LYON, FRANCE – “The semiconductor industry is facing a new era in which device scaling and cost reduction will not continue on the path they followed for the past few decades, with Moore’s Law in its foundation.”

So says Andrej Ivankovic, technology and market analyst in the advanced packaging and semiconductor manufacturing team at Yole Développement. In this context, the semiconductor industry seeks further performance and functionality boosts in package level integration. Emerging packages such as fan-out wafer level packages, 2.5D/3D IC and related system-in-package solutions together with more conventional but upgraded flip-chip BGAs aim to bridge the gap and revive the cost/performance curve. In such an environment, what is the importance of fan-in wafer-level packages, the current status of the fan-in WLP industry and how will fan-in WLP market and technology evolve?

Although present for more than a decade, fan-in WLP are still on an evolutionary track increasing production and attracting new applications, Yole says. Current market data indicate fan-in WLP manufacturing capacities are full and more volume is required in both 200mm and 300mm wafer sizes. Furthermore, the “Internet of Things” (IoT) promises a wide range of new applications for which fan-in WLP would be an ideal match presenting an interesting opportunity to increase the demand further.

How will the current capacities be increased, who will take lead in investments and what is the actual range of investments needed? Currently, majority of production is still done on 200mm wafers with 300mm wafer production projected to increase. The supply chain continues to develop with new companies entering this market and new business models being established.

“In total, over 70 fabless and IDM companies implementing their design in fan-in WLP were identified, along with over 20 fan-in WLP manufacturing companies,” says Santoh Kumar, senior technology and market research analyst, advanced packaging and semiconductor manufacturing at Yole.

Yole says the competitive landscape is expected to increase, as well as bring new collaborations and partnerships. The specialized wafer-level packaging model focused on fan-in and fan-out packages is emerging strong and competing with traditional OSAT leaders. Some new players are rising quickly, foundry involvement is no longer a small dent, and new players from China are increasing activity on the market, bringing in a new type of competition with a strong support in capital and acquisition capabilities.

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