Intel Reveals Breakthrough Glass Substrates for Next-Gen Semiconductors

Intel has announced a breakthrough in glass substrates that will enable the scaling of transistors and advancements in semiconductor packaging technology. The glass substrates offer higher interconnect density, better thermal stability, and superior mechanical properties than traditional organic substrates.

According to Intel, the glass substrates will allow chip architects to create high-density, high-performance chip packages optimised for data-intensive workloads like artificial intelligence. The substrates will reach the market in the latter half of this decade.

The introduction of glass substrates addresses upcoming limitations in the continued scaling of silicon transistors in a package using organic materials. As the semiconductor industry moves into the era of multi-chiplet packages, improvements in signalling speed, power delivery, and stability of package substrates are crucial.

Intel's testing shows that glass can enable 10x higher interconnect density and better dimensional stability for lithography than organic substrates. The substrate material can withstand higher temperatures and provides more flexibility in integrating optical interconnects and passive components like inductors and capacitors.

“After a decade of research, Intel has achieved industry-leading glass substrates for advanced packaging. We look forward to delivering these cutting-edge technologies that will benefit our key players and foundry customers for decades to come," said Babak Sabi, Intel senior vice president and general manager of Assembly and Test Development.

Initially, glass substrates will target use cases such as data centres, AI, and graphics that can benefit most from larger package sizes and higher performance. In the long term, the technology will help Intel achieve its goal of scaling to 1 trillion transistors per package within this decade.

Intel states that it has researched and tested glass substrate reliability for over ten years, and this latest breakthrough with glass substrates builds on its recent progress in advanced 2D and 3D packaging techniques.