3M and IBM to Develop New Types of Adhesives to Create 3D Semiconductors
3M and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the two companies plan to jointly develop the first adhesives that can be used to package semiconductors into densely stacked silicon towers. The companies are aiming to create a new class of materials, which will make it possible to build, for the first time, commercial microprocessors composed of layers of up to 100 separate chips.
Such stacking would allow for dramatically higher levels of integration for information technology and consumer electronics applications. Processors could be tightly packed with memory and networking, for example, into a brick of silicon that would create a computer chip 1,000 times faster than todays fastest microprocessor enabling more powerful smartphones, tablets, computers and gaming devices. Adhesives are one of 3Ms 46 core technology platforms.
Today’s chips, including those containing 3D transistors, are in fact 2D chips that are still very flat structures, said Bernard Meyerson, VP of Research, IBM. Our scientists are aiming to develop materials that will allow us to package tremendous amounts of computing power into a new form factor a silicon skyscraper. We believe we can advance the state-of-art in packaging, and create a new class of semiconductors that offer more speed and capabilities while they keep power usage low — key requirements for many manufacturers, especially for makers of tablets and smartphones.
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