COMPASS 2020 – FormFactor’s user group conference – will be a virtual event this year and is scheduled for November 17th (in US/Europe time zones) and November 18th (in Asia time zones). The event will feature a three-hour program which will include keynote and technical presentations (each approximately 20-25 minutes), and a roundtable/breakout session for Q&A.

Here’s a run down of this year’s agenda and speakers:

Keynote: “Heterogeneous Integration – An Advanced Packaging View” – Hamid R. Azimi, Ph.D. Vice President, Technology and Manufacturing Group, Director Substrate Packaging Technology Development, Intel

The world around us is becoming more and more dependent on data. As Clive Humby, UK Mathematician, puts it “data is the new oil; if unrefined, it cannot really be used”. Processing big data efficiently is heavily dependent on advances in system compute and comms. This presentation will talk about the requirements for advancing system performance including high bandwidth and low power data pipes; and the methods by which ultra-high performance for next generation devices can be achieved through heterogeneous integration on advanced packages. A multitude of multi-chip packaging including 2D, 2.5D, and 3D will be reviewed, including the challenges associated with meeting the needs of next generation HPC devices. This presentation will cover the innovations needed in materials, equipment, process and design as related to package substrate and assembly in advancing the next generation of heterogeneous packaging technologies.

Keynote: “Probe in the Spotlight – A Key Enabler for Advanced Packaging, Chiplets, and Heterogenous Integration” – Mike Slessor, Chief Executive Officer, FormFactor

To offset the slowing of front-end-driven Moore’s Law and sustain the innovation trajectory that has fueled fifty-plus years of semiconductor industry growth, the development of advanced packaging is rapidly accelerating. As industry focus moves from front-end fab to post-fab integration, wafer probe is taking a prominent role in enabling a variety of advanced-packaging schemes like heterogenous integration of chiplets. This rise in prominence is being driven by two basic trends, one economic and one technical. On the economic front, surprisingly high pre-assembly chiplet yields are required for viable composite product yields, driving increased test fidelity and coverage. On the technical front, chiplet-to-chiplet interconnect structures are at least an order of magnitude denser than traditional flip-chip interconnect, driving a corresponding intensification in both probe pitch and probe count. As a consequence, advanced packaging is driving more probes, on more probe cards, with more challenging requirements for the wafer test community, pushing us into the spotlight previously occupied by our friends in the fab.

In addition to these two keynotes, there will be sessions and lightning sessions covering a broad range of topics. Here’s a list of the speakers and topics:

  • The Advancement of THz Test & Measurement Equipment for 5G, 6G and Beyond – Jeffrey Hesler, CTO & Owner, Virginia Diodes, Inc.
  • Load-pull Probe Station for Characterization of 5G Devices and Circuits at Wafer-Level – Anthony Lord, Director, RF Segment Business Development, FormFactor, Inc.
  • Next Generation, Fine Pitch HBM Cube Characterization to Production – Quay Nhin, Senior Product Marketing Manager, FormFactor, Inc.
  • Advancing Quantum Computing (and Other Exciting Science) with Low Temperature Probe Stations and milliKelvin Research Cryostats – Charlie Danaher, Vice President of Cryogenic Sales, High Precision Devices.
  • 1/f Noise Challenges and Solutions – Arnaldo (AJ) Sans, Application Engineer, Keysight Technologies, Inc.
  • Surface Metrology for Advanced Packaging Applications – Thomas Fries, CEO FRT GmbH, a FormFactor Company.
  • 5G and mmW Applications – Daniel Bock, RF Applications Engineer, FormFactor, Inc.

At the conclusion of the speaker sessions there will be a moderated Q & A. For more information or to register for the online COMPASS conference, https://compass.formfactor.com/.