JWMT披露玻璃基板扩产规划，三星电子与三星电机已参股

ANSAN — Inside the No. 1 plant at JWMT, formerly Joongwoo M-Tech, in the Banwol National Industrial Complex in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, more than a dozen laser machines fired beams onto glass panels in plain view. This visit marked the first time JWMT, a well-known rising player in glass substrates, had opened its factory to the media.
The laser process is the first step in turning glass into a semiconductor substrate. Lasers are fired at the glass to alter its properties, after which the surface is etched with various chemicals and cleaned in repeated cycles. The result is a dense array of holes measuring less than 100 micrometers — about the thickness of a single strand of hair — that serve as channels for electrical current.
Glass substrates are seen as a game-changing product that could widen South Korea's already commanding lead in the semiconductor industry. More heat-resistant and less prone to warping than conventional plastic substrates, they can boost data processing speeds by more than 40% compared with existing substrates. With DRAM miniaturization hitting its limits, packaging technology that stacks chips like Lego pieces is regarded as poised to reshape the next-generation semiconductor market.
"Packaging competitiveness will determine whether South Korea can move beyond TSMC," JWMT CEO Park Sung-soo stressed on the 23rd. The company has raised the annual capacity of its Ansan No. 1 plant from 36,000 panels to about 60,000 panels, and is now building a new plant with an annual capacity of 360,000 panels in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, targeting operation in 2027. Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics have also taken equity stakes in JWMT.
Experts likewise believe the future of South Korea's manufacturing hinges on how many cutting-edge technologies such as glass substrates the country can cultivate. A senior business figure stressed the need for an industrial strategy on multiple tracks: "The semiconductor industry, which is now No. 1, should be supported in securing technology that can fend off pursuers; industries like batteries that have been eroded by China's volume offensive should hold onto second place to survive; and future strategic industries such as bio need growth measures on yet another track."