2024.05.31
Corning eyes leadership in glass substrate market for chips
By Jo He-rim, The
Korea Herald - Corning is looking to expand its presence in the burgeoning
glass substrate market for semiconductors, using its special proprietary
technologies, the company's president in charge of Korea operation said
Wednesday.
Speaking at his
first press conference here after assuming his role as the president of
Corning's Korea Region last November, Vaughn Hall also presented the company's
new initiative window glasses, introducing the lighter, energy-efficient ATG
Glass.
"I have high
expectations on future growth of glass substrates, which appears to hold a
competitive edge over the organic material substrates widely used in the
current chip packaging process. The advantages include dimensional stability,
form factor flexibility and other mechanical properties," Hall said during
the press conference dubbed “Wonders of Glass” in Seoul.
Corning currently
supplies two glass substrate products that go into chip production, a temporary
carrier for interposer in processors and one used in wafer thinning in DRAM
chips.
In the future, the
glassmaker is preparing to introduce glass cores for application of the glass
product in chip packaging. The company is providing samples to multiple
potential customers, Hall explained.
The glass substrate
for wafer thinning in DRAM chips would be used multiple times before it is
completely exhausted. But the envisioned glass core substrate would stay with
the entire chipset, Hall explained.
"An entire
packaged chip would have a single piece of glass, and this means more pieces of
glass go into the chipset," Hall said, hinting at the potential growth of
the demand in the future. Starting mass production of the product would depend on
demands from the end-users.
"That’s
potentially the future that could happen and that’s the market we want to tap
into."
Hall also
highlighted Corning’s close partnership with global chipmakers, and how his
company supplies core materials and components for almost every stage of the
semiconductor chip manufacturing process.
Hall also presented
the company's new initiative in glass products for advanced windows,
introducing the ATG Glass, which is designed 10 percent more energy efficient,
and 30 percent lighter than the conventional standard pane of soda lime glass
widely used.
"This is
something maybe most people didn't know. But (ATG Glass) is part of the new
initiative that we haven't been in before, but are starting in," Hall
said.
The new glass
product is less than a millimeter thick and with a smaller footprint. It can be
integrated into window designs as a center-pane of glass, in place of a
standard pane of soda lime glass.
It is currently in
the Korean market and two of its biggest projects include the Ramada Hotel in
Ulleungdo, and Chungdam Raon Private Residential Space, the president added.
Source: https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240529050582