven demand is worsening shortages, while new fabs require years to expand supply and ease pressure. Semiconductor Engineering

Package Assembly Design Kits: The Future of Advanced Package Design This white paper advocates for Package Assembly Design Kits (PADK) to streamline high-density fan-out package design by integrating manufacturing verification early, reducing design cycles and complexity. Technical Paper

Sponsor How to Cold Bump Pull? Learn how to perform an optimal Cold Bump Pull test on solder balls using tweezers. This guide covers test method settings and failures modes for CBP all types of bump testing. xyztec

Qualcomm Reportedly Enlists Samsung, SK hynix as HBC Memory Partners; TSMC Eyes Packaging Role Qualcomm's HBC architecture is gaining support from Samsung and SK hynix, which are working with the chipmaker to commercialize stacked LPDDR DRAM for AI accelerators. TSMC will support integration, while Qualcomm targets major efficiency gains. TrendForce

First Benchmarks Revealed for Jalapeño, OpenAI's Clean-Sheet General Purpose AI Accelerator ASIC OpenAI unveiled Jalapeño ASIC benchmark results, showing higher throughput, lower latency and better power efficiency. Developed with Broadcom and Celestica, the accelerator tightly integrates HBM and compute to support diverse LLM workloads. EE Times

Sponsor What do 81.3 % of automotive chip specialists agree on? That high-performance packaging materials are essential for reliability. The Research Report from Henkel Adhesive Technologies puts a number on what the industry feels. Henkel AG & Co.

Technical Papers ■ How AI Could Cut Semiconductor Package Design Cycles from Months to Days ■ 5X Faster Die Sorting Accelerates U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing ■ A New Optical Ball Grid Array Package Development for Automotive Optical Sensor ■ Automated X-Ray Metrology: Enhancing Quality and Efficiency in Wafer and Panel-Level Applications ■ Alpha Particle Emissions: An Overlooked Risk for Soft Errors in Advanced Packaging ■ Revolutionizing IC Packaging with High-Density RDL Technology ■ EOTPR Fine pitch probing for die-to-die interconnect failure analysis in chiplet devices MORE TECHNICAL PAPERS

Sponsor AIT ORMET® TLPS for Thermal Conductivity AIT ORMET® TLPS is proven with stress relief for stable long-term metallic thermal conductivity & low thermal interface resistance for high temp >175°C Ormet TLPS

SK hynix holds groundbreaking ceremony for HBM production base in U.S. SK hynix broke ground on a $4 billion Indiana facility to produce next-generation HBM for AI, targeting cleanroom completion in 2028 and mass production in 2029. The hub will strengthen U.S. semiconductor supply chains and support advanced packaging research. Yonhap News Agency

Qualcomm Bets Open-Source AI Software Can Break Nvidia’s Lock-In Qualcomm's acquisition of Modular targets Nvidia's software moat by making AI workloads portable across accelerators. Modular's Mojo and MAX stack could cut porting costs while preserving hardware-specific optimization and simplifying adoption. EE Times

Sponsor Keep Production Moving with Expert Component Recovery Solutions Discover proven component removal, reclamation, and requalification services that help recover inventory, extend component availability, and keep production running. Circuit Technology Center

From Spec To Formal Properties AI speeds formal verification by generating assertions from specs, protocols and RTL comments. Knowledge graphs improve grounding, but incomplete specs and misinterpretations risk false confidence, so engineers must validate AI-generated properties. Semiconductor Engineering

Agentic AI Success Relies On Excellent Human Scaffolding Agentic AI is reshaping chip design by automating workflows, accelerating development and expanding verification. Industry experts highlight advances, practical challenges and the need to validate AI-generated results as automation grows. Semiconductor Engineering

Sponsor Corner fill inspection A memory manufacturer adopted Nordson's AOI system with deep learning to inspect IC corner fill, ensuring accurate detection, measurement, and improved reliability in semiconductor assembly. Nordson Test & Inspection

Streamlining 3D-IC Design: Substrate, Finalization, And Tapeout 3D-ICs advance semiconductor performance and miniaturization but increase design complexity. Streamlined workflows help teams implement substrates, finalize power delivery and routing, optimize fabrication yield, conduct thermal analysis & complete DRC signoff before tapeout. Semiconductor Engineering

Why Connectivity Has Become an Edge AI Design Decision Edge AI is converging compute, sensing, security and connectivity to power smarter devices. Wi-Fi 7 delivers low-latency, resilient links, while hybrid edge-cloud architectures improve responsiveness, efficiency, reliability and data privacy. EE Times

Sponsor 1 of 10 Applications: Flip-Chip Flip chip bonding at an accuracy of 5 µm or better is simple with Swiss made Tresky die bonders, at temperatures of up to 400°C, both in manual and in semiautomatic mode. Dr. Tresky AG

Nvidia's 70% growth forecast puts it on track to become tech's No. 2 company by revenue Nvidia forecasts 70% revenue growth in fiscal 2028, far exceeding analysts' expectations, as AI demand expands beyond hyperscalers. Supply constraints limit potential gains, while startups, regional AI firms and enterprises increasingly drive demand for Nvidia’s chips and infrastructure. CNBC

Sponsor OntosIS Atmospheric Plasma System The ONTOS Plasma Head is available for integration into third party equipment. The Plasma Curtain is available in several widths to enable optimization of the gas consumption on smaller devices. Ontos Equipment Systems

Apple Unveils M6, Its First 2nm Chip Built by TSMC Apple debuts M6 and M5 Ultra chips, pairing stronger CPU/GPU performance with major on-device AI gains. Built on TSMC's 2nm process, M6 validates N2 production, while M5 Ultra's quad-die design boosts bandwidth for demanding AI workloads. TrendForce