UCSB launches packaging prototyping hub
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) has launched Protofab, an open-access prototyping facility designed to help researchers, startups and companies overcome the packaging bottleneck between chip fabrication and functional prototypes.
Located at the OASIS research and development hub in Goleta, California, the 4,000-square-foot facility provides access to semiconductor packaging equipment including automated wire bonding, plasma cleaning, epoxy dispense and cure, and 3D package inspection.
Protofab is connected to UCSB’s Nanofabrication Facility, allowing researchers to move from chip fabrication into packaging and advanced integration. The facility includes a Class 10,000 modular cleanroom and equipment for optical inspection and characterisation of micro- and optoelectronic devices.
Further capabilities planned for the facility include a high-precision die bonder capable of sub-micron placement and an automated system for fiber alignment, bonding and testing of photonic integrated circuits (PICs).
UCSB also plans to install a two-photon photolithography system for producing photonic wirebonds and optical microlenses for packaging. The system was supported by a $1.15 million National Science Foundation grant.
The facility is intended to give researchers and smaller companies greater control over packaging and integration, reducing reliance on external packaging providers and helping accelerate the transition from experimental chips to testable products.
The initiative highlights the growing importance of accessible advanced packaging and photonics packaging infrastructure as emerging semiconductor and photonic technologies move from research toward commercialisation.
