AMD and Other Chip Makers' Move Toward FOPLP Packaging

TapTechNews July 3rd news, TrendForce today pointed out that chip companies represented by AMD have recently been actively contacting advanced packaging companies for FOPLP (Fan-Out Panel-Level Packaging) foundry.

Using the panel instead of the wafer as the packaging substrate, FOPLP has the advantages of low unit cost and large packaging size, but the application of this technology on AIGPUs still needs to wait until 2027-2028.

The research report pointed out that there are currently three main models of FOPLP technology:

The professional wafer foundry and OSAT (TapTechNews note: outsourced semiconductor packaging and testing) companies transfer the 2.5D packaging of AIGPUs from wafer-level (WLP) to a larger panel-level (PLP), represented by the negotiations between AMD, Nvidia and TSMC, SPIL;

OSAT companies transfer the consumer integrated circuit (IC) packaging from traditional to FOPLP, represented by the cooperation intention of AMD with Powertech and ASE on PCCPU and the cooperation of Qualcomm with ASE on PMIC;

The display panel companies transform into consumer IC packaging, represented by the cooperation of Innolux with NXP and STMicroelectronics.

The research report said that FOPLP packaging still needs development in technology and equipment system, and the performance in terms of line width and line spacing cannot yet be comparable to the more mature FOWLP, so the application range is limited, and the process of technology commercialization has high uncertainty.

For the first model mentioned above, the technical challenges are severe, and the wafer foundries and OSAT companies are still in the evaluation stage for the conversion from WLP to PLP;

For the second model, FOPLP will first be applied in mature process chips such as PMIC that are more sensitive to cost, and will be introduced into mainstream consumer-level IC products after the technology is improved;

And for the third model, the actual application will also mainly focus on the PMIC field.

The appearance of FOPLP will have a profound impact on the packaging and testing industry:

GPU companies can expand the packaging size of AIGPUs; enterprises capable of providing 2.5D packaging can reduce costs; OSAT practitioners can increase their market share in the consumer IC packaging market; display panel companies can realize diversified business transformation.

And in terms of the application timeline, consumer ICs using FOPLP are expected to enter mass production from the second half of 2024 to 2026, while AIGPUs will need to introduce this technology only in 2027-2028.