When Amkor announced plans to build a $1.6 billion chip test and packaging facility near Peoria, Arizona, it was clear that the company planned to serve TSMC’s customers in the state. Apple is set to be Amkor’s alpha client for the fab. However, the collaboration between TSMC and Amkor will be more profound as the latter intends to offer TSMC’s CoWoS and InFo advanced packaging technologies for high-end AI, HPC, and mobile processors in the U.S.
Amkor and TSMC on Friday said they had signed a memorandum of understanding to bring TSMC’s proven advanced packaging technologies — chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) and integrated fan-out (InFO) — to the U.S. CoWoS is widely used for AI and HPC processors, such as Nvidia’s H100/H200 and AMD’s Instinct MI300-series. In contrast, InFO is used by Apple for its A-series application processors for smartphones (InFO_POP) and M-series processors for PCs and tablets (InFO_oS) as well as InFO_LSI for M-series Ultra system-in-packages for high-end systems like the Mac Pro and Mac Studio.
“Amkor is proud to collaborate with TSMC to provide seamless integration of silicon manufacturing and packaging processes through an efficient turnkey advanced packaging and test business model in the United States,” said Giel Rutten, Amkor’s president and chief executive officer.
A vital benefit of this collaboration is the proximity of TSMC’s front-end wafer fab and Amkor’s back-end packaging and testing facility. This geographical advantage is expected to enhance overall efficiency and speed up the production cycle for semiconductor products. A broader picture of the collaboration means that the U.S. will get advanced packaging capabilities for some of its crucial semiconductor companies and will be less reliant on Taiwan.
Some questions remain, though. While TSMC announced plans to bring CoWoS and InFO technologies to the U.S., it did not specify which versions will be offered in America. While we can undoubtedly expect highly popular CoWoS-S, InFO_POP, and InFO_oS, it is unclear whether CoWoS-L (used for Nvidia Blackwell-based B100 and B200 processors) and InFO_LSI are coming to the U.S. as they are considerably different from the rest methods in their respective families. Yet, given how large Amkor’s fab in America will be (200,000 m2 of specialized cleanroom space when fully built), the company can probably install all necessary equipment, even for exotic technologies aimed at ultra-high-performance processors.
In addition to offering TSMC’s popular and proven CoWoS and InFO packaging technologies, Amkor will likely provide its advanced packaging methods at its Peoria facility.
“Our customers are increasingly depending on advanced packaging technologies for their breakthroughs in advanced mobile applications, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing, and TSMC is pleased to work side by side with a trusted longtime strategic partner in Amkor to support them with a more diverse manufacturing footprint,” said Dr. Kevin Zhang, TSMC’s Senior Vice President of Business Development and Global Sales, and Deputy Co-COO. “We look forward to close collaboration with Amkor at their Peoria facility to maximize the value of our fabs in Phoenix and provide more comprehensive services to our customers in the United States.”
