Despite continuous technical advances in the semiconductor industry, microchips are still composed of laterally-arranged (side-by-side) transistors on a silicon substrate. EUREKA project E! 2259 VSI developed new ways to break through this two dimensional approach and the restrictions it imposes by designing 3-D chips or Vertical System Integration (VSI).
This technology has immediate security benefits which are very desirable since chip cards often contain secure information or monetary values and, therefore, are subject to attack by hackers.
"With the new technology, the top sides of the chips are inside the 3-D stack and therefore not accessible to mechanical attacks, electrical probing or a lot of other physical attacks," says Wolfgang Gruber of Infineon Technologies AG, the German lead partner.
Infineon appreciates the co-operation a EUREKA project brings. "EUREKA helped us to find an equipment manufacturer with the necessary know how and skills that are only available in a few companies around the world," explains Gruber. "The EUREKA label is a quality label most people associate with a sophisticated research project of high quality ¿ a big advantage when it comes to convincing someone about your ideas!"
Increased flexibility
