Multiple large factories plan to introduce advanced substrate technology, with glass substrates being mass-produced as early as 2026

With the rapid development of the semiconductor industry, especially in the context of the rising demand for computing power driven by the rise of artificial intelligence, competition in the field of chip manufacturing has become increasingly fierce. Every aspect of advanced chip manufacturing, such as design, manufacturing, and packaging testing, may become the winner, becoming a highland for competing in the competitiveness of advanced chips.

The competition in the field of advanced chips is also playing a role in the subdivision of semiconductor substrates, and glass substrates are now the forefront hot spot of semiconductor substrate materials. Previously, analysts from KB Securities, a South Korean analysis firm, stated that by 2030, existing organic substrates will be unable to meet the data throughput requirements of AI chips using advanced packaging.

The excellent mechanical, physical, and optical properties of glass substrates have become the most concerned alternative materials for organic substrates. This year, several well-known manufacturers in the industry chain have reported the introduction of glass substrate technology.

Multiple large factories have decided to introduce glass substrate technology, competing in the race
At the end of last month, according to Digitimes citing supply chain sources, Apple was actively discussing with multiple suppliers the strategy of applying glass substrate technology to chip development. It is expected that in the future, Apple will use glass substrates to bring new breakthroughs in improving chip performance.

The packaging substrate has always been an important component of the chip packaging field. The substrate needs to provide protection and support for the chip, which is not only the main way for the chip to dissipate heat to the outside world, but also an important carrier for current and signal transmission between the chip and the outside world. Organic substrates, ceramic substrates, and silicon substrates are currently several commonly used types of substrates in the semiconductor industry. The substrate made of organic materials has the advantages of low cost, easy processing, and light weight, making it currently the substrate with the highest market share.

However, the current heat dissipation performance of substrate materials is not as ideal, and the heat generated during chip operation can lead to a decrease in its performance. This means that the chip can only maintain its maximum performance for a short period of time, and once the temperature is too high, it has to operate at a reduced frequency. In today's rapidly growing demand for computing power, computing power is an irreplaceable advanced productivity and the fundamental support for the implementation of AI technology.

With the increasing demand for data throughput in AI chips, it is necessary to maximize the number of transistors in semiconductor packaging, while also having the advantages of lower energy consumption, better performance, and higher heat dissipation efficiency.

Traditional substrates are becoming increasingly weak in supporting advanced process AI chips. While traditional material substrates cannot further improve transistor density, they also face the problem of easy shrinkage and deformation. At the same time, power consumption may reach several kilowatts. Traditional material substrates as interconnect materials have begun to be weak. So some analysts believe that by 2030, existing organic substrates will be unable to meet the data throughput requirements of AI chips using advanced packaging.

The glass substrate used for the next generation of advanced packaging has become the driving force for the data-centric application of Moore's Law and the most concerning choice for providing reliable substrates for advanced chips in the computing power era. Glass, as an inorganic non-metallic material, has the characteristics of high hardness, high melting point, and good thermal conductivity, which are the basis for becoming an ideal chip substrate material.

Meanwhile, glass substrates have good surface smoothness and dimensional stability, which can effectively reduce the impact of thermal stress. Moreover, the glass substrate performs better in terms of light transmittance. According to Intel's previously released data on glass substrates, using glass substrates can improve the power supply efficiency of chips, increase interconnect density by 10 times compared to organic materials, and nearly double the bandwidth to 448G.

Benefiting from the increase in interconnect density, high-density and high-performance AI chips for data intensive applications will undoubtedly be the first to benefit from this technology.

The enormous potential of glass substrates has attracted many manufacturers. Earlier this month, according to South Korean media ETNews, AMD is conducting performance evaluation tests on glass substrate samples from several major semiconductor substrate companies worldwide, and plans to introduce this advanced substrate technology into HPC applications such as artificial intelligence.

This test of multiple enterprise samples is seen as a sign that AMD has officially confirmed the introduction of this technology and is preparing to establish a mature mass production system. The industry predicts that AMD will introduce glass substrates into its products as early as 2025-2026.

The first year of mass production is approaching, and we are intensifying our preparations for the glass substrate race
In the dilemma of approaching the physical limit of miniaturization at process nodes, the industry regards new materials such as glass substrates as the key to breaking through Moore's Law bottleneck and maintaining chip performance growth. As an important and highly anticipated technology, the glass substrate track has attracted numerous global giants to layout and increase their investment.

According to South Korean media reports, Samsung Electromechanical Company has partnered with major electronic subsidiaries such as Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display to establish a joint research and development united front, developing glass substrates. The goal is to start large-scale production in 2026, with the intention of achieving commercialization faster than Intel. At CES 2024, Samsung Electric also stated that it will establish a glass substrate prototype production line this year, with a goal of producing prototypes by 2025 and achieving mass production as early as 2026.

Intel has been laying out in the glass substrate market for a long time and has been steadily promoting the development of glass substrate technology. Last year, Intel showcased the "industry's first" glass substrate for next-generation advanced packaging. According to Intel's roadmap at the time, it was planned to increase the maximum number of transistors in a single packaging chip to 1 trillion by 2030 using glass substrates, without giving the manufacturer an expected timeline.

At the recent Intel OEM business webinar, Intel provided a more specific timeline for the application of glass substrates, stating that "the application of this technology is expected to begin in 2027", without mentioning the words "mass production", and the given application timeline is also relatively conservative.

With more and more competitors entering the market, although the information provided is relatively conservative, Intel's technological accumulation on glass substrates is beyond doubt, and the production time will definitely not fall behind.

SK chip packaging subsidiary Absolics has also laid out the glass substrate track for a long time. In the past two years, Absolics has been building factories to expand glass substrate production capacity, and the current progress is small-scale production. Previously, there were reports that Absolute plans to start mass production this year, and there may be more news of mass production in the second half of the year.

LG Innotek, a subsidiary of LG that received investment from Apple, also announced its entry into the semiconductor glass substrate market this year. LG Innotek's CEO stated that they will develop their semiconductor substrate and electronic system component businesses to become the top players. At the same time, he also revealed that LG Innotek's main customer for semiconductor substrates is a large semiconductor company in the United States.

DNP Japan is also accelerating its research and development process, and has currently developed glass substrates that focus on next-generation semiconductor packaging. The production target is set for 2027. Ibiden Japan is also laying out the glass substrate track, but is currently in the exploration stage of glass core substrate technology for semiconductor packaging.

For the semiconductor industry, glass substrates are an important technology for the next generation of advanced chip manufacturing. Based on the timeline given by various companies, glass substrates will be truly applied as early as 2026 to change the chip manufacturing landscape. The first year of mass production is approaching, and many players are also increasing their preparations for the glass substrate track.

The glass substrate technology is getting closer to mass production, and it is worth looking forward to the improvements it can bring to advanced packaged AI chips. It can also be expected that after the mass production of glass substrates, it is necessary to continuously improve the relevant packaging technology combination, and at the same time, it will take a lot of time to verify the cost and yield in order to be more competitive in the commercial market.