Delivery of advanced microchip prototype set for April

A new, flexible silicon-on-polymer chip developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and American Semiconductor has a memory capability 7,000 times above the current slate of flexible, integrated circuits on the market. (US Air Force )

US semiconductor companies Intel and Qorvo are poised to deliver a critical microelectronics (ME) technology prototype to the US Department of Defense (DoD) by April for integration into military systems and platforms across the US armed forces.

Intel and Qorvo will transition their multichip packaging (MCP) prototype dubbed ‘Belmont Bay' to lead system integrator BAE Systems on 6 April, according to a 16 March statement by BAE Systems.Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu will oversee the prototype handover, the statement added.

The MCP prototype integration into Pentagon and service-led systems will be carried out under the Stimulating Transition for Advanced Microelectronics Packaging (STAMP) programme, led by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E).

Under STAMP, the MCP prototypes developed under the State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integrated Packaging (SHIP) project will be “aligned with an existing DoD Program Office” and allow the defence industrial base to “utilise SHIP devices and identify where MCPs can enable DoD modernisation”, according to OUSD R&E briefing slides.

The handover “marks a significant step forward in assuring DoD access to state-of-the-art microelectronics packaging and creating pathways to modernisation” for the Pentagon and service branches, company officials said in the statement.

Advanced MCP is the process of compiling disparate ME devices or subcomponents into a single electronic device – whether it be a semiconductor, microprocessor, or other types of ME platforms.