[News] SKC Said to Speed Glass Substrate Mass Production by Year-End; Advances New Non-Embedding Tech for U.S. Client

As advanced packaging becomes increasingly important, glass substrates are drawing growing industry attention. According to Business Post, SKC and its subsidiary Absolics are expected to begin what could become the world’s first commercial production of glass substrates by the end of this year.

Global Economic, citing sources, indicates that the company has already completed electrical and signal performance verification and has now entered the yield stabilization stage. Hankyung adds that prototypes produced by Absolics are reportedly undergoing performance testing by companies including AMD and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Notably, ETNews, citing sources, reports that SKC’s Absolics has launched a new project with a U.S. semiconductor company, supplying prototype non-embedding glass substrates for next-generation communications semiconductors. The report notes that the project marks a shift beyond Absolics’ previous focus on embedding glass substrates, with commercialization preparations potentially beginning as early as this year if reliability testing is successfully completed.

ETNews adds that non-embedding glass substrates are generally considered to face lower technological barriers than embedding types, a move that could help accelerate glass substrate commercialization while addressing increasingly diverse market demands.

Apple Foundry Talks Fuel Glass Substrate Speculation

Meanwhile, as Apple is reportedly considering Intel and Samsung for future foundry cooperation, industry sources cited by Hankyung suggest glass substrates could potentially be adopted in future Apple chips. The report notes that Intel’s advanced packaging technologies, including EMIB and glass substrates, are among the factors drawing attention, with some market watchers speculating the technology could eventually appear in future chips such as the M5 and M6.

Samsung Electronics was also mentioned as a potential foundry partner for Apple. Hankyung adds that Samsung’s foundry division is reportedly targeting glass substrate adoption for advanced packaging beginning in 2028.

As global companies accelerate the development of glass substrates, major technical hurdles still remain. TrendForce on Substack notes that the biggest mass-production challenge for glass substrates is “SeWaRe,” which refers to micro-cracks that form during processing, especially drilling and dicing.

Meanwhile, the advancement of glass substrates is also expected to create new opportunities across the semiconductor supply chain. According to TrendForce, key glass substrate equipment and materials are currently dominated by leading companies from Europe, the U.S., and Japan. For example, LPKF supplies TGV equipment; SCHOTT, Corning, AGC, and NEG provide low-CTE glass; Lam Research supplies etching and plating systems; DISCO specializes in dicing equipment; Onto and KLA offer inspection tools; while SUSS and EVG provide temporary bonding and debonding systems.

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(Photo credit: Intel)