Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is expected to unveil 3D integrated circuit packaging and testing technology this year, a research group said on Wednesday.
Citing a research report, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所), a division of the government-sponsored Institute for Information Industry, said that after years of development, TSMC is expected to launch the advanced 3D integrated fan-out (InFO) technology this year.
The InFO technology is a wafer-level packaging technology that allows chips to be packaged more densely and provide more input/output connections than standard packaging methods, in line with the trend toward smaller-sized and lower-cost chipsets.
MIC said the InFO technology will help TSMC cut operating costs when it replaces the chipmaker’s current 2.5D IC packaging and testing technology.
It is expected to cater to chip suppliers that hope to capitalize on the growing Internet of Things and rising popularity of wearable devices.
TSMC made the jump into IC packaging and testing services in recent years to provide total solutions to its customers, though the business still only accounts for a small fraction of the company’s sales.
Analysts have voiced concerns that TSMC’s efforts to develop IC packaging and testing services on its own could increase competition in the industry.
However, major IC packaging and testing firms, such as Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體) and Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品精密), said they would still cooperate with TSMC, which is a big client of theirs.
ASE is the world’s largest IC packaging and testing firm, and Siliconware ranks as the third-largest after US-based Amkor Technology Inc.
In addition to TSMC, other IC producers, such as US-based memory supplier Micron Technology Inc and South Korean semiconductor firms Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc, are set to launch their own IC packaging and testing technology this year, MIC said.
Shares in TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, rose 0.71 percent to close at NT$141.00 on Wednesday.
For the whole of last year, the semiconductor sector enjoyed the largest gains of 29.63 percent, with TSMC shares rising 33.65 percent year-on-year.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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