Dr. Ashok MUTHUKUMARAN

Dr. Ashok Muthukumaran is a semiconductor technology leader with over 20 years of experience in advanced process development across the U.S. and Singapore. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from The University of Arizona and began his career at Intel Corporation (Oregon), where he led the CMP team for 65nm to 14nm node process development. He later served as Technology Development Director for 3D NAND at Micron Technology (Singapore), driving an unprecedented “3 peat” in technology leadership and delivering the industry’s first Gen 7, Gen 8, and Gen 9 nodes. 

He is currently Senior Director of Advanced Packaging and Head of Integration at Applied Materials, focusing on next generation heterogeneous integration and strategic customer technology enablement. Dr. Ashok has authored over 100 publications and patents and is the recipient of multiple recognitions, including the Micron Innovation Award, Micron CEO Challenge Award, Intel Awards, NACE Award, and SRC Award.

Presentation Title

Heterogeneous Integration: The New Scaling Engine for AI

As AI enters its largest computing era, system performance is increasingly limited by interconnect energy and data movement rather than transistor scaling. This invited talk presents heterogeneous integration as the new scaling engine for AI, emphasizing how shorter interconnects, higher I/O density, and lower energy per bit enable continued system level performance gains. The presentation focuses on vertical interconnect scaling enabled by fine pitch hybrid bonding and die to wafer (D2W) integration. It highlights how shrinking D2W pitch demands integration level co optimization to reduce defects, improve overlay accuracy, and manage stress. Reconstituted D2W integration is introduced as a key manufacturability enabler for advanced AI systems.

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