Leading IC backend house ASE Technology Holding will have its fan-out (FO) packaging technology ready in 2020 at the earliest for volume production of mmWave antenna-in-package (AiP) modules and RF (radio frequency) front-end modules (FEM) for use in 5G devices, according to industry sources.
This year, ASE and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) have already entered volume production of substrate-based mmWave AiP technology to process modules applicable to frequency bands of 28GHz, 39GHz, and 77GHz for Qualcomm, the sources said. They may move further next year to use FO-AiP and FO-SiP (system-in-package) technologies for packaging higher-frequency 5G antenna and RF modules, respectively, for the US chipmaker, the sources said.
China's Huawei HiSilicon, initially focusing on sub-6GHz 5G chips, is also aggressively developing mmWave AiP and RF modules in cooperation with ASE Technology and stands a chance of officially migrating to mmWave in 2020, providing new business opportunities for the world's top OSAT player, the sources continued.
To strengthen its leadership in the 5G high-frequency antenna and RF testing segment, ASE set up two 5G mmWave OTA (over the air) test chambers in the second half of 2018, and is set to complete three more by the end of 2019 to facilitate FO-AiP and FO-SiP volume production in 2020, further cementing its integrated packaging, testing, measurement and volume production capabilities for advanced 5G chipset solutions, the sources said.
Without using substrates, FO-AiP technology is suitable for packaging slim and high-performance antenna chip modules, but the cost is 2-3 times that for substrate-based AiP processing. Therefore, achieving better price/performance ratios to stay competitive in the markets for 5G smartphones and CPE (customer premise equipment) devices will be a major concern for chipmakers, the sources commented.
Meanwhile, FO-SiP technology can be applied to server chips, RF modules, power modules, and high-end CPUs and GPUs that all see increasing demand, and ASE is expected to start volume production of such chips with FO-SiP process for chipmakers in the US, Europe, China and Taiwan in 2020.
Article translated by Willis Ke
