Ira Leventhal, Vice President of Applied Research and Technology, Advantest America, Inc.

In my 2024 viewpoint, I stressed the importance of strong, industry-wide collaboration to drive innovation, and I'm doubling down on this message for 2025. We are in what Advantest calls the "Era of Complexity," characterized by rapid technological advancements and a growing need for powerful, sustainable chips amid shifting geopolitical landscapes. The interconnected complexities of creating High Performance Compute (HPC) and AI processors require intricate manufacturing processes and specialized testing approaches.

Silent Data Corruption (SDC) remains a major focus as these technologies are deployed at a massive scale. I’ve seen a shift in mentality on SDC from "we fear it" to "we've got this under control," as discussed by Meta and others at the International Test Conference last November. The industry is embracing combined strategies for detection, minimization, and toleration of SDC. Advanced data analytics, including AI/ML, identify subtle issues for root-cause analysis and enable continuous monitoring for effective redundancy and isolation.

Advantest is leaning into this Era of Complexity by integrating cutting-edge AI to test HPC and AI chips effectively. These solutions provide real-time predictive testing capabilities, facilitating early fault detection and optimizing manufacturing and testing processes. This is crucial for pinpointing chip failures before packaging and assessing the state of inaccessible pins within HI packages.

With increasing challenges on the horizon from advances such as hybrid bonding, 3D advanced packaging, and co-packaged optics (CPO), there is no time to rest. We must embrace collaboration to stay at the forefront of technological advancement in this ever-evolving landscape.