Semiconductor Packaging Patents

Advanced semiconductor packaging patents cover silicon interposer 2.5D stacking innovations; fan-out wafer-level packaging WLP innovations; 3D heterogeneous die stacking and hybrid bonding innovations; through-silicon via TSV and HBM high bandwidth memory cube stacking innovations; and chiplet interface and die-to-die interconnect protocol innovations — with IP held by foundries, IDMs, packaging OSATs, and memory manufacturers: MAJOR ADVANCED PACKAGING PATENT HOLDERS: TSMC: 3,000+; specific packaging innovations (specific specific CoWoS-S Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate: specific specific silicon interposer 2.5D from specific specific 4096-bit HBM bus width from specific specific 500 GB/s aggregate BW Gen 2 vs. specific specific HBM3 3.35 TB/s Gen 3 from specific specific 65 nm silicon process on interposer from specific specific interposer TSV Cu through-silicon 10 μm diameter 50 μm pitch from specific specific RDL redistribution layer 2 μm L/S from specific specific microbump C4 200 μm pitch SoC to interposer from specific specific substrate BGA 1.0 mm pitch from specific specific NVIDIA H100 A100 Apple M2 Ultra from specific specific InFO fan-out WLP: specific specific embedded die in mold compound from specific specific RDL 2 μm L/S Cu from specific specific 40% thinner vs. flip-chip BGA from specific specific Apple A9/A10 iPhone 7 breakthrough from specific specific 15% performance +30% battery life from specific specific SoIC System-on-Integrated-Chips: specific specific Cu-Cu direct bonding from specific specific 9 μm pitch face-to-face or face-to-back from specific specific 2.5 kW/mm² power density from specific specific <0.5 Ω·μm² contact resistivity); INTEL: 3,000+; specific packaging innovations (specific specific EMIB Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge: specific specific 55 μm pitch bridge die from specific specific locally embedded in substrate from specific specific 960 Gbps/mm bandwidth per bridge from specific specific no silicon interposer from specific specific Ponte Vecchio HPC GPU from specific specific Sapphire Rapids Xeon specific specific vs. specific specific CoWoS large passive Si interposer from specific specific FOVEROS 3D stacking: specific specific active interposer logic + from specific specific stacked memory or compute die from specific specific hybrid bonding <10 μm bump pitch from specific specific 50-100 μm die-to-die pitch from specific specific Meteor Lake Tile: specific specific compute tile 4nm TSMC from specific specific SoC tile 6nm Intel from specific specific I/O tile 6nm Intel from specific specific GPU tile 6nm Intel from specific specific FOVEROS Direct bonding from specific specific Sapphire Rapids 100 A DCRM power delivery through die); SAMSUNG: 2,000+; SK HYNIX: 1,000+; ASE: 2,000+; AMKOR: 1,500+.

Through-silicon via TSV etching fill and anneal innovations for 3D stacked memory; HBM high bandwidth memory cube stacking and micro-bump array innovations; and wafer-to-wafer and die-to-wafer direct copper-copper hybrid bonding innovations represent three core 3D memory integration patent domains: TSV PATENTS: MICRON; SK HYNIX; SAMSUNG; IMEC; APPLIED MATERIALS: specific TSV innovations (specific specific TSV Bosch DRIE etch: specific specific SF₆ etch+C₄F₈ passivation cycles from specific specific 10 μm diameter 50-100 μm deep from specific specific aspect ratio 5-10:1 from specific specific SiO₂ liner ALD 100 nm from specific specific TaN/Ta barrier PVD from specific specific Cu electroplating fill from specific specific CMP planarization ±5 nm topo from specific specific Cu-Cu TCB thermal compression bonding from specific specific 250°C 30 min 10 MPa from specific specific 5 μm pitch 10 μm diameter Cu pillar from specific specific hybrid bonding Cu-Cu: specific specific oxide-oxide bond SiO₂ activation from specific specific Cu pad Cu pad 200 nm protrusion from specific specific anneal 200-400°C 30 min from specific specific <0.5 Ω·μm² contact resistivity from specific specific 1 μm pitch achievable from specific specific vs. microbump 10-20 μm minimum pitch); HBM PATENTS: SK HYNIX; SAMSUNG; MICRON; RAMBUS; IBM: specific HBM innovations (specific specific HBM3 SK Hynix: specific specific 12-layer DRAM stack from specific specific 8-16 Hi cube from specific specific TSV through-silicon via from specific specific Cu microbump 55 μm pitch from specific specific 1,024 bit per stack from specific specific 3.35 TB/s aggregate 12-Hi from specific specific 24 GB 12-Hi stack from specific specific <5 mW/GB/s power efficiency from specific specific logic base die: specific specific ECC error correction from specific specific training calibration PHY from specific specific JEDEC JESD238A standard from specific specific HBM3E 1,180 GB/s per stack from specific specific 24-36 GB upcoming from specific specific JESD238B from specific specific DRAM stacking CUF capillary underfill from specific specific no-flow underfill NCF from specific specific TCB 250°C TC bonding at specific specific 8-stack bonding tool); WAFER BONDING PATENTS: XPERI/INVENSAS; IMEC; EV GROUP; SUSS; APPLIED MICROELECTRONICS: specific bonding innovations (specific specific DBI direct bond interconnect: specific specific SAB sequential adhesive bonding from specific specific oxide-oxide fusion bonding SiO₂ from specific specific room-temperature activation plasma N₂ 13.56 MHz from specific specific 400°C anneal 30 min from specific specific >2 J/m² bond energy from specific specific Cu-Cu low temperature from specific specific ZTSCM zero-thickness scaling chip module from specific specific W2W wafer-to-wafer 300 mm bonding from specific specific D2W die-to-wafer thermocompression from specific specific die placement accuracy <0.5 μm from specific specific gang bonding 100 die/min from specific specific collective-D2W mass reflow 200 die/batch from specific specific CuSn solder 1-3 μm Sn cap).

UCIe Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express and CXL Compute Express Link die-to-die protocol innovations; fan-out panel-level packaging FOPLP innovations enabling lower cost large substrate packaging; and integrated photonics co-packaging with chiplets for AI accelerator innovations represent three additional advanced packaging patent domains: CHIPLET INTERFACE PATENTS: INTEL; AMD; TSMC; ARM; SAMSUNG (UCIe CONSORTIUM): specific chiplet innovations (specific specific UCIe 1.0 standard: specific specific die-to-die interface from specific specific standard package 2 μm bump pitch from specific specific advanced package 10 μm bump pitch from specific specific 28 Gbps/lane data rate from specific specific 16 lanes standard from specific specific 112 Gbps/lane 2.0 roadmap from specific specific <2 pJ/bit energy from specific specific short reach vs. specific specific PCIe SERDES 4 pJ/bit from specific specific BERP 10⁻¹⁵ bit error rate from specific specific AMD Infinity Fabric: specific specific proprietary chiplet bus from specific specific coherent+non-coherent from specific specific EPYC multi-die 384 MB L3 from specific specific 256 GB/s bandwidth from specific specific CXL Compute Express Link: specific specific PCIe 6.0 physical layer from specific specific CXL.mem memory expansion from specific specific CXL.cache coherent caching from specific specific 256 GB/s Gen 5 from specific specific memory pooling 8× compute die from specific specific 512 GB/s CXL 3.0); FAN-OUT PANEL PACKAGING PATENTS: INFINEON; FRAUNHOFER; ASE; DECA; SAMSUNG: specific fan-out panel innovations (specific specific FOPLP fan-out panel level: specific specific glass panel 650×650 mm or 600×600 mm from specific specific vs. 300 mm wafer from specific specific 10× more chips per panel vs. wafer from specific specific RDL 2-5 μm L/S Cu on panel from specific specific warpage control <1 mm across panel from specific specific PMMA+epoxy lamination from specific specific Fraunhofer IZM panel embedding: specific specific die face-down mold from specific specific RDL lithography from specific specific 5×15 μm L/S from specific specific Die placement accuracy ±3 μm from specific specific laser ablation via 30 μm diameter from specific specific Cu filling void <1% from specific specific Samsung FOWLP fan-out on panel from specific specific LCD TFT array tooling adaptation from specific specific LiSi glass sub 600×700 mm from specific specific lowest cost large-area RDL); INTEGRATED PHOTONICS CO-PACKAGING PATENTS: INTEL; CISCO; GLOBALFOUNDRIES; IME SINGAPORE; TSMC: specific co-packaging innovations (specific specific co-packaged optics CPO: specific specific silicon photonics die co-packaged with switch ASIC from specific specific 51.2 Tbps per package from specific specific 12-14× power reduction vs. specific specific pluggable optical module from specific specific silicon photonic interposer: specific specific CoWoS-L RDL-based hybrid from specific specific 100 Gbps/lane PAM4 from specific specific 8-lane OSFP from specific specific InP laser bonded hybrid from specific specific <0.1 dB coupling loss from specific specific CWDM4 4λ×25 Gbps from specific specific micro-ring resonator MRR modulator: specific specific 30 GHz 3 dB BW from specific specific 1.2 V π Vπ from specific specific 12 mW static from specific specific EO co-integration Si photonics 45nm SOI from specific specific GlobalFoundries GF45SPCLO).

Advanced semiconductor packaging startup IP strategy must navigate TSMC&apos;s 3,000+ dominant CoWoS InFO SoIC foundry packaging IP; Intel&apos;s 3,000+ EMIB and FOVEROS IP; ASE&apos;s and Amkor&apos;s important OSAT packaging process IP; and identify genuine whitespace in novel wafer bonding approaches, chiplet interface innovations, co-packaged photonics, and fan-out panel-level packaging that reduces cost vs. established foundry offerings: ADVANCED PACKAGING STARTUP IP STRATEGY: UNDERSTAND THE PACKAGING LANDSCAPE: TSMC AND INTEL HOLD DOMINANT 2.5D/3D ADVANCED PACKAGING IP — HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION IS THE KEY BATTLEGROUND: TSMC (3,000+) holds the dominant 2.5D CoWoS silicon interposer IP and 3D SoIC hybrid bonding IP for AI accelerators; Intel (3,000+) holds the important EMIB bridge-in-substrate and FOVEROS active 3D stacking IP for disaggregated chiplet processors — both companies&apos; advanced packaging IP is heavily tied to their most profitable AI/HPC chip programs; HYBRID BONDING IS THE MOST ACTIVE CURRENT IP BATTLEGROUND: Cu-Cu direct hybrid bonding at <10 μm pitch (vs. microbumping at 40-130 μm pitch) represents the critical enabling technology for next-generation 3D stacking — IMEC, Xperi/Invensas, and EV Group hold important wafer bonding IP; novel process improvements in surface activation, Cu protrusion control, and low-temperature anneal are active IP domains; HBM CUBE STACKING IP IS DOMINATED BY SK HYNIX AND SAMSUNG: SK Hynix (1,000+) and Samsung (2,000+) hold the core HBM cube stacking IP covering TSV Cu pillar microbump, NUF/CUF underfill, and JEDEC HBM standard compliance — AI chip companies licensing these for AI accelerator memory access bandwidth; WHEN TO PATENT IN ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGING: NOVEL PACKAGING ARCHITECTURE WITH MEASURED BANDWIDTH AND POWER EFFICIENCY: specific novel advanced packaging approach (specific specific integration architecture + specific specific interconnect technology + specific specific substrate/interposer type) with specific measured performance (specific specific die-to-die bandwidth GB/s or Tbps, specific specific energy efficiency pJ/bit at specific specific data rate Gbps/lane, specific specific interconnect pitch μm and density interconnects/mm², specific specific signal latency ns round trip, specific specific power delivery impedance mΩ at 100 A, specific specific thermal resistance θ_jc °C/W at specific specific power density W/mm², specific specific cost $/cm² total package area at specific specific production volume) vs. specific specific TSMC CoWoS-S 500 GB/s HBM2e or specific specific Intel EMIB 960 Gbps/mm or specific specific UCIe 28 Gbps/lane 2 pJ/bit baseline — bandwidth + energy efficiency + cost vs. established advanced packaging baseline is the most commercially important packaging IP metric for AI accelerator and chiplet startups; KEY FTO CHECKLIST: TSMC CoWoS-S silicon interposer 65 nm 4096-bit HBM 500 GB/s TSV 10 μm dia 50 μm pitch RDL 2 μm L/S C4 200 μm SoIC Cu-Cu 9 μm pitch 2.5 kW/mm²; InFO RDL 2 μm die embedded mold Apple A-series 40% thinner; Intel EMIB 55 μm bridge embedded 960 Gbps/mm; FOVEROS active interposer hybrid bonding <10 μm Meteor Lake Tile; HBM3 SK Hynix 12-Hi TSV 55 μm microbump 1,024-bit 3.35 TB/s 24 GB CUF/NCF; Cu-Cu hybrid bonding SiO₂ activation plasma 400°C 2 J/m² <0.5 Ω·μm² 1 μm pitch; D2W ±0.5 μm placement gang bonding 100 die/min; UCIe 1.0 2 μm pitch 28 Gbps <2 pJ/bit 10⁻¹⁵ BER; CXL 3.0 PCIe 6.0 256 GB/s CXL.mem CXL.cache; FOPLP 650×650 mm glass 10× chips/panel RDL 5×15 μm ±3 μm die placement; CPO silicon photonics co-packaged 51.2 Tbps 12-14× power vs. pluggable.