NIST reveals plan for boosting U.S. advanced packaging capabilities for semiconductors

Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Laurie E. Locascio recently revealed in public comments that approximately $3 billion in funding for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program will be used to drive U.S. leadership in advanced packaging. Advanced packaging is a cutting-edge design and manufacturing method that places multiple chips with a variety of functions in a densely interconnected two- or three-dimensional “package.” This design paradigm, according to a press release from NIST,  “can help the sector achieve the ever denser, smaller dimensions that the most advanced semiconductors require.” But NIST also notes that “currently, the United States is limited in both conventional and advanced packaging capacity.” 

NAPMP will be dedicated to activities that include an advanced packaging piloting facility for validating and transitioning new technologies to U.S. manufacturers; workforce training programs to ensure that new processes and tools are capably staffed; and funding for projects that focus on:  

• materials and substrates,
• equipment, tools, and processes,
• power delivery and thermal management,
• photonics and connectors,
• a chiplet ecosystem, and
• co-design for test, repair, security, interoperability, and reliability. 

NIST anticipates announcing the NAPMP’s first funding opportunity—on materials and substrates—in 2024. Additional announcements about the investment areas, including a packaging piloting facility, will follow. See “The Vision for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program” (NAPMP) for more details in advance of future funding opportunities