韩媒称三星电机与LG Innotek正推进Intel EMIB-T封装基板送样，挑战揖斐电（Ibiden）——仍处样品测试阶段，无订单、无收入

Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek push to commercialize substrates for Intel's 'EMIB-T', challenging Japan's Ibiden

Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek are pursuing the supply of high value added semiconductor substrates for Intel's Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB). EMIB is an advanced packaging technology whose demand has recently been growing in the high performance artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market. Japan's Ibiden is the leading company in this field.

According to industry sources on the 9th, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek are developing and testing products with the goal of entering the package substrate supply chain for Intel's EMIB-T.

Intel's EMIB-T gains traction in the AI chip market, drawing interest from Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek

EMIB is an advanced packaging method that has recently been drawing attention in the AI semiconductor industry. Currently, the industry inserts a thin layer called a silicon interposer to connect high bandwidth memory (HBM) and system semiconductors into a single package. Using an interposer allows the circuits of each chip to be connected more densely. This is commonly referred to as '2.5D packaging'.

EMIB connects chips to one another using small silicon bridges instead of an interposer. It is a technology that places silicon bridges only where they are needed. It is more cost efficient than an interposer. Another advantage is that chips can be placed with more flexibility.

Because Intel had previously used EMIB only for manufacturing its own chips, market demand was limited. However, with Intel recently developing an improved version called 'EMIB-T', external sales are now expanding in earnest. Google will also apply EMIB-T for the first time in its next generation AI accelerator (TPU), scheduled for release in the second half of next year.

EMIB-T is a technology that inserts through-silicon vias (TSVs), which serve as power delivery pathways, into the silicon bridge. By shortening the power delivery path between the substrate and the chip through TSVs, it improves power efficiency and signal integrity.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek have also taken note of the growth of EMIB-T and are attempting to enter the supply chain for its dedicated package substrates. The product embeds a silicon bridge into a flip chip ball grid array (FC-BGA), the existing package substrate for high performance semiconductors, making it technically demanding.

In the case of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, the company is developing the substrate under the concept of a 2.1D package substrate. A person familiar with the matter said, "Samsung Electro-Mechanics has been developing substrate samples for EMIB for several years, and following the recent trend toward EMIB-T commercialization, it is actively pushing to enter the supply chain."

LG Innotek recently sent package substrates for EMIB-T to SK hynix, which is conducting sample tests. LG Innotek and SK hynix are reportedly mounting HBM on the substrate and evaluating the product's characteristics.

Challenging FC-BGA leader Ibiden of Japan, but large scale investment is a burden

Entering the package substrate supply chain for Intel's EMIB-T is one of the key tasks for Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek in expanding their high value added FC-BGA businesses, which is their goal.

Currently, package substrates for EMIB-T are supplied by four companies: Ibiden and Shinko Electric of Japan, Unimicron of Taiwan, and AT&S of Austria.

Ibiden is the number one company in the FC-BGA industry. It has built a solid cooperative relationship with Intel. In the first half of this year, it decided to begin construction of a mass production line dedicated to substrates for Intel's EMIB-T, utilizing an existing idle fab. The investment is approximately 2 trillion won. It is reported to have received advance payments from Big Tech companies including Google, Amazon, and Intel.

As latecomers to the relevant supply chain, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek are expected to have to overcome technological and market challenges in order to commercialize substrates for EMIB-T.

An industry official in the substrate sector explained, "Ibiden, Unimicron, and others have built stable technological capabilities and production capacity by mass producing substrates for Intel's EMIB for seven to eight years," adding, "It is true that business opportunities are expanding with EMIB-T, but domestic companies face the risk of having to make large scale investments first."