AI Drives Larger, Denser Packaging, Raising New Challenges for Equipment Makers

By Susan Hong, EE Times | September 30, 2026

Artificial intelligence is pushing advanced packaging in seemingly opposite directions: Package sizes are getting larger, while interconnect pitches and defect tolerances continue to shrink.

At A*STAR’s Innovate Together 2026 in Singapore, experts from KLA, ASM, ASMPT, and the National University of Singapore (NUS) discussed how advanced packaging is evolving beyond individual equipment or process technologies. The challenge is to integrate materials, bonding, metrology and inspection, optical interconnects, and system design while maintaining yield, reliability, and cost efficiency across larger package areas and finer interconnect pitches.

Surya Bhattacharya, head of system-in-package at A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) and moderator of the panel, said that as continued transistor scaling becomes insufficient to meet AI computing demands, systems must integrate more dies and functions, making packaging an increasingly integral part of system design.

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