The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and data-centric applications is driving a paradigm shift from conventional monolithic system-on-chip (SoC) architectures toward chiplet-based heterogeneous integration. Advanced packaging has consequently become a key enabling technology for achieving higher performance, greater functionality, improved power efficiency, and shorter development cycles. This short course introduces the fundamental concepts of advanced packaging for chiplet systems, covering major integration schemes, including 2.5D, 3D, fan-out, and wafer-level packaging technologies. Particular attention will be given to hybrid bonding, which is emerging as a critical technology for fine-pitch, high-density interconnects in next-generation semiconductor systems. The course will also highlight recent technological developments, industrial trends, and global research activities, while discussing remaining technical challenges and future directions toward AI-driven computing, CMOS 2.0, and heterogeneous system integration.

As hybrid bonding and heterogeneous integration move toward finer pitches and more complex three-dimensional architectures, non-destructive inspection of buried interconnects and interfaces is becoming increasingly important. This short course provides an overview of high-resolution 3D X-ray imaging for advanced semiconductor packaging, discussing fundamental imaging principles and recent developments in 3D X-ray imaging including developments in X-ray detectors and 3D reconstruction techniques. Practical application examples will illustrate how these techniques can reveal micro-bumps, hybrid copper bonds, redistribution layers, bonding interfaces, voids, delamination, and other internal defects. The course will also discuss the practical trade-offs between spatial resolution, sample size, image quality, acquisition time, and throughput, and how different imaging approaches can support process development, failure analysis, quality control, and reliability assessment in next-generation electronic systems.

As advanced semiconductor packages evolve toward higher integration density, three-dimensional stacking, and heterogeneous integration, thermal management has become a critical challenge for device performance and reliability.
Frequency-domain thermoreflectance (FDTR) is an optical pump–probe technique for characterizing thermal properties in thin films and buried interfaces by analyzing the thermoreflectance response to periodically modulated laser heating. Owing to these capabilities, FDTR is attracting increasing attention as a promising technique for thermal characterization in advanced semiconductor packaging.
This presentation will first introduce the measurement principle of FDTR and discuss practical considerations for reliable thermal characterization, including modulation frequency, laser spot size, and sensitivity analysis. It will then demonstrate how FDTR can be applied to advanced packaging through representative case studies, including the evaluation of bonded interfaces, together with applications to anisotropic materials and microscopic thermal-property mapping.
The ongoing international standardization of FDTR is expected to establish common measurement and analysis methodologies, improve the comparability of results across laboratories, and facilitate its broader adoption in semiconductor research and industry.