Msscorps Co (汎銓科技) yesterday said it expects silicon photonics-related and artificial intelligence (AI) analysis services to fuel revenue growth, as it benefits from the AI boom.
The company provides advanced semiconductor materials analysis and failure analysis to semiconductor firms, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電).
The Hsinchu-based firm expects revenue from silicon photonics and AI analyses to double or triple in April next year, compared with this month, Msscorps chairman Gino Leou (柳紀綸) told reporters.
Photo courtesy of Msscorps Co
“We are seeing strong growth momentum from this segment,” Leou said. “Msscorps is leading its peers in providing comprehensive services from chip testing, [material and failure] analysis to co-packaged optics [CPO] services.”
CPO technology has become a widely discussed topic among semiconductor analysts and investors after Nvidia Corp last month said that it planned to introduce the new technology for its next-generation switch platforms for server racks.
However, the AI giant did not say it would adopt CPO technology for its next graphics processing unit (GPU), dubbed Rubin, as most analysts expected.
Msscorps expects to see explosive growth in silicon photonics-related and AI chip testing and inspection services from the second half of this year.
The new business is expected to gradually increase its contribution to overall revenue from 5.5 percent last year to 10 percent in 2027, it said.
Another growth driver would be its advanced inspection and analysis services for angstrom-scale process technology, which is the major revenue source for the firm, Leou said.
Revenue from advanced inspection and analysis services for cutting-edge process technologies would expand 20 to 30 percent through April next year, he said.
To meet a key customer’s demand, the company yesterday held a topping ceremony for a new facility in Hsinchu to house a new inspection equipment — a spherical aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (Cs-STEM), which costs at least US$4 million.
Msscorps expects to start utilizing the new Cs-STEM in August.
Semiconductor material and failure analyses are vital for chipmakers to ramp up production yield, as chip design migrates to smaller nodes, such as 16 angstroms or 14 angstroms, and semiconductor structure becomes more complex. Inspection and metrology tools are utilized to make sure each manufacturing step is optimized.
By using automated transmission electron microscope-based metrology instruments, Msscorps can provide accurate and timely semiconductor material inspection, lower manufacturing costs and shorten the product development cycle.
“We have invested heavily on sourcing new equipment. Those investments would pay off from the second half of this year,” Leou said.
The company is optimistic about this year’s revenue prospects, as overseas markets, including China, the US and Japan, are to start generating revenue later this year, Leou said.
Revenue this year is forecast to surpass last year’s NT$1.97 billion (US$59.54 million), he said.
The company is also scouting a suitable site to build a new laboratory in Germany or the Czech Republic to provide real-time services, as requested by its key customer.
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