LG Electronics wins first order for LDI equipment for semiconductor packaging

Equipment that uses lasers to draw semiconductor circuits directly has received its first order for use on a production line outside LG Electronics. According to The Electronic Times, LG Electronics' Production Engineering Research Institute (PRI) signed a purchase-order agreement on August 18 with a global outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) company that operates a packaging plant in South Korea, for laser direct imaging (LDI) equipment for semiconductor packaging. It is LG Electronics' first OSAT order since the company launched the equipment last year.

LDI is lithography equipment used to create metal wiring in semiconductor packaging. Because the laser draws fine circuits directly, it does not require the photomask that is a key component of conventional lithography processes. LG Electronics says this "maskless" approach can reduce photomask costs and shorten process times. The company has introduced equipment with a 1.5-micrometre resolution and has also developed 3- and 5-micrometre equipment to meet customer demand.

The significance of this order is that it clears the hurdle between supplying R&D equipment and supplying mass-production equipment. PRI previously supplied R&D equipment to universities; this time, it received an order for equipment to be used on an OSAT company's mass-production line. The move extends into semiconductor packaging the company's experience commercializing LDI equipment for display processes and supplying it to LG Display.

The market backdrop is also clear. The Korea PCB & Semiconductor Packaging Industry Association (KPCA) forecasts that the advanced packaging market will grow from $51.63 billion last year to $90.18 billion in 2030, with an annual average growth rate of 11.8%. LG Electronics plans to compete with Japan's SCREEN and ORC and America's Applied Materials by emphasizing price competitiveness and in-house equipment development.

What specifically changes, then, is that LG Electronics has opened a channel to supply equipment to external semiconductor manufacturing sites, beyond deliveries to affiliates. The market is not yet at a stage where its competitive landscape will immediately change. Actual mass-production performance and the acquisition of additional customers remain to be demonstrated after this first order. LG Electronics plans to expand its lineup next into high-bandwidth memory (HBM) inspection equipment and laser systems for creating glass-through vias (TGVs) in glass substrates.