K&S targets CPO with TCB
Kulicke & Soffa is expanding its advanced packaging focus into co-packaged optics, using thermo-compression bonding technology to address the assembly requirements of high-bandwidth AI systems.
Kulicke & Soffa (K&S) is positioning its thermo-compression bonding (TCB) technology for emerging co-packaged optics (CPO) applications as AI infrastructure drives demand for higher bandwidth and more energy-efficient interconnects.
The semiconductor assembly equipment supplier says CPO architectures require higher-density assembly capabilities as optical, logic and other components become increasingly integrated within heterogeneous packages. Its TCB portfolio is designed to support the high-density interconnect requirements associated with these architectures.
K&S is also highlighting its fluxless thermo-compression (FTC) technology, which it says is commercially available and can integrate plasma, formic acid, or a combination of the two processes.
The company says these approaches are intended to improve interconnect quality while supporting the yield and throughput requirements of advanced heterogeneous integration.
The move reflects the growing overlap between advanced packaging and optical interconnects. As CPO moves optical engines closer to switching silicon, assembly processes must accommodate increasingly dense interconnects while maintaining alignment, reliability and manufacturing yield.
K&S says its advanced packaging technologies are already being used across heterogeneous integration applications, including high-performance logic and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), with CPO now emerging as another demanding application.
“AI is fundamentally reshaping the semiconductor industry, and accelerating demand for our growing base of highly capable heterogeneous solutions,” said John Molnar, vice president and general manager of Advanced Solutions at K&S.
He added that CPO applications are among the industry's highest-bandwidth requirements and are joining leading-edge logic and HBM as drivers of next-generation heterogeneous assembly.
K&S will showcase its Advanced Solutions portfolio at SEMICON Taiwan from September 2–4, with CPO among the applications highlighted by the company.
