The electronics industry is currently on an unprecedented growth path, with strong demand from emerging economies. Electronic components and systems, electric drives, industrial control equipment, and others are expected to witness healthy growth in the coming years. Due to the wide range of uses and high diversity of glass substrates in the electronics industry, they are suitable for the manufacture of semiconductors for various applications, and the market share is growing rapidly. It is predicted that the compound annual growth rate of glass substrates will exceed 4% from 2024 to 2029.
According to the latest reports, companies such as AMD, Intel, and Samsung have made it clear that they will launch or mass-produce chipset products based on glass substrates in the next few years. AMD, one of the leaders in the processor market, plans to introduce glass-substrate technology for its ultra-high-performance system-in-package (SiP) between 2025 and 2026. This initiative aims to further enhance the competitiveness of its products in areas such as data centers, AI and HPC (high-performance computing). With its excellent flatness, high thermal and mechanical strength, and ability to interconnect densely, glass substrates provide AMD with an ideal platform for building higher-performance, lower-power chips. With the introduction of AMD glass-based chips, it is expected to lead the industry into a new era of higher performance computing.
Figure: AMD's foray into glass substrates (Source: Intel).
In addition, Intel, as one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, also has high hopes for glass substrate chip technology. According to reports, Intel plans to start mass production of glass-based chips by 2026 at the earliest, and has established a dedicated research institute in Arizona, United States. Intel believes that glass substrates can significantly increase the number and performance of chiplets while reducing the carbon footprint to meet the market demand for green, efficient computing. By accelerating the deployment of glass-substrate chip technology, Intel aims to seize market opportunities and strengthen its leading position in high-performance computing.
Samsung, as a giant in the semiconductor industry, has also made significant progress in the field of glass substrate chip packaging. According to reports, Samsung plans to achieve mass production of glass substrate chip packaging in 2026. The achievement of this goal is due to Samsung's technology accumulation and innovation in different fields such as the display division. Samsung expects its glass-based chips to have higher package strength and reliability, which can meet the demand for high-performance, high-reliability chips in several emerging fields, including artificial intelligence. With the mass production of Samsung's glass substrate chips, it is expected to further promote the development and advancement of the entire industry.
The rise of glass substrate chip technology marks a new stage of development for semiconductor packaging technology. The active deployment and promotion of global technology giants such as AMD, Intel and Samsung will accelerate the maturity and popularization of this technology. In the next few years, with the continuous development and application of glass substrate chip technology, it will bring revolutionary changes to high-performance computing fields such as data centers, AI, and HPC, and promote the development of the entire industry in the direction of higher performance, lower power consumption, and higher reliability.
