That has given rise to a paradox of sorts. Bridges promise lower silicon cost, but misalignment during assembly can push overall yields low enough that the package becomes more expensive than a traditional silicon interposer solution. Some companies are experimenting with adaptive patterning techniques that compensate for placement offsets by modifying interconnect layouts after die placement. These methods can recover yield, but they introduce throughput penalties because patterning becomes die-specific.
You could relax design rules by using larger interconnect features, which can tolerate more misalignment, but that erodes the density advantage that justified using silicon bridges in the first place. Ultimately, there’s a narrow operating window where bridges deliver both acceptable yield and meaningful cost savings. Bridges continue to improve, and incremental gains in placement accuracy and adaptive processing may eventually unlock their potential, but they are not yet a universal substitute.
The longer-term effort to reduce 2.5D packaging cost concerns alternative materials, with organic interposers being a promising candidate. They can be built using panel-level processes, avoid expensive silicon steps like TSV formation, and scale more naturally with substrate manufacturing infrastructure.
Again, there’s a challenge: density. Traditional package substrates operate at line and space dimensions that are an order of magnitude coarser than silicon interposers. Pushing organic interposers down to five microns requires cleanroom environments and tighter process control, narrowing the cost gap with silicon. Advanced materials like Ajinomoto build-up films help, but they raise material costs even as they improve performance.
High-bandwidth memory (HBM) is only complicating matters because, as memory interfaces tighten and stack counts increase, pad pitches shrink. Silicon handles this comfortably, but organic materials do not, at least not yet. Research efforts are underway to integrate HBM on organic interposers, but these remain experimental. For the highest bandwidth designs, silicon continues to be the default because it offers predictable pitch control and proven reliability.
Organic interposers are expected to coexist with silicon rather than replace it outright. Where bandwidth and density demands allow, organic solutions can reduce cost and improve scalability. Where they do not, silicon remains unavoidable.
Glass interposers are potentially the next step beyond organic. These offer excellent electrical properties, low thermal expansion, and compatibility with large panel formats. They also open interesting possibilities for optical integration. However, glass cannot host active circuitry, and the ecosystem required to process and standardize glass substrates at scale is still forming.
With glass interposers, we’re generally looking towards 2030 in terms of volume production. Pilot lines have emerged, but widespread adoption will naturally depend on factors such as tooling and supply chain maturity. In the near-term, if anywhere, they are likely to appear in niche applications rather than a drop-in for silicon.
What’s most apparent is that 2.5D is fragmented, with no single, viable pathway toward cheaper, simple packaging – at least not yet. Instead, AI demand is pushing silicon interposers to become thicker and more layered, with bridges continuing to chase cost advantages but remaining constrained by assembly. Organic and glass could be promising alternatives, but only within specific applications.
Luke James is a freelance writer and journalist.\u00a0 Although his background is in legal, he has a personal interest in all things tech, especially hardware and microelectronics, and anything regulatory.\u00a0 ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-11/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Luke James Social Links Navigation Contributor Luke James is a freelance writer and journalist. Although his background is in legal, he has a personal interest in all things tech, especially hardware and microelectronics, and anything regulatory.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/ai-chip-design-is-pushing-2-5d-packaging-to-its-limits#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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