TOPIC
Semiconductor equipment, thermal management, advanced packaging and fluid technologies.
Samsung's zNAND-O mock-up shows NAND flash stacked directly on a logic die and linked to an NPU over UCIe. Samsung claims up to 7x read bandwidth and 7x read energy efficiency versus conventional NAND, with mass production targeted for 2028.
AI semiconductor competition is moving beyond transistor scaling. SK hynix’s HBM roadmap, the emergence of glass substrates, and advanced packaging equipment from companies such as U.S.-based YES.tech show how memory, interconnects, materials, thermal management and back-end manufacturing are becoming one integrated technology platform.
Semiconductors do far more than compute. CPUs process instructions, GPUs accelerate parallel workloads, memory stores data, RF devices connect wireless systems, while power semiconductors such as IGBTs control the enormous flows of electricity behind modern infrastructure. As AI data centers, EVs and renewable energy systems move toward higher power density, semiconductor technology is increasingly becoming a story not only of computing performance, but also of power conversion, efficiency and thermal management.
Semiconductor fabs may look similar from the outside, but Korea, Taiwan and Japan are building very different manufacturing ecosystems. Korea is scaling mega-campus infrastructure around AI memory, Taiwan continues to refine its foundry-centered GIGAFAB model, while Japan is rebuilding advanced manufacturing through specialized regional clusters.
Process Cooling Water hoses inside semiconductor equipment are often treated as simple plumbing components, but hose material, working pressure, flame resistance and fitting design can directly affect equipment reliability and fire risk. A field inspection of a U.S.-made 5/8-inch red hose provides a useful reference point for comparing general-purpose EPDM hose with newer thermal-management products designed for DI water and glycol-based cooling systems.
Samsung’s CPO (Co-Packaged Optics) concept shown at ASPS 2026 in Suwon illustrates a fundamental change in AI hardware: optical communication is moving from the server faceplate toward the processor package itself. By integrating photonic and electrical ICs next to logic and HBM, CPO aims to overcome the power, reach and bandwidth-density limits of electrical interconnects. The challenge is no longer photonics alone — advanced packaging, bonding, thermal management and manufacturing yield will determine who can commercialize CPO at scale.
ASPS 2026 Suwon brought together semiconductor industry professionals, researchers, and technology suppliers to discuss the latest developments in advanced packaging, HBM, chiplet integration, CPO, and next-generation AI semiconductor technologies. The event highlighted how packaging is becoming a critical technology for improving bandwidth, power efficiency, thermal performance, and overall AI computing performance.
Samsung and SK hynix are showing that the next HBM competition will not be decided only by how many DRAM dies can be stacked. With HBM4 and HBM4E, the logic Base Die and the PHY connecting memory to GPUs are becoming critical technologies that determine bandwidth, latency, power consumption and ultimately AI accelerator performance.
Remote Plasma Sources convert NF₃ into highly reactive fluorine radicals that remove silicon-based residues from semiconductor process chambers. Vacuum pumps and exhaust abatement systems then carry and treat the resulting gaseous by-products, forming one of the most critical hidden systems inside modern fabs.
As Korea semiconductor clusters requiring gigawatts of power, energy efficiency is moving from an ESG issue to a manufacturing-capacity issue. Vacuum pumps, plasma systems, RF generators, chillers and abatement equipment may become the next battlefield for semiconductor equipment innovation.
A semiconductor fab is much more than the process equipment visible inside the cleanroom. Behind every etch, deposition, cleaning or plasma process tool is another layer of pumps, plasma sources, RF generators, chillers and exhaust-treatment systems operating continuously to keep production running 24 hours a day.
Samsung’s Pyeongtaek campus shows how a modern semiconductor fab is built as a vertically integrated manufacturing system combining cleanrooms, utilities, vacuum systems, abatement, HBM production and advanced packaging. With P5 and P6 accelerating and new fabs planned in Yongin and Gwangju, Korea is entering another major semiconductor infrastructure cycle.
South Korea is one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing centers, while Japan retains one of the deepest semiconductor equipment ecosystems in the world. Looking beyond lithography, etching and deposition to RF generators, remote plasma sources, chillers, scrubbers, vacuum pumps and chemical delivery systems reveals a more complex picture: Japan remains broader in precision and specialized equipment, while Korea has developed surprisingly strong capabilities in plasma power, thermal control, abatement and other sub-fab technologies built around Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
Semiconductor manufacturing is moving beyond transistor scaling. Ultra-low-temperature chillers, low-GWP thermal fluids, autonomous fabs, glass substrates, advanced packaging and package-level liquid cooling are creating a new equipment and materials market.
Liquid cooling is rapidly expanding from GPUs and CPUs to memory, SSDs and power electronics. But the next frontier may be more fundamental: cooling the entire electronic system, including the PCB itself. As computing moves toward extreme-density AI and space environments, thermal management will have to evolve from component cooling to system-wide heat control.