[News] UMC Reportedly Eyes Southern Taiwan Facility for Advanced Packaging Expansion Beyond Singapore

Taiwan’s second-largest foundry, UMC, is stepping up its efforts in advanced packaging. According to a report from Commercial Times, sources say the company is considering acquiring the facility of TFT-LCD panel maker HannStar in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, which could be used to develop future advanced packaging capacity.

While UMC declines to comment on the rumor, it states that it has already established 2.5D advanced packaging capacity in Singapore and has moved part of its process back to Taiwan. The company adds that further expansion in Taiwan remains a possibility, the report highlights.

UMC currently operates its Fab 12A facility in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, which began volume production in 2002. The fab now supports 14nm processes, as noted by the report.

UMC’s Push Into Advanced Packaging 

Regarding its future expansion strategy, the report—citing CFO Chi-Tung Liu—points out that UMC will no longer limit itself to traditional foundry services but will also move into high value-added areas such as advanced packaging.

The company currently possesses wafer-to-wafer bonding technology, a critical process for stacking wafers at the atomic level, widely used in 3D IC manufacturing. UMC’s production lines in Taiwan are already equipped with this capability, the report underscores.

UMC’s efforts to expand into advanced packaging have been underway for some time. In late 2024, according to Economic Daily News, UMC reportedly secured a major advanced packaging order from Qualcomm for high-performance computing (HPC) applications. These chips are expected to be used in AI PCs, automotive electronics, and HBM integration.

While UMC is expanding its footprint in advanced packaging, Taiwan’s foundry giant TSMC has also been making significant moves. According to Economic Daily News, TSMC is reportedly developing CoPoS (Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate) technology, with production capacity planned in Chiayi and a pilot line expected in 2026. The report, citing sources, notes that CoPoS targets AI and HPC applications, offering a panelized, square-shaped design that is expected to significantly boost chip output.

Read more

• [News] UMC Shrugs Off Middle East Expansion; Calls Intel’s 12nm Project a Must-Win with More Details
• [News] UMC Reportedly Wins Qualcomm Advanced Packaging Deal, Breaking TSMC’s Monopoly

(Photo credit: UMC)