Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Skytech Inc (天虹科技) yesterday said that revenue this year would reach a historic high, driven mainly by robust demand for next-generation advanced packaging equipment and a pickup in demand for compound semiconductor equipment.
Skytech said it last month delivered its first equipment for commercializing fan-out panel-level packaging (PLP) technology to a strategic customer, a Kaohsiung-based outsourced semiconductor assembly and test company, Skytech CEO George Yi (易錦良) told reporters in Hsinchu City.
That put Skytech ahead of its rivals in supplying physical vapor deposition used in PLP technology on a 310mm x 310mm square substrate.
Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei Times
The company did not disclose the name of the customer, but it is widely believed to be ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s biggest outsourced semiconductor assembly and test service provider, which has shown interest in fan-out PLP technology.
“We have landed a substantial number of new orders during the first quarter to support equipment delivery in the first half of this year,” Yi said. “We have clear order visibility for this year.”
Overall, this year would be another growth year for the semiconductor equipment sector, as an artificial intelligence (AI) boom would not only benefit chipmakers, but also advanced chip packaging suppliers, he said.
Skytech aims grow its revenue to an all-time high this year, surpassing 2024’s NT$2.59 billion (US$82.02 million), company chairman Paul Huang (黃見駱) said.
Revenue last year contracted 13.26 percent year-on-year to NT$2.24 billion.
Fan-out PLP is considered a successor to chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) technology, which is used in packaging for Nvidia Corp’s AI chips produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
TSMC is also developing its version of panel-level packaging technology dubbed chip-on-panel-on-substrate (CoPoS) technology, which is likely to enter volume production in 2028, supply chain sources said.
“The CoPoS technology offers a new business opportunity for Skytech,” Yi said, adding that the company currently only supplies spare parts used in CoWoS equipment. “The customer base should be broader as multiple companies aim to tap into the market.”
Aside from robust demand for new advanced packaging equipment, nascent signs showed that compound semiconductor equipment, such as those for silicon carbide semiconductor equipment, is recovering from a slump last year, given improving demand for electric vehicles and autonomous cars, as well as low Earth orbit satellites, Huang said.
To cope with growing demand, Skytech has acquired new sites in Hsinchu City and Tainan to expand capacity, the company said.
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