Can the U.S. Overtake China in Advanced Packaging of Semiconductors?

The U.S. is moving to constrain China’s high-tech progress by focusing on the process of packaging semiconductors as part of the U.S. plan to be self-sufficient in the semiconductor sector.  Packaging semiconductors is a process that encases chips in materials that both protect them and connect them to the electronic device they are a part of. China is also attempting to capitalize on the advanced packaging process, which isn’t subject to U.S. sanctions.

Packaging semiconductors previously was not a U.S. priority and was usually outsourced, mainly to Asia. According to Intel Corp, the U.S. accounts for just 3% of the world’s packaging capacity.  Technology analyst Tirias Research said, “Packaging is the new pillar of innovation for the semiconductor industry.”  China, which doesn’t yet have state-of-the-art semiconductor packaging capabilities, has the chance to ramp up its capabilities since packaging is not restricted by the U.S. government and “could help them to bridge the gap.”