Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Skytech Inc (天虹科技) yesterday said it expects to outpace its rivals in a major chip packaging technology shift by delivering in November its first equipment for commercializing fan-out panel-level packaging (PLP) technology .
That would put Skytech ahead of its rivals by about two quarters in supplying physical vapor deposition (PVD) used in PLP technology — also called chip-on-panel-on-substrate (CoPoS).
Most semiconductor equipment makers are expected to ship similar equipment from the second quarter next year, the company said.
Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei Times
Skytech said it expects to ship two more PVDs before the end of this year.
The equipment, which costs up to US$4 million each, is to be showcased at the annual Semicon trade show in Taipei next week.
“One of our winning strategies is ‘speed’ against bigger global rivals,” Skytech CEO George Yi (易錦良) said at the company’s factory in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口).
“Leveraging the strength of Taiwan’s major semiconductor companies, we are able to swiftly respond to their needs and roll out new products faster,” Yi said.
The PLP, or CoPoS, technology is widely expected to be a successor to chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) technology, which is currently used in packaging Nvidia Corp’s artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
The major technology shift would replace 300mm round wafer carriers with 310mmx310mm square panel carriers, addressing constraints on usable areas and capacity, the company said.
“Adopting panel-level substrates is the trend, as AI chips are getting bigger and bigger,” Yi said. “A panel-level substrate can produce nine AI chips, which is about 2.25 times more than four chips cut from a 12-inch [round] wafer.”
Skytech is also making inroads into the semiconductor inspection segment by supplying tools for inspecting pellicles used in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) tools.
EUV tools are utilized by chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to produce cutting-edge 3 or 4-nanometer chips.
Skytech plans to introduce an upgraded version of its EUV pellicle inspection equipment in the first quarter of next year. If the development goes smoothly, Skytech is likely to become the second supplier of EUV pellicle inspection tools in the world after EUV Tech Inc based in Martinez, California, the US.
The firm has a broad customer base that includes TSMC and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester.
Skytech’s net profit in the first half of the year plummeted about 62 percent from a year earlier to NT$68.11 million (US$2.22 million), mainly due to foreign exchange losses. Earnings per share fell to NT$1.01 from NT$2.64.
The company still aimed to grow its bottom line for the full year of this year, compared with NT$407 million last year. Revenue would also rise from last year’s NT$2.59 billion, on the back of robust demand from chip packagers and testers, it said.
Revenue slid slightly to NT$974 million during the same period, from NT$1 billion a year earlier. Semiconductor equipment made up about 50 percent of its total revenue, with the other half coming from chip equipment components.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS