IC testing solution provider Chunghwa Precision Test Tech (CHPT) saw its consolidated revenues for August 2019 increase 7.4% sequentially and 16.1% on year to a record high of NT$367 million (US$11.7 million), and the company is expected to challenge a sequential growth of 30-40% for third-quarter revenues on strong market demand, according to industry sources.
Demand for high-end wafer test interfaces have picked up significantly in the third quarter thanks to vendors of 5G baseband chips, modems, RF ICs, mobile APs, and wireless and wired network transmission chips stepping up preparations for 5G commercialization, driving CHPT revenue growth in July and August, the sources said.
Huawei and HiSilicon are keen on carrying out 5G infrastructure deployments with diverse chips solutions such as AAU (active antenna unit), large-size BBU (baseband unit), and power management chips, benefiting all its Taiwan-based semiconductor supply chain partners including foundry TSMC, backend firms ASE, SPIL, Sigurd Microelectronics and King Yuan Electronics, as well as test interface providers CHPT and Keystone Microtech, the sources said.
Qualcomm and Broadcom are also aggressively venturing into the 5G ecosystem, with CHPT and other Taiwanese backend players remaining their top choice for partnership.
MediaTek is expected to start volume production of 5G SoCs, initially focusing on the frequency band of sub-6GHz, in late 2019 or early 2020, the sources said. The chipmaker will adopt TSMC's 7nm process for its 5G SoCs, with high-end wafer test interface orders to be released to CHPT.
The sources noted that CHPT has witnessed a slight return of orders for wafer test interfaces for iPhone APs since the beginning of 2019, and is expected to capture a higher market share in IC testing solutions for 5G iPhones in 2020.
The company is set to unveil its latest full series of vertical probing cards with fine pitch of under 100-micron at SEMICON Taiwan 2019 during September 18-20.
Article translated by Willis Ke
