3D printed integrated circuits

What's Possible Now and in the Future?

Ziv Cohen

Application Manager, Nano Dimension

The semiconductor industry gets a lot of attention—and for good reason. Integrated circuits make technology possible, and these devices are built on the back of semiconductors.

Semiconductor manufacturing processes have come a long way since Robert Noyce invented the integrated circuit in 1959. With the rise of Industry 4.0 and the wide array of additive manufacturing processes, one naturally wonders whether the electronics industry will advance to 3D printing integrated circuits at full scale.

In this discussion, the question naturally arises: Why use additive manufacturing processes to produce integrated circuits? 3D printing is already being used to produce fully-functional PCBs with unique geometry, interconnect architecture, and various levels of component embedding. The ability to 3D print integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices directly into a PCB allows low-volume fabrication of highly specialized devices with unique form factor and capabilities.

IC dies on a silicon wafer 

The Current State of 3D Printing Integrated Circuits

Silicon, III-V, and II-VI semiconductor manufacturing processes are highly advanced and are used to produce integrated circuits with less than 10 nm gate sizes. Currently, the most advanced 3D printing processes provide near micron-level resolution and co-deposition of multiple materials. 

Co-deposition is critical for 3D printing integrated circuits because conductors and semiconducting materials must be printed simultaneously. The resolution of the most advanced 3D printing systems must still improve before VLSI is possible. In addition to improving device performance, miniaturization will provide much lower power consumption for switching logic gates.

As an example of what is currently possible with 3D printing integrated circuits, researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory and American Semiconductor recently 3D printed microcontroller SoCs from polymers on a flexible silicon substrate. These microcontroller units offer 7000x memory compared to other flexible integrated circuits at the time. Some envisioned applications include environmental or strain sensing, as well as munitions inventory monitoring.

A flexible microcontroller integrated circuit. This circuit was fabricated using polymers on silicon.

Currently, thin-film transistors (TFTs), diodes, LEDs, can be 3D printed from organic polymers with commercially available and experimental systems. The 3D-printed TFTs can have various contact/gate configurations and can easily be scaled horizontally and vertically. Polymers can be easily doped and functionalized, allowing their electronic and optical properties to be tuned to meet the demands of different devices.

Using polymers on a semiconductor wafer is a natural route to pursue 3D printing integrated circuits. Electrical contacts can already be deposited in an additive manner through a mask (i.e., thermal evaporation, PVD, or CVD), followed by deposition of semiconducting polymers and larger conductive tracks with a 3D printer. Their adaptability to low-temperature processes also makes them ideal for 3D printing integrated circuits directly on standard semiconductor wafers.

Other researchers are working on advancing additive manufacturing processes and materials to enable 3D printing integrated circuits. As an example, the University of Hamburg and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron developed a 3D printing process that can enable the fabrication of integrated circuits. This process uses a mesh of ~20 nm silver nanowires as conductive elements and a thin film of polymer as an insulator or semiconducting material. This process is still in the research phase, but it illustrates how unique nanostructures can be used to fabricate semiconductor devices that rival silicon integrated circuits.

The Economics of 3D Printing Integrated Circuits

In any manufacturing process, the cost structure involved in manufacturing is an important driver of the price of a finished device. Integrated circuits succeed or fail based on the cost of the die on the wafer—when more dies can be placed on a single wafer, the costs per device decreases. The cost structure of integrated circuit manufacturing is responsible for the high costs of highly specialized, low-volume integrated circuits. An excellent example can be found in the defense industry, where the cost of a single FPGA for a complex system can reach tens of thousands of dollars.

The unique cost structure of 3D printed devices changes this economic dynamic. 3D printed integrated circuits do not need to be produced on a wafer and can even be manufactured individually. Because 3D printed devices can be produced with predictable fabrication time, and the cost structure is complexity agnostic, the costs involved in 3D printing electronics depends on the weight of the materials used. This makes 3D-printed integrated circuits highly cost competitive for low-volume production compared to devices produced on semiconductor wafers with standard processes.

Challenges in 3D Printing Integrated Circuits

Commercially available printers are becoming more advanced, and the range of materials useful with these systems is expanding. That being said, there are still some challenges in 3D printing integrated circuits with the same level of performance as integrated circuits on monolithic circuits. These challenges involve finding rigid semiconducting materials that can be adapted to a standard 3D printing process, optimizing these materials for different frequency bands, and bringing printing resolution closer to the nanometer level.

A lithographic process may aid in 3D printing integrated circuits with less than one-micron resolution.

The fact losses and parasitics can be optimized in a variety of polymers for specific frequency bands allows these materials to compete with GaN, which is currently the best option for fabricating RF integrated circuits and SoCs. GaN is currently used in the best SoCs for high-frequency radar modules, as well as in power amplifiers for microwave and mmWave signal chains. Polymers are already used to 3D print substrates for building flexible and nonplanar PCBs, so it is natural to extend these materials to integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices.

To increase the printing resolution, the additive manufacturing industry may need to devise a completely new printing process. Currently, inkjet 3D printing provides among the highest resolution features for 3D printing PCBs, but it remains to be seen if this process can be improved to provide resolution less than 1 micron.The future of 3D printing integrated circuits will likely adapt a photolithography process or functional self-assembly process to produce integrated circuits with competitive resolution.

Innovative companies that are interested in 3D printing integrated circuits and fully-functional PCBs need an additive manufacturing system designed for full-scale production of complex electronics. The DragonFly LDM system from Nano Dimension is ideal for in-house full-scale PCB fabrication of complex electronics with a planar or non-planar architecture. Designers can embed standard components and can experiment with 3D-printed integrated circuits. Read a case study or contact us today to learn more about the DragonFly LDM system.

3d printing | 3D printing applications

Ziv Cohen

Application Manager, Nano Dimension

Ziv Cohen has both an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in physics and engineering from Ben Gurion University, as well as more than 20 years of experience in increasingly responsible roles within R&D. In his latest position, he was part of Mantis Vision team—offering advanced 3D Content Capture and Sharing technologies for 3D platforms. The experience that he brings with him is extensive and varied in fields such as satellites, 3D, electronic engineering, and cellular communications. As our Application Manager, he’ll be ensuring the objectives of our customers and creating new technology to prototype and manufacture your PCBs.

3D Printed IC to Reshape the Semiconductor Industry

As the size of microchip packages shrinks, semiconductor manufacturers are under pressure to improve lithography capabilities. For more than two decades, researchers have been working on 3D printed integrated circuits. Earlier attempts at 3D printing electronics used the proper technique but failed to reach the required levels of conductivity for a PCB, leaving complicated electrical circuits unusable. Over time though, these printing tools have gradually improved feature size resolution, yield, and variability in production.

● A broad variety of materials may be used to produce an assortment of printed electronics, including conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, resistors, and other components.
● As has been the case in other areas, additive manufacturing is expected to result in more innovative products, lower costs, and faster production runs.
● 3D printing integrated circuits with the same degree of performance as those on monolithic circuits still poses the challenges.

Additive Manufacturing Electronics (AME)

The maturation of 3D printing technologies, and more specifically, the development of additive manufacturing electronics (AME) has become a highly noteworthy technology for the production of electronics components. 3D printing in the semiconductor industry is becoming more appealing as a result of increased focus brought on by shortages and funding initiatives from governments around the world in the last few years.

A broad variety of materials may be used to produce an assortment of printed electronics, including conductors, semiconductors, dielectrics, resistors, and other components. Electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, antennas, sensors, and thin film transistors may be made using this method.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are currently the most fully developed. Over the last several years, both of these technologies have shown consistent improvements in performance and cost reduction.

An evaluation of AME

As part of good business practice, there must be a complete understanding of the risks and rewards that a new process introduces, along with an honest evaluation of how it compares with existing practice. Regardless of whether it is additive or subtractive manufacturing, each new layer adds complexity and cost to standard IC and PCB production, limiting the number of layers that may be used.

Advantages of AME

New materials for new methods

Unlike traditional manufacturing processes (i.e. subtractive manufacturing) where material loss is unavoidable, 3D printing has allowed manufacturers to reduce or even eliminate waste output that is generated during production. There may be less waste compared to other manufacturing techniques and that waste must be managed with even greater care.

Future applications still have a lot of potential. The materials and techniques used in 3D printing offer a number of distinct advantages: Polymers bond well with semiconductor wafers and can withstand temperature changes of both hot and cold. These polymers are also less susceptible to breakage.

Better tooling for manufacturing

Despite the efficiency of 3D printing, it’s evident that traditional PCBs and ICs, as well as the tools required to manufacture them, will be a mainstay. However, 3D printing is becoming more and more significant in this area as well.

Transporting PCBs through the manufacturing process necessitates board-specific pallets and trays, as well as an assortment of jigs, fixtures, racks, and guides. The benefits that 3D printing provides here is obvious (i.e. unique designs printed as needed and in the moment), especially for unique product runs.

It is already feasible to print unique, reusable masks from electronics-friendly materials like ESD [electrostatic discharge]-safe TPU that have a much longer life than the tape that is traditionally used for masking while also saving the time that used to take to apply tape.

In production lines, agile tooling usually introduces additive manufacturing to the production cycle. It optimizes the tooling production, therefore reinforcing traditional manufacturing processes. In fact, tooling may be the most important application of additive manufacturing to the manufacture of integrated circuits.

What kinds of circuits can be 3D printed?

To 3D print PCBs, packaging, hybrid electronics, antennas, photovoltaics, RFIDs, and passives, a multi-layer, multi-material process that employs specialized materials (such as silver conductive inks and dielectric insulating inks) is already available.

Polymer interposers with slanted and curved vias have been 3D-printed in laboratories using ceramic and polymer materials. The vias are then metallized to connect various devices and ICs electrically. The process allows for intricate routing due to a 2-micron resolution and sizes of less than 10 microns.

Sensing devices, FETs, microbatteries, inductors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, and RF circuits can also be produced by 3D printing. FETs are the most active components 3D printed to date but they are still large and slow compared to those manufactured using traditional methods.

Currently, only micron-level resolutions are currently possible with 3D printing. The 3D printing technique for integrated circuits also relies on the co-deposition of materials, which is unquestionably a technological difficulty and adds to the production process’s complexity.

What does 3D printing mean to the electronics industry?

Ford, Nissan, and Toyota all declared production cuts owing to a scarcity of microprocessors. Gaming console makers Sony and Microsoft have also experienced stock shortages. It can be safely assumed that once the shortages are resolved, additional emphasis and money will likely result in 3D printing breakthroughs.

Manufacturers in other sectors that have adopted 3D printing into their workflow no longer need to spend time building up tooling for new components or creating molds. It simply becomes a matter of gathering the materials, setting up the 3D printer, and loading the design files.

Electronics manufacturers can reap the same benefits from 3D printing in a variety of ways, including less waste, cheaper production costs, faster prototyping, and faster time to market. But admittedly, 3D printing integrated circuits with the same degree of performance as those on monolithic circuits still poses the already mentioned obstacles.

Finding reliable semiconducting materials that can be applied to a normal 3D printing technique, adapting these materials for the intended purpose, and improving printing resolution down to the nanoscale level are the most obvious challenges.

The future demands flexibility from the semiconductor industry

Electronics manufacturers can now turn to additive manufacturing with the prospect of enhancing throughput and bringing new products to market quicker as they face increasing pressure to reduce product cycle times, satisfy new consumer expectations, and manage more turbulent market circumstances.

There are dozens of other uses in the industrial chain outside 3D printing integrated circuits, such as polishing, light sources and etching, sorting, and other tools. 3D printing allows semiconductor equipment makers to reassess and broaden the scope of what is feasible. 3D printing has a huge potential to help overcome the semiconductor scarcity and reinforce supply chains.

But when it comes fast ramping up production, traditional manufacturing methods have several constraints. 3D printing integrated circuits eliminates these constraints, allowing for greater design freedom and a smooth transition from prototyping to low-volume manufacture of custom products. Before the technology of 3D printed ICs matures, you can always visit TECHDesign for electronic components! Original manufacturers on our platform deliver their components and modules right to your doorstep to ensure product authenticity and quality!

Tags: 3D printing electronic component electronics industry eMarket manufacturing semiconductor

3D microprinting on a chip for photonic and mems systems

Nanoscribe's high resolution 3D printers are capable of printing and integrating microscopic components directly into integrated circuits, such as microlenses in optical circuits and deformable structures on MEMS actuators.

3D microstructure printed on a MEMS component (Image by Rachael Jayne & Alice White, Boston U.) such as Nanoscribe's direct laser technology. Currently, the production of the photonic circuits and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) required for these applications requires different fabrication methods and multiple process steps to combine different components on a single microchip. Now, high-resolution Nanoscribe 3D printers are able to print and integrate microscopic components directly into integrated circuits, such as microlenses in optical circuits and deformable structures on MEMS actuators.
This innovative technique can print the smallest objects with complex geometries ranging from hundreds of nanometers to a few millimeters. They are produced in a single printing step and at a scale that was previously unavailable for 3D printing. This major update to inline printing opens up new vistas for creating nano- and microscale 3D components on site, where needed.