Glass substrates and laser cooling target AI chip's growing heat problem

The race to power future AI chips is moving into advanced packaging, with glass substrates and through-glass vias highlighted as key avenues for packing more computing into smaller footprints. TRUMPF is shown as a leading enabler, with HiPIMS coating technology delivering high-quality, repeatable vias into glass substrates to support scalable production of next‑generation AI processors. In parallel, iCometrue® proposes replacing TPVs/TGVs with copper blocks to drastically cut the number of power/ground connections in glass substrates, potentially simplifying manufacturing and reducing costs for high-performance multichip packages. TRUMPF also unveiled ultrashort-pulse laser applications for integrated chip cooling, enabling fine-scale cooling structures to be embedded directly within chip stacks and addressing heat dissipation as a critical bottleneck. These developments reflect a broader industry push toward integrated cooling and energy delivery within the chip package, driven by the demands of AI workloads and larger, more power-hungry GPUs and HBMs. Semicon Taiwan events and related demonstrations showcase these innovations as central to scaling AI chips with advanced packaging and cooling technologies.