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Ho Chi Minh City Opens Shared Semiconductor Packaging Lab

Chips1 min read

Ho Chi Minh City has opened a shared lab for chip packaging and testing. Schools, research institutes and companies can use it to practice on real semiconductor equipment.

A shared chip lab opens in Ho Chi Minh City

The SHTP ATP Lab is in the Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park. It was opened on October 23 and is run by the park's Training Center, with Ho Chi Minh City College of Science and Technology and other expert partners. Students, teachers, engineers and technicians can all use the lab. It was opened as part of the park's 24th anniversary, which falls on October 24. The lab uses 13 machine modules for chip packaging and testing that Intel Products Vietnam (IPV) gave to the park.

Key facts

  • 13 machine modules were donated by Intel Products Vietnam (IPV).
  • The packaging line has 10 automated machines.
  • The clean room is rated ISO 8.
  • The lab has an Advantest T2000 automatic tester with a Delta Pyramid 6200 handler.
  • The lab opened on October 23, and IPV handed over the equipment in May.

What the lab can teach

The lab has a full packaging line for FCBGA chips (Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array). A chip goes through many steps, from loading trays and attaching the chip to heating to form solder joints, then inspection and sorting. An optical checker uses computer vision to find cracks, solder faults and surface marks. The lab is meant to be a shared space where training, research and company projects happen together.

Why it matters

The lab helps close the gap between what students learn in class and what factories need. Its director, Nguyen Ky Phung, said it will help build a more complete training system for chip design, production, packaging and testing in southern Vietnam. Strategic partners already include Becamex, VinaCapital, VSAP LAB and a local university.

What to watch

  • How many schools and companies sign up to use the shared lab.
  • Whether training modules are added to university courses.
  • Which short courses and teacher training programs start first.
  • What research projects come out of the lab.

Glossary

SHTP ATP Lab
A shared chip packaging and testing practice lab in the Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park.
Intel Products Vietnam (IPV)
The Vietnamese arm of Intel, which donated chip equipment to the lab.
FCBGA
Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array, a way of packaging a chip so it connects to a board through small solder balls.
ISO 8
A clean-room standard that limits how many dust particles are allowed in the air.
Advantest T2000
An automatic machine that tests the electrical features of chips.

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