Advanced Packaging: The "battle for turnaround" of packaging

Packaging refers to the packaging of integrated circuit chips or other semiconductor devices in a protective housing, such housing can achieve mechanical support, electrical connection and environmental protection. As the size of the chip becomes smaller and smaller to the direction of refinement, packaging technology also ushered in iterative upgrades. No one expected that this sealed test link, which has the lowest added value in the previous semiconductor industry chain, would usher in a highlight moment again.

The current advanced packaging presents the characteristics of "miniaturization, thin and light, narrow pitch, high integration", and is developing towards the goal of "higher efficiency, lower cost, and better performance". At the same time as the accelerated development of emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and automotive electronics, the market demand for advanced packaging is also rising.

Packaging from traditional to advanced: increased value is not only added

Design, manufacturing, packaging is the three cornerstones to support the development of the integrated circuit industry, and packaging as the back-end of the integrated circuit industry, related to the subsequent application of chips. With the continuous improvement of chip performance and the continuous reduction of system size, packaging technology has also ushered in new developments.

From the historical development of packaging, packaging has roughly experienced four stages of development: the first stage, in-line packaging, mainly dual in-line packaging; In the second stage, the main packaging technology is small shape package derived from surface mount technology, J-type pin small shape package, pin-less chip carrier, flat square package and pin grid array technology. The third stage, the ball grid array, chip size package, flip chip package and other advanced packaging technology began to rise; In the fourth stage, from two-dimensional packaging to three-dimensional packaging development, the emergence of wafer-level packaging, system-level packaging, fan-out package, 2.5D/3.5D package, embedded multi-chip interconnection bridge and other advanced packaging technologies.

Traditional packages have large volume, low "core ratio", small number of pins, and single function, while advanced packages are thin and light, high density, low power consumption, and can also achieve functional integration. In other words, advanced packaging has unparalleled advantages over traditional packaging in terms of performance improvement, function expansion, form optimization, and cost control.

Of course, packaging technology innovation is also inseparable from the enterprise's technology research and development. Wafer foundries, integrated component manufacturers, factory-less semiconductor companies, and original equipment manufacturers are all vigorously developing advanced packaging and related key technologies. Especially driven by the development of AI, the market demand for high-performance computing chips and storage continues to rise, and advanced packaging has also entered the fast lane of development.

For example, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a giant wafer maker, has a good say. TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia has said, "AI chip advanced packaging demand continues to be strong, production capacity is in short supply, the shortage may continue to 2025, TSMC will continue to expand advanced packaging capacity in the next two years."

In chip production technology, TSMC has maintained a leading position in the industry for many years. In the improvement of packaging technology, TSMC is no less. So far, TSMC has launched chip packages on wafers on substrates, integrated fan-out packages, and system integration chips.

In short, the development of advanced packaging technology is a reshuffle for the packaging field. The rising market share of advanced packaging shows that the day when it exceeds traditional packaging technology is not too far away.

The only way to make integrated circuits in the future

It is obvious that advanced packaging technology, stimulated by AI and high-performance computing, has stood at the new port of integrated circuit development, and the market is also very optimistic about the future development of advanced packaging.

According to the data, advanced packaging capacity is expected to grow by 30% to 40% in 2024. According to YOLE data, the global advanced packaging market is expected to continue to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9% between 2022 and 2028. The global advanced packaging market is expected to grow from $42.9 billion in 2022 to $78.6 billion in 2028.

According to professional analysis, this year's packaging technology to FCBGA, FCCSP and 2.5D/3D packaging technology, of which 2.5D/3D packaging is the fastest growing. YOLE expects its market size to jump significantly from $9.4 billion in 2022 to $22.5 billion in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 15.6%.

In terms of packaging materials, the discussion of glass substrates remains high. Glass substrate refers to the replacement of organic materials in organic packaging with glass, which can achieve ultra-low flatness, improved lithographic focal depth, and good dimensional stability of the interconnect. The news that Intel, Samsung, AMD and other chip design and manufacturing and advanced packaging companies will replace PCB substrates with glass substrates is not empty.

In September 2023, Intel announced "a major breakthrough in the development of glass substrates for the next generation of advanced packaging." At the time, Intel said that glass substrates could lay the foundation for a staggering 1 trillion transistors on a single package within the next decade, and Intel also indicated that it would use glass substrates for advanced packaging later this decade.

Samsung sees glass substrates as the future of chip packaging. In January this year, Samsung announced its entry into the semiconductor glass substrate field at CES 2024, and plans to establish a pilot line in 2024, produce prototypes in 2025, and officially produce mass production in 2026.

In addition, the world's largest substrate supplier also announced in October last year that it intends to develop glass substrates as a new business. It can be seen that the glass substrate is indeed threatening, and a number of giants have planned the layout. Advanced packaging is the only way for the development of integrated circuits in the future, and the competition for advanced packaging has already begun, from technology to materials, everywhere.

Fountyl Technologies Pte Ltd., is focusing with 20 years of the semiconductor industry experience of advanced ceramic parts manufacturing in Singapore, main product is ring groove chuck, fully independent control of ceramic material sintering, precision processing, testing, and precision cleaning, with guaranteed delivery time. Products are exported to the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia , more than 20 countries and regions.