Glass substrates have become a hot topic in the semiconductor market as new reports reveal that TSMC and Intel are aggressively looking to expand their research and development activities, and that NVIDIA is also prioritizing the use of the technology in its future chips.
NVIDIA also plans to use glass substrate technology for future chips as mainstream chipmakers enter the “glass substrate” race and Taiwanese suppliers fuel the frenzy
As the AI market expands rapidly, the need for innovative technologies has increased significantly, especially to continue the generational performance upgrade process. While companies such as NVIDIA have leveraged technologies such as architectural advancements, modern hardware, especially accelerators, are built with far more components, a key one of which is packaging technology. The industry believes that glass substrates are the way forward from traditional CoWoS packaging.
According to a DigiTimes report, TSMC, Intel, Samsung Electronics, and Huawei are all investing heavily in the research and development process of glass substrates to achieve breakthroughs, but there is still a long way to go as the methods are immature. Interestingly, the company leading the way is none other than Intel, whose Team Blue has been announcing plans for glass substrates for over a decade and is said to have the mass production capabilities, putting them ahead of all other companies in the race.
Separately, TSMC is said to be developing glass substrates for future FOPLP packaging in response to NVIDIA’s demand, and the technology is said to use mainly glass substrates and bring many advantages, especially in terms of increased die size and transistor area ratio. Given TSMC’s proficiency in this particular field, the “timing advantage” given to Intel will not have a significant impact on the Taiwanese giant, as it has the trust of mainstream clients in the market.
Interestingly, the report claims that many Taiwanese manufacturers see glass substrates as an “investment in the future”, which is why companies like Titanium have partnered up to bring all glass substrate equipment manufacturers under one roof. This new partnership is called “E Core”.
As the AI hype moves to the next step, it’s clear that glass substrates will play a big role in the future. As for when glass substrates will hit the market, previous reports have revealed that major manufacturers are targeting 2025-2026 as the time frame for bringing solutions to market, with Intel and TSMC at the forefront.
