Intel may be significantly lagging in its chip business, but it possesses competitive options in advanced packaging.
Since high-performance computing became the industry standard, the demand for powerful computing solutions has grown far faster than Moore's Law has driven improvements. To meet industry demands, manufacturers like AMD and NVIDIA have adopted advanced packaging technologies, integrating multiple chips into a single package, thereby increasing chip density and platform performance. Advanced packaging solutions have become an integral part of the supply chain, with TSMC dominating this area for many years, but this could change.
Recent job postings from Qualcomm and Apple reveal that both companies are seeking talent proficient in Intel's EMIB advanced packaging technology. The Cupertino-based tech giant is hiring a DRAM packaging engineer, requiring experience with "advanced packaging technologies such as CoWoS, EMIB, SoIC, and PoP." Similarly, Qualcomm is also recruiting a Director of Product Management for its data center business unit, a position that also requires familiarity with Intel's EMIB technology, indicating a strong demand for talent in this area at Qualcomm.
We'll briefly discuss Intel's packaging technologies, but a deep dive into the details would make this article too long. EMIB (Embedded Multi-Chip Interconnect Bridge) technology uses small embedded silicon bridges to connect multiple chipsets to a single package, eliminating the need for large interposers like TSMC's CoWoS. Based on EMIB, Intel also offers Foveros Direct 3D packaging technology, which uses TSVs (Through Silicon Vias) to stack on the substrate. Foveros is one of the most popular solutions in the industry.
Intel's preference for its advanced packaging solutions stems not only from their theoretical feasibility over TSMC's, but also from the fact that choosing Intel's solutions is a significant move for companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and Broadcom, who are intensifying their competition in custom chip development. It's well known that the Taiwanese giant is currently facing bottlenecks in advanced packaging capacity due to massive order volumes from companies like Nvidia and AMD. This ultimately results in relatively lower priority for new customers, a situation Intel can leverage.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has also praised Intel's Foveros technology, indicating the company has excellent market prospects in advanced packaging technology. While job postings don't guarantee adoption of Intel's advanced packaging solutions, they do demonstrate strong industry interest in them.
Source: Content compiled from wcctech
