[Report] Samsung and LG's High-Value FC-BGA Substrate Technology Battle

KPCA Show 2022 Highlights
Samsung Electro-Mechanics "Implementation Above 20 Floors"
LG Innotek "Minimizing Warping Phenomenon"

On the morning of the 21st, the Samsung Electro-Mechanics booth at the 'International PCB & Semiconductor Packaging Industry Exhibition (KPCA Show 2022)' held at Songdo Convensia, Incheon Metropolitan City. It was the largest among approximately 180 participating company booths, measuring 15m in width and 8m in length. (Photo by Samsung Electro-Mechanics)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

"If a general flip chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) substrate is like building an apartment, making FC-BGA requires the technological capability of constructing a high-rise building." (Jung, an engineer at Samsung Electro-Mechanics Substrate Division)

On the 21st, at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, where the country's largest substrate exhibition, the 'International PCB and Semiconductor Packaging Industry Exhibition (KPCA Show 2022),' was held, a Samsung Electro-Mechanics official met at the exhibition, which featured domestic and international substrate, material, and equipment companies, explained that this year's most focused product was the high-value server FC-BGA substrate. The server FC-BGA substrate, located at the center of the Samsung Electro-Mechanics booth measuring 15m wide and 8m long, was the main focus.

The FC-BGA substrate is a semiconductor substrate that connects semiconductor chips to the main substrate and is mainly used in central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), and communication chipsets of PCs and servers, where electrical signal exchange is frequent. As semiconductor performance improves with 5th generation mobile communication (5G), artificial intelligence (AI), and automotive electronics, the difficulty of substrate manufacturing is also increasing. The companies mass-producing server FC-BGA substrates are Japan's Ibiden, Shinko, and Korea's Samsung Electro-Mechanics.

The size of Samsung Electro-Mechanics' server FC-BGA substrate was 75mm in both width and length, about four times that of a general FC-BGA substrate. The number of layers was also more than 20, twice that of general products. They plan to start full-scale production of this server FC-BGA substrate from the end of the year and introduced the technology at this event. It is said that demand for 'high-density' substrates is increasing day by day, so they are focusing on 'large-scale' substrates.

Mobile ultra-small, high-density semiconductor substrates were also exhibited, attracting attention. In particular, interest was focused on the package substrate 'System on Substrate (SoS),' which can arrange two or more semiconductor chips on a substrate and implement an integrated system. Jung said, "Recently, with the development of the cutting-edge 3-nanometer semiconductor process, the 'interposer,' which used to act as a 'bridge' between the chip and substrate, is no longer necessary," adding, "SoS is a product designed to connect the chip and substrate without an interposer, making the thickness thinner and increasing signal processing speed."

On the morning of the 21st, the LG Innotek booth at the 'International PCB & Semiconductor Packaging Industry Exhibition (KPCA Show 2022)' held at Songdo Convensia, Incheon Metropolitan City. Officials are busily setting up the booth and rehearsing. (Photo by Moon Chae-seok)

At the LG Innotek booth visited next, the FC-BGA substrate was also the most eye-catching. Ha Seoksu, a manager of LG Innotek's Substrate Materials Division, who was guiding visitors on-site, expressed confidence in the success of LG Innotek's FC-BGA substrate mass production starting next year.

LG Innotek emphasized that their FC-BGA substrate's differentiation point is minimizing the 'warpage phenomenon.' However, it was difficult to confirm with the naked eye because it is impossible to verify without measurement equipment. During the manufacturing process, heat and pressure cause the substrate to warp, which often leads to performance degradation. As the performance and specifications of PCs and servers increase, the area of FC-BGA substrates is also increasing, and as the area increases, the 'warpage phenomenon' worsens, making a solution urgent. According to LG Innotek, they used various DX (digital transformation) technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twin to produce the product. Manager Ha explained, "Since the FC-BGA substrate is a component mounted on the main board, if warpage occurs, reliability issues with client companies may arise," adding, "The less warpage occurs when the FC-BGA substrate contacts the main board, the easier it is to negotiate with customers."

LG Innotek also exhibited 'RF-SiP (Radio Frequency System in Package)' for communication semiconductors. LG Innotek is the number one company in RF-SiP. Manager Ha said, "Our goal is to stack up to 10 layers," adding, "It is a package product made by demand companies assembling RF-SiP on top of chips one by one."

Meanwhile, the 19th KPCA Show 2022 this year featured participation from about 180 companies (14 overseas companies), including LG Innotek, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Doosan Electronics BG, and Daeduck Electronics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.