Glass-core chip substrates still stuck at qualification stage as Absolics, Samsung slip timelines
SKC's Absolics unit told investors on July 27 that embedded glass substrate samples from its Covington, Georgia plant are undergoing package-level reliability testing in Taiwan, with results expected by year-end. Meanwhile Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Sumitomo Chemical's Dongwoo Fine-Chem finalized a $310 million joint venture on July 2 aiming for production in late 2027, while Intel, the technology's original champion, has pushed back its own rollout to around 2030 and shifted toward licensing patents instead.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Glass-core substrates promise sharply higher interconnect density and lower warpage than today's organic packaging, which matters as chipmakers chase bigger, hotter AI accelerators that need denser, flatter packages. But repeated delays—Absolics originally targeted mass production in 2024, and AMD's rumored 2025-2026 adoption never materialized—show how hard it is to move this material from lab demonstrations to reliable, mass-manufacturable products.
- Absolics samples are in final Taiwan reliability testing, with results due before year-end but no product shipping yet.
- Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Dongwoo Fine-Chem committed $310 million to a glass-core joint venture targeting 2027 production.
- Intel, the original driver behind glass substrates, has delayed its own deployment to roughly 2030 and pivoted to licensing.
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Published there as: “Glass substrate roadmaps examined — Absolics in final qualification and a first product that keeps slipping”
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