Samsung bets big on package substrates with Sejong site

Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ Sejong facility [Courtesy of Samsung Electro-Mechanics]

Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an electronic parts manufacturing affiliate of Samsung Electronics, is poised to assert its dominance in the semiconductor package substrate market, capitalizing on its unrivaled technological prowess. The company’s Sejong site is particularly gaining prominence as a hub for mobile device package substrates, primarily dedicated to the production of application processors (AP) used in Samsung’s Galaxy S mobile phones.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ Sejong facility has been focusing its efforts on the production of package substrates used in mobile application processors, car electronics chips, 5G antennas, and more. Among these products, its package substrates for flagship mobile application processors are globally renowned as the best in class.

The company recently introduced advanced products, including the Flip Chip-Chip Scale Package (FCCSP), which has revolutionized the conventional package substrate with a thickness that has been reduced by 50 percent while delivering high performance and low power consumption. This innovation has found significant applications in mobile application processors thanks to its outstanding attributes.

A standout feature of Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ Sejong facility is its pioneering use of embedding technology, a method that involves placing components within the substrate, resulting in over a 50 percent reduction in power loss. “Sejong is the exclusive home to this embedding technology, which is our unique superpower,” Shim Kyu-hyun, the manufacturing technology team leader at the Sejong site, told reporters last Thursday during a site visit program for local media outlets, including Maeil Business Newspaper.

Adjacent to this, a new facility set to be completed by May 2024 is taking shape, promising to be a vital resource for manufacturing next-generation products such as ARM-based central processing units. “We are building this new facility to adapt to rapid market demand changes and accommodate new technologies like high multi-layering and embedding,” Lim Sung-yong, executive vice president and head of package manufacturing at the site, said.

Although the semiconductor package substrate market hit $10.6 billion in 2023, this figure is predicted to jump to $15.2 billion by 2027. The Sejong site’s commitment to stringent quality control, rivaling that of semiconductor fabs, has been another strong advantage.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to continue its proactive market approach focused on the Sejong site, with Shim expressing confidence that the market will rebound starting from the first half of 2024.