Materials and Process Engineering for Advanced Semiconductor Packaging in the AI Era

The continued scaling of AI semiconductor systems is creating new challenges in advanced packaging, including finer interconnect dimensions, increased thermomechanical stress, and higher heat generation. In particular, the increasing complexity of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and heterogeneous System-in-Package (SiP) architectures requires packaging materials whose molecular structures, interfacial properties, and thermal transport characteristics can be precisely controlled.

This seminar will discuss advanced semiconductor packaging from a polymer chemistry perspective, with particular emphasis on the molecular and interfacial design of polymer-based packaging materials. First, submicron-pitch hybrid bonding will be introduced through the surface modification of inorganic bonding interfaces using silane coupling chemistry and electroless metal deposition. Second, the incorporation of rubbery segments into epoxy resins will be discussed as a molecular design strategy for controlling the toughness, stress relaxation, and warpage behavior of next-generation underfill materials. Finally, epoxy bead structures and superparamagnetic fillers will be presented as approaches to controlling filler organization and constructing thermally conductive pathways in polymer composites.

These studies demonstrate how polymer molecular design, interfacial chemistry, and composite structuring can be integrated to address the interconnection, mechanical reliability, and thermal management challenges of next-generation HBM and SiP packaging.