[News] TSMC Accelerates CoWoS Advanced Packaging Capacity Construction, Beginning Equipment Procurement in its Chiayi Plant

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With high demand for AI chips from major players like NVIDIA and AMD, the capacity for advanced packaging falls short of meeting demand. Industry sources cited in a report from the Economic Daily News indicate that TSMC’s new CoWoS facility in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Chiayi is now undergoing environmental impact assessments, prompting the commencement of equipment procurement.

Additionally, considering the insufficiency of planned CoWoS facilities in the Chiayi park, TSMC is reportedly sending representatives to survey additional land for potential expansion.

Regarding these developments, TSMC stated on June 11 that they do not comment on market rumors.

With the rapid development of AI applications, the demand for advanced packaging in the chip market has surged. TSMC, serving as the major foundry partner for tech giants like NVIDIA and AMD in AI chip production, has faced continuous high demand for advanced packaging capacity for some time. The company has been actively expanding related capacity and is now venturing into building a new CoWoS facility in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Chiayi.

According to the information previously announced by the Chiayi County government, TSMC’s advanced packaging facility will occupy approximately 20 hectares in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, with the first facility covering around 12 hectares. The first advanced packaging fab is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, creating 3,000 job opportunities. TSMC initially plans to build two advanced packaging facilities in the area.

According to official information from TSMC, its backend test and packaging facilities include the Hsinchu Advanced Backend Fab 1, Southern Taiwan Science Park Advanced Backend Fab 2, Longtan Advanced Backend Fab 3, Central Taiwan Science Park Backend Advanced Fab 5, and Miaoli Zhunan Advanced Backend Fab 6.

Industry sources cited by the same report from the Economic Daily News further indicate that advanced packaging-related equipment is currently being gradually supplied to TSMC’s Zhunan, Central Taiwan, and Southern Taiwan fabs, with shipments to the Chiayi facility expected to commence from the third quarter of next year.

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei previously mentioned that despite their efforts to increase capacity, the strong demand from customers has led to an insufficient supply, which has led to outsourcing to specialized packaging and testing foundries. He emphasized TSMC’s ongoing expansion of CoWoS advanced packaging capacity, with the goal of doubling their in-house capacity growth this year and continuing efforts into next year to narrow the gap between supply and demand.

TSMC has integrated its advanced packaging-related technologies into the “3DFabric” platform, allowing customers to select and configure according to their needs. The front-end technologies include System on Integrated Chip (SoIC), while the back-end assembly and testing technologies include Integrated Fan-Out (InFO) and the CoWoS series family.

In June 2023, TSMC announced the official opening of its Advanced Backend Fab 6 located in the Zhunan Science Park, becoming its first fully automated advanced packaging and testing facility to realize integrated front-end to back-end processes and testing services under the 3DFabric platform.

Read more

• [News] Major Clients Reportedly Fully Allocate TSMC’s Production Capacity Until 2026, 3nm Process in High Demand
• [News] NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Supports C.C. Wei’s Theory and Backs for TSMC to Increase Price

(Photo credit: TSMC)