Being the important thing marketplace for adhesives, India’s semiconductor and electronics manufacturing ecosystem is engaging. Chatting with EFY’s Yashasvini Razdan, Ram Trichur, International Market and Technique Director of Henkel Adhesive Applied sciences, acquired candid about what they create to India.
Q. How does the worldwide semiconductor packaging market examine with the home market when it comes to know-how?
A. International gamers in semiconductor packaging are extremely motivated to serve new finish units and novel packaging codecs. Panel-level packaging is turning into a sizzling matter globally, particularly with developments in glass-core substrates and panel-level fan-out packages. Moreover, we see co-packaged optics as an rising format to reinforce information centre processors. At present, units talk principally utilizing electrical indicators inside a bundle, which limits information switch charges. This shift in direction of optical packaging presents important alternatives, and Henkel is well-positioned to contribute on this house.
When it comes to India’s function, we’re gearing as much as assist these international improvements. Henkel’s presence in India on the adhesives facet is already substantial, the place we serve the nation’s adhesive wants throughout varied functions. We even have a longtime manufacturing footprint for a number of adhesives used extensively in India. As we glance towards the longer term, we’re evaluating India’s want for localised electronics manufacturing.
Q. What sort of investments are you making in India?
A. We presently have a robust workforce of gross sales and technical engineers in India who’re well-equipped to assist our clients. With places of work in each the southern and northern areas, we’re in a beneficial place to serve our increasing buyer base. Moreover, we’re within the course of of building an functions engineering centre, set to open within the first quarter of subsequent yr, which can allow us to co-create with our clients. This centre will characteristic state-of-the-art gear to assist electronics improvement, staffed by our engineers and geared up with all needed supplies and instruments for the ecosystem.
Q. What are the newest traits you’re witnessing in chip packaging?
A. That is an thrilling time for semiconductor packaging, with synthetic intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), autonomous driving, and automotive electrification driving developments on this area.
For AI and HPC functions, we see new packaging applied sciences rising, significantly 2.5D and 3D packaging, that are supporting information centre processors. In automotive, autonomous driving depends closely on superior semiconductor packaging, with AI and HPC being central to autonomous driving processors, that are more and more constructed utilizing 2.5D and 3D packaging. There’s additionally a shift in automotive energy electronics, with silicon-based units transferring in direction of wide-bandgap supplies like silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). These supplies are particularly necessary for energy modules, a essential part in electrical automobiles.
In client electronics, there’s a robust push for miniaturisation, resulting in improvements in wafer-level packaging. Collectively, these developments are driving fast innovation in semiconductor packaging, making it a really thrilling time to be concerned on this area.
Q. What does Henkel have to supply clients working with these new applied sciences?
A. Henkel is likely one of the earliest suppliers of wire bond packaging and encapsulation supplies. In wire bond packaging, we provide a variety of supplies, together with die-attach paste, die-attach movie, and high-thermal die-attach supplies, comparable to sintering die-attach supplies. We additionally present a broad number of encapsulation supplies for wire bonding.
For superior packaging, we’ve got an intensive underfill supplies portfolio. Henkel is likely one of the solely suppliers with varied underfill codecs, together with pre-applied and post-applied choices. Pre-applied underfills can be found in each paste and movie codecs, whereas our post-applied options embody capillary underfills appropriate for each small and huge die functions.
We additionally provide lid and stiffener connect adhesives in each conductive and non-conductive codecs tailor-made to the precise necessities of flip-chip packages. Moreover, we’re increasing our choices in liquid compression moulding supplies, that are important for wafer-level packaging functions comparable to panel fan-out. These supplies symbolize a few of the key elements of our in depth portfolio.
Q. Who’s your goal buyer in India?
A. All main built-in gadget producers (IDMs) concerned in energy electronics manufacturing—whether or not in energy discrete elements or energy modules—are our clients.
Q. Who’s the goal buyer persona you attain out to in these corporations?
A. Promoting a die-attach materials will not be so simple as simply talking with the engineering workforce. We preserve robust relationships with innovation, course of improvement, product improvement, course of engineering, and manufacturing groups. Moreover, we interact with different gatekeepers on the buying and enterprise sides.
Q. Is the India centre restricted to gross sales and assist, or is it additionally concerned within the product improvement course of for the worldwide product?
A. At current, our focus in India is totally on offering engineering and gross sales assist. We are going to proceed to take action for semiconductor packaging, however Henkel already has a longtime footprint serving India’s adhesive market within the adhesives section. We have now the potential to develop digital adhesives regionally because the electronics market grows.
Q. What function does your workforce play within the product improvement course of on the shopper facet?
A. Engineering engagement is essential in semiconductor packaging. Our engineers are deeply concerned in understanding the bundle design, the processes, and the worth that clients count on from our merchandise. They work intently with our counterparts on the shopper facet to develop these supplies and determine the worth we have to present.
Q. Out of your whole vary of choices, what do you have got for India, contemplating the foray in direction of chip manufacturing?
A. India is at an thrilling juncture as the federal government appears to be like at establishing a semiconductor ecosystem, each in front-end and packaging, making this an opportune time for progress. Although it’s simply starting, we see fast alternatives in conventional wire-bond packaging functions, that are simpler to provoke in comparison with superior packaging. On the similar time, there may be rising curiosity in flip-chip and superior packaging architectures, indicating India’s innovation potential and eagerness to discover new applied sciences. We’re ready to assist this rising market with our portfolio in wire-bond and superior packaging options to satisfy India’s evolving wants.
Q. What function do adhesive options play in widespread warmth and structural challenges?
A. As the two.5D and 3D packages grow to be bigger, it’s common to come across packages as massive as 120 x 120 mm and even as much as 150 x 150 mm, particularly in information centres, the place these units deal with excessive energy. This enhance in dimension and energy typically results in stress points, which makes warpage management necessary. We offer conductive and non-conductive lid and stiffener attachments, that are important to keep up the structural integrity for end-users.
Interfaces current between the processor and the interposer or between the reminiscence and the interposer require capillary underfill supplies that movement effectively inside small gaps and tighter pitches. With warmth dissipation being a significant problem in 2.5D and 3D packaging, we’re creating high-thermal-capable capillary underfills to resolve this drawback.
Q. What sort of merchandise or applied sciences do you must assist the combination of two.5D and 3D packaging?
A. In 2.5D and 3D packaging, separate essential units (processor and reminiscence) are built-in right into a single 2.5D bundle. When a processor and reminiscence are mixed this fashion, varied interfaces are created. At Henkel, we provide supplies for these interfaces, significantly underfill supplies between the interposer and the substrate, which frequently require large-die-capable capillary underfills because of the massive dimension of interposers.
Excessive-bandwidth reminiscence (HBM) is usually utilized in superior AI and HPC units. HBM sometimes includes stacking 8, 12, or much more skinny dies in a excessive tower, which requires particular underfill and encapsulation supplies. We additionally present underfill and encapsulation options for superior reminiscence functions, masking the complete spectrum of supplies wanted for two.5D and 3D packages.
Q. With new know-how traits evolving within the automotive business, how do adhesive applied sciences assist fight thermal dissipation challenges?
A. Electrification and autonomous driving closely contain thermal administration. Automotive producers are transitioning from conventional silicon-based insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) for energy conversion to SiC or different wide-bandgap units. This transition permits corporations like Henkel to innovate new high-thermal die-attach supplies to assist these energy modules and discrete energy elements.
With autonomous driving, sensors and processors are essential. Henkel presents a robust portfolio of die-attach and encapsulation supplies for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) picture sensors utilized in automobiles, together with superior packaging supplies to assist the computational wants in autonomous driving methods. These embody underfill supplies, liquid compression moulding, and lid and stiffener adhesives.
Q. What type of partnerships are you constructing in India?
A. As India scales, we anticipate a scarcity of expert engineers who perceive semiconductor processes and packaging. To handle this, we see a robust want for partnerships between academia and business in India. Henkel is presently exploring collaborations with totally different tutorial establishments, and discussions are underway to evaluate how we will assist expertise improvement and utilise the talents rising from these ecosystems. We additionally count on a few of our international buyer relationships to develop into India because of the growing want for self-sufficiency within the nation.
Q. What ability units are you in search of while you speak about expertise?
A. We’re in search of STEM-oriented expertise in each the industrial and engineering sectors in India. Our clients need us to resolve their issues and deal with their ache factors instantly, which requires a deep understanding of the processes and supplies concerned.
We wish to construct a gross sales workforce with experience in semiconductor packaging and the operation of assorted gear used within the meeting of semiconductors. As innovation in adhesives grows in India, we will even be serious about hiring formulation chemists. Moreover, as we scale manufacturing in India, we’ll want course of engineers able to scaling semiconductor-level manufacturing. These are the important thing skills we’ll want sooner or later.
Q. What are the challenges you see in reaching the targets that you’ve set for India, and the way do you plan to beat them?
A. I believe the challenges and alternatives in semiconductor packaging are fairly related globally. After we have a look at these challenges globally, we instantly take into consideration how we will assist the continued megatrends driving semiconductor packaging, comparable to the necessity for innovation in wire bond packaging and superior packaging. These challenges translate into India as effectively.
Nonetheless, there are additionally region-specific challenges, comparable to expertise improvement, logistics administration, and scaling inside India. However these are widespread to any creating area. Globally and in India, our focus is on supporting innovation and the brand new traits in semiconductor packaging, as these are probably the most essential elements.
We’re excited to see and contribute to developments from Henkel in India as effectively. That’s our aim—to assist India’s progress and progress.
