Expert Session: Structured Glass for Electronic and Photonic Packaging

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LDjo7wFEBE

Summary

TL;DR — This expert session highlights the advantages of using structured glass for electronic and photonic packaging, emphasizing its superior optical, electrical, and chemical properties compared to traditional materials like polymers and ceramics. The discussion details various advanced manufacturing techniques, including laser processing and ion exchange, for creating intricate structures within glass substrates, enabling miniaturization and enhanced performance in applications ranging from data centers to quantum computing.

Key points

• Glass offers excellent optical transparency across a broad wavelength range, high electrical insulation for DC and RF, and robust chemical resistance, making it suitable for harsh environments and biocompatible applications.

• Advanced fabrication methods like femtosecond laser writing, ion exchange, and selective laser etching allow for precise structuring of glass, enabling the creation of waveguides, through-glass vias (TGVs), and complex 3D features.

• Glass substrates facilitate miniaturization in packaging, moving beyond traditional butterfly packages to smaller, more integrated optical modules and enabling co-packaged optics for data centers.

• The material's properties, such as low thermal conductivity, can be advantageous in specific applications for isolating components, while also offering solutions for thermal management through design.

• Emerging applications include photonic system-in-package (PSiP) and generic packaging platforms for quantum photonic integrated circuits, showcasing glass's versatility and future potential.

• The session emphasizes the industrial readiness of these glass processing technologies, with examples of large-scale panel processing and automated quality control.

Takeaway — Structured glass is a highly versatile and enabling material for next-generation electronic and photonic packaging, offering a unique combination of properties and fabrication possibilities that drive miniaturization, performance, and new application development.