In a significant industry move, Intel’s 2024 “Inventor of the Year,” Duan Gang, has joined Samsung Electro-Mechanics as Executive Vice President of Packaging Solutions. A 17-year Intel veteran with nearly 500 patents, Duan is a recognized expert in chip packaging—particularly Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) and glass substrate technologies.
The Importance of Advanced Chip Packaging #
As transistors approach their physical limits, performance gains increasingly come from advanced packaging—integrating CPUs, GPUs, and memory into tightly connected modules. Duan played a key role in Intel’s EMIB development, which embeds miniature silicon bridges between chiplets only in high-bandwidth zones. This approach avoids the cost of full silicon interposers while enabling multi-terabit per second data transfer. EMIB has been deployed in Intel server CPUs to reduce latency by bridging CPUs with high-speed cache.
Duan also advanced Intel’s glass substrate research. Compared to traditional organic substrates, glass offers lower thermal expansion, superior flatness above 400°C, and lower dielectric loss. These properties enable sub-micron line spacing and potentially over one trillion transistors per chip. Intel’s prototypes—100 microns thick with laser-drilled through-holes—are expected to enter mass production by late 2025.
Strategic Shifts and Industry Trends #
In 2024, Intel scaled back internal glass substrate R&D to focus on external procurement, aligning with broader cost-optimization measures amid foundry business losses. These off-the-shelf glass panels (up to 510mm × 515mm) offer micron-level flatness, suitable for high-volume production. Intel continues to invest in Foveros 3D stacking, bonding multiple chip layers using copper interconnects.
Samsung’s glass substrate project stands to benefit directly from Duan’s experience. The company is building a pilot line in early 2025 with plans for mass production by 2027, targeting AI and HPC markets. Samsung’s glass substrates, chemically etched to under 100 microns, reduce power consumption by up to 20% and endure extensive thermal cycling—ideal for automotive and aerospace use. Compatibility with current manufacturing lines is ensured via partnerships with material vendors.
Samsung’s Technical Edge #
Duan’s deep patent portfolio includes micro-bump interconnects and redistribution layer (RDL) designs, both critical to high-density packaging. Micro-bumps reduce signal latency by creating tighter substrate-to-chip bonds. These innovations could shorten Samsung’s development timeline and accelerate the adoption of glass substrates in mainstream chip production by 2028.
Glass substrates enable new form factors in 2.5D and 3D packaging—expanding chip dimensions from 10mm to 20mm edges and improving signal quality and thermal performance. Industry tests show 2× area utilization and lower signal loss—critical for AI workloads. AMD and TSMC are also exploring this technology, with AMD targeting launches between 2025–2026. Glass transparency improves laser alignment and defect detection during manufacturing.
Outlook: A New Era in Chip Integration #
While Intel doubles down on its 18A process node using RibbonFET and PowerVia technologies, it’s strategically outsourcing glass substrate development. Samsung is forging ahead by building out its ecosystem and testing designs with manufacturing partners.
Glass substrates will play a key role in next-generation chip designs—especially for heterogeneous integration of neural accelerators and high-bandwidth compute clusters. Their widespread adoption post-2027 could reshape HPC and AI silicon architecture.
Duan Gang’s transition to Samsung strengthens its technological capabilities and talent pool, emphasizing how innovation leadership increasingly hinges not only on R&D investment but also on securing the right expertise. His contributions may well accelerate Samsung’s packaging roadmap and redefine competitive dynamics in the semiconductor industry.