BANNOCKBURN, IL—A new IPC study says congressional action is urgently needed to strengthen the health of the domestic advanced packaging industry if it is to meet increased demand in chip production. IPC says its study is a thorough, data-driven analysis of the global semiconductor and advanced packaging ecosystem that highlights the role of advanced packaging in driving innovation in semiconductor designs.

According to the report, congressional appropriations of more than $50 billion is needed to support U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, increasing silicon production without bolstering domestic advanced packaging capabilities is likely to lengthen the semiconductor supply chain, as chips will still have to be sent abroad for packaging and assembly into finished products.

“Semiconductor chips are critically important, which is why IPC supports full funding for the CHIPS for America Act. But chips can’t function on their own. They need to be packaged and interconnected with other electronic components in order to power the technology we all rely on, from cell phones to automobiles and beyond,” says John Mitchell, IPC president and CEO. “The data in this report shows that North America is well behind Asia in the advanced packaging of chips and in other key parts of the electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

“The U.S. must adopt a silicon-to-systems approach that strengthens the entire electronics manufacturing ecosystem, including chips, printed circuit boards, and hardware assembly,” adds Mitchell. “Addressing electronics manufacturing more holistically is the only way to ensure a more resilient, innovative supply chain that can withstand external shocks in the future.”

Other study conclusions include:
>After more than two decades of outsourcing, the United States can design the most cutting-edge electronics but cannot manufacture them.
>The offshoring of manufacturing spans the entire electronics ecosystem, including advanced packaging of semiconductor chips, for which the North American share of global production is just 3 percent.
>The US needs to invest in development and production of advanced integrated circuit substrates–the base layers used in the packaging of integrated circuit chips–for which there are only nascent capabilities domestically.