Intel's U.S. Advanced Packaging Powers Next-Generation AI Chips

As AI systems demand more processing power than ever, the semiconductor industry is moving away from relying on a single massive chip and toward a different approach: advanced packaging, the process of connecting multiple specialized chips together so they function as one unit, running faster and handling heavier workloads than any single chip could on its own.

 

Intel has been doing this kind of advanced packaging work for years, both in the U.S. and globally, and it's become one of the most important pieces of building today's multi-chip products.

 

At its Rio Rancho, New Mexico facility, Intel is pushing what's called the reticle limit, the maximum size a chip package can physically be. Today, Intel's packages there are already 8 times larger than the industry standard, with plans to reach more than 12 times the standard by 2028. The shift reflects a broader move from single large chips toward what's sometimes described as a "silicon mosaic," where specialized chip tiles are connected together inside one large package.

 

Katie Prouty, who manages Intel's Fab 9 advanced packaging facility in New Mexico, noted that the site was originally a leader in 6-inch wafer manufacturing back in the 1980s, and that over four decades later, it's now the leading U.S. site for advanced packaging instead. T...