Date: 14/09/2011

Adhesives from 3M for gluing semiconductor wafers vertically

3M and IBM have planned to jointly develop thermally superior adhesives for stacking semiconductor wafers, where a complex electronic system can be made available in a single brick or cube like silicon structure composed of layers of up to 100 separate semiconductor chips.

IBM says by gluing the silcon chips vertically it would create a computer chip 1,000 times faster than today's fastest microprocessor enabling more powerful smartphones, tablets, computers and gaming devices.

The VLSI and nanotech researchers are now focusing on solving some of the big chanllenges which includes both physical, electrical, reliability and mass production issues. When it comes to adhesives, they should efficiently conduct heat through a densely packed stack of chips and away from heat-sensitive components such as logic circuits.

3M and IBM are planning to develop adhesives that can be applied to silicon wafers, coating hundreds or even thousands of chips at a single time. As per the agreement, IBM will draw on its expertise in creating unique semiconductor packaging processes, and 3M will provide its expertise in developing and manufacturing adhesive materials.