Zuken Inc. has entered into a joint development agreement with IBM, officially becoming a commercial member of the IBM Research AI Hardware Center, located at the Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, NY.

This collaboration will focus on joint research and development of heterogeneous chip integration packaging solutions, which are essential for advancing AI accelerator architecture.

A significant aspect of the partnership will be the design of 3-D integrated circuits (3DIC) packaging for advanced semiconductors, alongside optimizing Electronic Design Automation (EDA) workflows.

The collaboration will also involve developing materials, modeling processes, and refining integration methods for interconnecting multiple integrated circuit (IC) dies within semiconductor modules.

Zuken will evaluate a prototype deep learning accelerator core from IBM's projects and contribute to material development, process modeling, and assembly methods for semiconductor packaging.

The agreement includes critical activities such as reliability testing, performance simulation, and hardware validation to ensure effective outcomes.

Jeff Burns, Director of the IBM Research AI Hardware Center, emphasized the importance of this collaboration in enhancing AI hardware performance and efficiency.

Kazuhiro Kariya, Zuken’s Senior Managing Executive Officer and CTO, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, highlighting Zuken's system-level design platform as crucial for innovation in 3DIC design.

The IBM Research AI Hardware Center focuses on developing next-generation chips and systems, particularly in advanced semiconductor packaging, to enhance AI processing power and speed.

Zuken views 3DIC packaging design as vital for future technological advancements and remains committed to investing in research and development in this area.