i卡會員

The high-speed performance of advanced semiconductor chips has become the core driving force of AI technology and applications, and has contributed to the rise of generative AI. The market demand for high-speed computing power and large-scale data processing in generative AI has driven continuous advancement in high-performance computing (HPC) chips and promoted the development of advanced packaging technology. 

Currently, the world’s leading foundries have successfully ramped up the 3nm process and are expected to begin mass production of the 2nm process in 2025. These technological advances not only meet the demand from generative AI for high-speed computing, but also significantly improve the performance per Watt of AI chips, enabling them to support a plethora of AI use cases from content generation, smart manufacturing, and healthcare to autonomous driving. Advanced processes and packaging technologies directly related to HPC and AI will be the main drivers of the market demand. As a result, the world will become increasingly dependent on semiconductor products in the future. 

The market research and analysis firm Market.US predicts that the demand for AI-driven solutions will grow substantially in the coming years, with the price for AI servers to be approximately 15-20 times higher than that of traditional servers for cloud services. The AI server market is expected to reach US$430 billion by 2033, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.03% for the forecast period 2024-2033, indicating the growing importance of the AI server market.

The rapid development of generative AI has led to more stringent requirements for semiconductor chip manufacturing technology, for which advanced packaging plays a crucial role. Thanks to the technological breakthroughs, from heterogeneous integration to silicon photonics, and the advent of advanced packaging technology in 2.5D/3D, AI chips can achieve higher computing power and lower power consumption with a smaller footprint, allowing semiconductor chips empowering AI applications to attain greater computing performance within a given space.

3D stacking is a bright spot in the field of advanced semiconductor packaging technology. This technology involves stacking up dies vertically to increase chip density, shorten the data transmission distance between chips and reduce the latency of signal transmission. This is extremely important to the improvement of AI chip functionality required for the real-time processing of massive amounts of data. 3D stacking also provides powerful support for edge computing, enabling terminal devices to handle the processing of large amounts of data in real-time. 

Furthermore, 3D stacking packaging technology has paved the way for the heterogeneous integration of chips produced with different processes for different functions, and hence the combination of AI processors, memory, and sensors. This further expands the breadth and the depth of generative AI use cases. Future high-performance applications, such as 5G-related infrastructure and medical equipment, etc. are expected to benefit from the development of advanced packaging technology. 

In addition, fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) has become the center of market attention because this technology can enhance packaging density, increase utilization and reduce costs. Meanwhile, the performance of key materials (e.g., RDL dielectric materials) in this technology continues to improve allowing for lower dielectric loss and higher precision of redistribution layers. As smartphones, wearables, and future IoT (Internet-of-Things) devices become more ubiquitous, FOPLP technology will gain increasing importance. 

With the advent of the AI era, Taiwanese companies have been quick to invest in advanced semiconductor packaging technologies, such as heterogeneous integration, silicon photonics, and 2.5D/3D. Taiwan's semiconductor industry demonstrates strong capabilities in vertical integration, from IC design to foundry, and to advanced packaging and testing. As the global demand for AI servers continues to grow, the high integration of related supply chains in Taiwan will further strengthen the international competitiveness of Taiwan's semiconductor industry.