Samsung Lee seen fostering semiconductor packaging as new growth engine

Jay Y. Lee looks around production facilities in Cheonan where some of the latest packaging technologies, such as high-bandwidth memory and wafer level chip scale packages, are in operation. [Photo provided by Samsung Electronics]

Samsung Electronics Co. Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee met with executives on Friday during a visit to semiconductor facilities in Onyang and Asan, in what could be the electronics giant’s move to add semiconductor packaging business as one of its future growth engines to overcome weakening demand in other sectors such as semiconductor wafer processing and electronics.

On the tour, Lee and other executives reviewed the status of the company’s semiconductor packaging and its mid- to long-term strategies.

“We are in difficult times, but investment must go on to nurture talent and for future technologies,” Lee said. The executives at the meeting included the head of the company’s device solutions division Kyung Kye-hyun, president of the memory business division Lee Jung-bae, its foundry business leader Choi Si-young and the system LSI business leader Park Yong-in.

Alongside the executives, Lee also looked around production facilities in Cheonan where some of the latest packaging technologies, such as high-bandwidth memory and wafer level chip scale packages, are in operation. “Packaging” is an essential process that comes later in the semiconductor production process, following the intellectual property core design, fab-less manufacturing and foundry process. Throughout the packaging process, a semiconductor is shaped that can fit into electronic devices.

Samsung Electronics has traditionally invested more into the earlier stages of semiconductor manufacturing process, which is generally considered to be a chip maker’s key strength. However, packaging has now become more in focus recently as nanoscale processing that can process under 10 nanometers requires more and more efficient packaging technologies.

Especially in high-performance, low-power chips that are used in many recent AI programs and in 5G communications, packaging technologies are of particular importance, leading to market growth of 5 percent per year. According to data from market researcher Gartner, the global packaging market is estimated to expand to $57.4 billion this year, from $48.8 billion in 2020.

The world’s biggest foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., has already built a fairly sizable packaging ecosystem, and is assessed to be more advanced in the packaging process than its Korean competitor.

Samsung Electronics is now resolute in packaging, launching a new team dedicated to advanced packaging solutions within the device solutions division.

The company’s latest packaging businesses includes “I-Cube” that incorporates HBM and logic chips into one, and the 3-division “X-Cube” that enables compact semiconductors by stacking multiple chips on top of each other.