# Unpacking Semiconductor Packaging: Insights with Jan Vardaman

- Show: [OnTrack](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack)
- Published: 2024-04-23
- Length: 30m
- Episode: 263
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman
- Listen: https://podcast.altium.com/e/unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman/

## Summary

Jan Vardaman, president and founder of TechSearch International, explains that advanced semiconductor packaging and substrate manufacturing are concentrated in Asia, with high-end operations in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, while the U.S. lacks comparable scale. She details the challenges of the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), noting that establishing a viable U.S. supply chain requires significant investment in clean rooms, metrology, and workforce development to achieve the high yields necessary for economic viability. Vardaman argues that policy efforts must focus on creating a complete ecosystem—including substrate fabrication and assembly—rather than just semiconductor fabs, and emphasizes the need for customer buy-in and small business innovation to drive commercial-scale production.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=0) Introduction: Jan Vardaman and TechSearch International
- [1:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=117) TechSearch International's 2021 IPC Report Findings
- [4:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=242) Global Distribution of Substrate Fabrication and Assembly
- [7:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=441) Workforce Development and Labor Challenges
- [9:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=560) NAPMP Notice of Funding Opportunity and PCB Manufacturer Transition
- [12:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=753) Disconnect Between Policy, China Narratives, and Industry Reality
- [16:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=988) NAPMP Goals: From Research to Commercial Production
- [21:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=1303) Advanced Packaging Technologies: 3D Stacking and InFO
- [24:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=1454) European Chips Act and Substrate Focus
- [29:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman#t=1758) Ecosystem Investment and Small Business Role

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- TechSearch International (company)
- IPC (company)
- National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (other)
- TSMC (company)
- Apple (company)
- Skywater (company)
- Arizona State University (other)
- CEA Leti (other)
- IBM (company)
- Amkor (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [State of the Industry: Semiconductor Insiders Discuss the Ambitions and Realities of the CHIPS Act](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2024-03-12-state-of-the-industry-semiconductor-insiders-discuss-the-ambitions-and-realities) (Moore's Lobby)
- [Episode 29: The Myth of Semiconductor Industry Deglobization](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-08-15-episode-29-the-myth-of-semiconductor-industry-deglobization) (The Circuit)
- [Episode 124: The State of The Japanese Semiconductor Industry](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-07-01-episode-124-the-state-of-the-japanese-semiconductor-industry) (The Circuit)
- [The CHIP Act’s Blind Spot | A Lifeline for Intel | I Just Saw a Face](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2020-07-31-the-chip-acts-blind-spot-a-lifeline-for-intel-i-just-saw-a-face) (EE Times Current)
- [Episode 3: Moore's Law and Process vs. Packaging](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2023-01-16-episode-3-moores-law-and-process-vs-packaging) (The Circuit)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-04-23-unpacking-semiconductor-packaging-insights-with-jan-vardaman. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to OnTrack.