As advanced packaging shifts toward large-size glass substrates, Cheng Mei Materials Technology is developing materials to address warpage, heat resistance, and drilling challenges. Its cutting and grinding tapes have entered customer validation and small-volume testing, while its anti-warpage film and heat-resistant tape remain in development.
advanced packaging glass substratescutting and grinding tapesanti-warpage filmCheng Mei Materials TechnologyDigiTimes Asia
Infineon Technologies AG of Munich, Germany is to supply what is said to be the world's first 900V gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic bidirectional switches (BDS) to Enphase Energy Inc of Fremont, CA, USA, a supplier of microinverter-based solar and battery systems, for deployment in Enphase's solid-state transformer (SST) power modules. By extending the operating voltage range of GaN technology to 900V while maintaining its high-frequency switching characteristics, the devices enable highly efficient, compact power conversion architectures for emerging applications including AI data centers. The supply plan is stated as an announcement, and the source does not specify deal value or timing.
According to supply chain sources cited by Commercial Times, as increasingly large AI accelerators strain advanced packaging capacity, TSMC's CoWoS supply remains tight, and TSMC is reportedly weighing price hikes of up to 20%, with some packaging lead times already stretching; Commercial Times reports that foundries and OSAT providers are considering another round of CoWoS price increases of 10%–20%. The stated backdrop is that advanced packaging demand is expanding beyond AI GPUs to server CPUs and custom ASICs, adding to a growing backlog of unfilled orders; longer AI chip testing times are an additional bottleneck, with Seoul Economic Daily citing Nomura Securities that NVIDIA Blackwell's final testing takes an estimated four times as long as Hopper's, while Rubin could require seven times as long. On equipment, Commercial Times reports equipment lead times have lengthened to six to eight months, up from three to six months, as customers prioritize securing deliveries over negotiating prices; TSMC, which typically negotiates price cuts or additional features at no extra cost, reportedly placed equipment orders at existing prices this year without seeking discounts or upgrades. Separately, according to Liberty Times, TSMC has finalized plans to raise wafer-out prices by 3%–6% starting January 2027, depending on the process node, with advanced nodes such as 2nm and 3nm seeing the steepest increases. On capacity, analysts cited by Commercial Times estimate monthly CoWoS capacity will exceed 130,000 wafers in 2026 and target 200,000 in 2027; Goldman Sachs projects TSMC's CoWoS capacity to reach 1.275 million wafers in 2026 (roughly 106,000 per month), before surging 114% YoY to 2.73 million in 2027 (227,500 monthly), and climbing another 27% to 3.48 million wafers in 2028 (nearly 290,000 per month). At its latest earnings call, Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei highlighted strong yields for its 5x reticle-size packaging, already in mass production, while confirming development of 9x and 14x solutions; the company is also advancing CoPoS to support larger packages at lower costs, with Commercial Times pointing to a 2028 timeline for 14x packaging. The price increases remain reported or planned and the article does not state they have been formally implemented.
Since the launch of TSMC's N5 5 nm process in 2020, the size of the SRAM 6T bitcell has remained around 0.021 µm², with logic transistor density increasing but memory not seeing similar advancements. With the A14 node, the 6T SRAM bitcell is expected to shrink significantly to 0.017 µm², a 19% reduction, with production set for 2028. TSMC is currently conducting pilot production to assess the viability of the node, enabling customers to evaluate how their designs will perform in TSMC's production environment; the progress of A14 production is reported as promising, with timelines advancing due to early successes. If pilot production continues smoothly without major yield or production issues, risk production is set to commence in 2027, followed by high-volume manufacturing in 2028; if no significant challenges arise next year, TSMC may even accelerate the production schedule by a few months.
Accellera Systems Initiative has approved Functional Safety Language Standard 1.0 (FSL 1.0) for release, announced October 21, and the standard is available for download. The standard establishes a common language and data model for capturing, exchanging, and integrating functional safety information throughout electronic systems development, focusing on failure modes, effects, and diagnostic analysis (FMEDA). It supports hierarchical FMEDAs, both assumption-based and design-mapped approaches, refining estimated diagnostic coverage using verification and fault-injection results, Tcl-based syntax for machine processing, and calculation and reporting of safety-related failure rates and metrics associated with ISO 26262 and IEC 61508. It targets reliable movement of safety information across tools, engineering teams, and companies, from IP through integrated circuits to systems. The source states that adopting FSL alone does not demonstrate compliance or certify a product, existing standards retain their requirements, and the standard's value will depend on adoption by tool vendors, suppliers, and customers.
Functional Safety Language Standard 1.0 (FSL 1.0)Accellera Systems InitiativeSemiWiki
Reported on 2026-10-27: two developments highlight growing momentum in Micro LED optical interconnect. U.S. smart glasses and optical waveguide developer Vuzix unveiled its Vuzix Causeway optical interconnect evaluation platform, based on its proprietary diffractive waveguide technology, at the 2026 OCP Global Summit (held October 12–15, 2026 in San Jose, California), targeting AI data center, semiconductor, and photonics applications; the current evaluation platform supports 19,200 parallel optical paths over an optical path length of approximately 30mm, and once light sources, detectors, and system integration are completed, the technology is expected to support aggregate bandwidth in the multi-terabit range (expected, not yet achieved), with a waveguide architecture compatible with Micro LED and VCSEL light sources; Vuzix is making evaluation units available to qualified industry partners and shipped its first Causeway waveguide bridge samples to selected customers in August. On the funding side: on October 14, Beijing-based Xinghuo Chenguang Technology announced completion of its first funding round, led by Sequoia China with San'an Optoelectronics participating as a follow-on investor and Yunxiu Capital as exclusive financial advisor for subsequent funding rounds; the amount raised was not disclosed. Xinghuo Chenguang develops Micro LED-based optical interconnect chips, targeting high-speed, low-power data exchange between chips and between computing and memory in AI and high-performance computing systems. On technology progress: on September 28, Xinghuo Chenguang, Yuanxu Optoelectronics, and Tsinghua University announced a milestone in Micro LED optical interconnect chip R&D joint testing by Tsinghua University and Xinghuo Chenguang showed a Micro LED chip sample achieved a -3 dB bandwidth of 3.5 GHz at a current density of 500 A/cm², demonstrating high-speed response at the 3 GHz level. In the next phase the three parties will focus on device consistency, array integration, and packaging interconnects, and conduct link-level testing to validate communication performance.
Micro LED optical interconnect chipoptical interconnect evaluation platformdiffractive waveguideVuzix, San'an Optoelectronics and 6 totalTrendForcePartnership/M&A
According to a report dated 2026-10-27, Shanghai-based Jiachi Power Technology, located in Shanghai's fourth-generation semiconductor industry cluster, has completed the first phase of wafer fabrication and validation for its vertical gallium oxide MOSFET chips. Through device-structure innovations and in-house process development, the company describes the result as the world's first enhancement-mode vertical gallium oxide MOSFET with on-state current exceeding 1 A and breakdown voltage above 900 V. Measured results showed a threshold voltage of 3.9 V enabling stable enhancement-mode operation, an on-state current of 1.2 A, and a specific on-resistance of 33 mΩ·cm². Designed for a 750 V operating class, the device demonstrated a measured breakdown voltage exceeding 900 V with leakage current below 3 μA, which the source says approaches mature commercial silicon and silicon carbide power devices. Based on the company's review of publicly available research and industry results, this is the first reported vertical gallium oxide MOSFET with on-state current above 1 A. Stable and controllable p-type doping had long been a major challenge, and prior public literature had not documented vertical gallium oxide MOSFETs with on-state currents exceeding 1 A. The technical team said the results validate the feasibility of its original device architecture and in-house self-aligned ion implantation approach, marking an important step from laboratory validation toward commercial engineering. Going forward, the company plans to further optimize device structures, process parameters, and epitaxial material integration, and to advance chip development, sample delivery for customer evaluation, and production-ready process establishment.
vertical gallium oxide MOSFETJiachi Power TechnologyTrendForce
This is a background technical explainer about TSMC's CoWoS-S (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate with a silicon interposer) 2.5D integration platform, which places large logic dies or chiplets beside multiple high-bandwidth-memory stacks and connects them through dense wiring in a silicon interposer, producing multi-terabyte-per-second memory interfaces. TSMC reports the platform has been in production since 2012 and supports silicon interposers reaching approximately 3.3 times reticle size; its fifth-generation implementation demonstrated an interposer of about 2,500 square millimeters capable of accommodating multiple logic chips and eight HBM stacks. The article also describes power-integrity features (embedded deep-trench capacitors), thermal and mechanical engineering challenges, and notes that packaging capacity determines how quickly cloud providers can deploy new computing clusters. The source does not state the cause of any event, as this is background technology analysis with no price movement, capacity change, or policy event reported.
TSMC CoWoS-S (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate with silicon interposer)2.5D integration platformsilicon interposerTSMCSemiWiki
Flex has completed its acquisition of EPC Power, a provider of intelligent power conversion solutions for data centers and electrical grid applications. The acquisition expands Flex's Cloud and Power Infrastructure portfolio and strengthens its power conversion, grid stabilization, and next-generation AI infrastructure support capabilities. EPC Power develops power conversion systems combining proprietary hardware, software, and control technologies, supported by US-based engineering and manufacturing operations, and has more than 15 GW of deployed capacity. The source states that AI data centers are increasing rack power density and placing greater demands on electrical distribution and conversion infrastructure, and Flex is expanding its portfolio, including the transition toward 800V power architectures for next-generation data centers; EPC Power's power conversion platform is engineered to support these emerging architectures. Flex also announced plans to spin off its Cloud and Power Infrastructure segment into an independent, publicly traded company, Axiom Solutions International, Inc., with plans to complete the separation in the first calendar quarter of 2027; this spin-off is a proposed transaction and not yet completed. The source does not state the transaction value of the acquisition.
power conversionFlex, EPC PowerPower Electronics NewsPartnership/M&A
Per Tom's Hardware on 26 October 2026, Micron outlined its next-generation DRAM technology plans: the company intends to introduce wafer bonding with its upcoming 1ε DRAM process technology and adopt High-NA EUV lithography (together with new materials) for the subsequent ζÅ (1st generation sub-10nm-class DRAM node) and ηÅ (2nd generation sub-10nm-class DRAM node) generations; it has not disclosed how it will implement wafer bonding or what improvements it expects. Micron's current 1γ DRAM process is already in high-volume manufacturing, while its successor 1δ is scheduled to enter volume production in the second half of 2027, promising a mid-20% increase in bit density and optimized for future AI memory products including HBM5, vHBM, and vEIM. Micron is also developing 3D DRAM (generations 3D1 and 3D2 on its roadmap, with architectures and launch schedules undisclosed) as well as vertical high-bandwidth memory (vHBM), vertical edge inference memory (vEIM), and various custom HBM (cHBM) implementations; the 1st generation vEIM targets 2 TB/s bandwidth at <1pJ/bit energy, in line with what HBM4 currently offers (at 8 GT/s over a 2,048-bit interface). The company has not disclosed when vHBM, vEIM, or cHBM will enter commercial production. Micron president and chief technology and products officer Scott DeBoer said 'DRAM is nearing atomic limits at this point,' adding that the company has confidence in several more planar nodes and will introduce 3D DRAM only at the optimal time from a cost and performance point of view. All items are plans/under development, not achieved results.
TASKING announced the industry's first and only single-vendor unified toolchain for NXP Semiconductors' S32K5 automotive microcontroller family. Developed in close collaboration with NXP, the toolchain brings compilation, debugging, and verification into one workflow, providing an end-to-end workflow for S32K5 developers and includes out-of-the-box MCAL certification via NXP's AUTOSAR RealTime Drivers (RTD). It is optimized for S32K5 hardware features including DSP acceleration, Arm Cortex-M7 and hypervisor-enabled Cortex-R52 cores, and hardware isolation mechanisms, with ISO 26262 and ISO/SAE 21434 certifications, and supports software reuse across the S32K3 and S32K5 families. The toolchain targets safety- and security-critical automotive applications such as zone controllers, domain controllers, body control modules, chassis and safety controllers, serving software development at OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.
Power Electronics News published a roundup of this week's articles covering practical EMI guidance for power converters, FinFET-based power devices, and simulation-driven thermal modeling for SiC and GaN converters. The roundup also lists news items: Navitas launched a 2300-V SiC power module for grid infrastructure, with the 2300 V SiC technology targeting higher efficiency and power density in AI data centers, energy storage, and grid applications; Allegro introduced 48V power management and precision position sensors for robotics, helping humanoid robots with integration, motion control, and functional safety; EPC GaN FETs enable a 4 kW high-efficiency converter, where the dual-phase EVAL-LT7930-AZ combines ADI's LT7930 controller with EPC2361 transistors for high-current power conversion; STMicroelectronics launched a QML-V qualified LVDS receiver, the RHFLVDS42, supporting data rates up to 600Mbps, 300krad(Si) radiation resistance, and 8kV ESD immunity for aerospace systems; onsemi and Sungrow target 99.3% efficiency in utility-scale BESS, where the PowerTitan 3.0 platform supports conversion units up to 450 kW and could save over 475 MWh annually in a 100 MW installation. The articles section also covers a GaN-based dual-side cooled package for 650-V GaN in 800-V AI data centers. This item is an informational roundup with no price or supply-demand data.
SiCGaNFinFETNavitas, Allegro and 9 totalPower Electronics News
Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH has introduced the TCKE5 Series of electronic fuse ICs (eFuses), designed to protect low-voltage power lines in space-constrained electronic equipment. The series includes four models (TCKE501UA, TCKE501UL, TCKE502UA, TCKE502UL), operates from 1.7V to 5.5V, and supports 1.8V, 3.3V, and 5V supply rails in applications such as SD memory cards, USB and HDMI devices, laptop PCs, and gaming consoles. The devices combine overcurrent detection and short-circuit protection in a compact SOT-353F (UFV) package; an external resistor sets the overcurrent detection threshold, and the typical overcurrent mask time is 2.4ms. The UA variants automatically retry operation after a fault, while the UL variants latch off and require an external signal to restart. All four devices support a maximum DC output current of 1.0A, and each IC measures 2.0mm × 2.1mm × 0.7mm (typ.). For input voltages from 5V to 5.5V, Toshiba advises following the datasheet recommendations for output capacitance or using an external Schottky barrier diode to manage voltage transients during short-circuit protection. Shipments of the TCKE5 Series have started.
eFuse ICs (electronic fuse ICs)Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbHPower Electronics News
According to industry sources on Oct. 26, HD Hyundai Electric began installing power equipment at SK hynix's new production facilities in Cheongju this month, primarily supplying extra-high-voltage switchgear and transformers to the P&T7 and Mask Fab facilities, which SK hynix is building to expand production capacity for HBM and other AI memory products. The company also secured orders for high-voltage switchgear and cast-resin transformers for support facilities at SK hynix's Y1 fab in the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. Its current P&T7 project in Cheongju is scheduled to run through July 2027, while the Yongin project is expected to continue through December 2027. It previously supplied switchgear, transformers and GIS to major SK hynix facilities including M15 in Cheongju and M16 in Icheon. In August, SK hynix decided to invest 35.2 trillion won in its second Yongin fab, Y2, and 19.1 trillion won in its Cheongju M17 facility; it plans to complete four fabs in Yongin by 2033, and in June outlined plans to develop a new semiconductor cluster worth 400 trillion won in the Honam region. Separately, in July HD Hyundai Electric signed a long-term supply agreement worth up to 1.1212 trillion won with a global technology company, under which it will supply 553.9 billion won worth of distribution equipment and 567.3 billion won worth of power equipment to data centers the customer is building in North America, with deliveries beginning in 2028; it began construction of a second plant in Alabama in March and plans to increase its extra-high-voltage transformer production capacity by 50% by April 2027. Per FnGuide consensus, its third-quarter operating profit is estimated at 305 billion won, up 23.4% from a year earlier — a forecast, not an achieved result. The article states additional orders are expected as domestic investment accelerates amid a boom in AI semiconductors.
extra-high-voltage switchgeartransformershigh-voltage switchgearHD Hyundai Electric, SK hynixThe Elec
SEMICON West 2026 was held October 13 to 15 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The article states the opening toast marked an industry that has already crossed $1 trillion in annual revenue, almost four years ahead of earlier projections. According to WSTS (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics), first-half 2026 sales were $702 billion, double a year earlier, and its August update points to roughly $1.66 trillion for the full year (a forecast), with memory up about 300% (forecast). SEMI expected more than 35,000 attendees over the three days on a sold-out floor of over 1,500 booths, with an exhibitor count of more than 700 companies and organizations. Topics included AI scaling, heterogeneous integration, advanced manufacturing, supply-chain resilience, advanced packaging and the economics of agentic AI. The next SEMICON West opens in Phoenix in March 2027; PDF Solutions held its 2026 CONNECT Conference on October 15–16 in San Francisco. The full-year sales figure is a WSTS forecast, not an achieved result.
Ventec International Group officially opened its first Southeast Asian manufacturing facility in Thailand, producing prepreg, bond-ply and laminates for high-reliability PCBs. The company expects the facility to produce around 3 million square metres of prepreg and 80,000 square metres of bond-ply per month at full capacity, with production ramping up gradually through 2028. The investments are meant to make its supply chain more resilient and meet growing demand from AI, high-performance computing and advanced electronic materials, presented as part of a "China plus one" strategy.
prepregbond-plylaminatesVentec International GroupEvertiqCapacity Change
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has reportedly discussed potential areas of cooperation with AMD CEO Lisa Su, but Tan did not publicly detail the reported areas of potential cooperation during his October 24 fireside chat with Chinese American Semiconductor Professional Association (CASPA) President Jimmy Cheng, and neither company has announced a new agreement arising from the discussions. In the chat, Tan outlined plans to rebuild Intel's CPU business, develop chips tailored to specific customer workloads, and grow ASICs, co-packaged optics (CPO), physical AI and advanced packaging as potential growth businesses, with two or three of these areas eventually contributing around 10% of Intel's revenue each. He said the 18A process had reached volume production, 14A development was progressing strongly, PDK version 0.5 was released, version 0.9 was coming next, followed by version 1.0 for volume production in early 2027. In January, two prospective customers were evaluating 14A test chips, with firm supplier decisions expected during the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027, though Intel did not identify those customers or disclose order sizes. The companies already cooperate: in October 2024 Intel and AMD established the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group, and last week it emerged that AMD was integrating its ZenDNN optimizations into Intel's open-source oneDNN library.
Reported October 26, 2026: Samsung SDI announced that its Michigan-based subsidiary, Samsung SDI America (SDIA), has signed a 1 GWh agreement to supply energy storage system (ESS) solutions to Alpha Omega Power (AOP), a US utility-scale battery storage developer and independent power producer. Under the agreement, Samsung SDI will supply its Samsung Battery Box (SBB) 1.7, a fully integrated ESS solution featuring nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) batteries. All cells and modules will be manufactured at the StarPlus Energy (SPE) plant in Kokomo, Indiana, and delivered by the end of this year, per the press release. Including an initial contract signed late last year, the two agreements total 1.5 GWh. AOP plans to deploy the supplied ESS solutions for large-scale power projects critical for grid reliability and power demand growth, scheduled to begin construction in the WECC and ERCOT power markets next year.
energy storage system (ESS)Samsung Battery Box (SBB) 1.7nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) batteriesSamsung SDI, Samsung SDI America (SDIA) and 3 totalEvertiqPartnership/M&A
Related manufacturers
Samsung SDI, Samsung SDI America (SDIA), StarPlus Energy (SPE)
Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who became a partner at investor Playground Global last year, is betting on Nagare Labs, a startup founded by Georgia Institute of Technology professors Suman Datta and Shimeng Yu, which is developing a new memory technology called Z2RAM based on oxide semiconductors. Z2RAM aims to combine SRAM-like speed, density much closer to DRAM, and NAND-like manufacturing, with a promised bit density upwards of 5x that of SRAM in its first incarnation (a 64MB SRAM tile corresponding to 320MB of Z2RAM capacity), designed for integration directly onto compute logic using 3D hybrid bonding. The company has closed its first seed funding round and now has $5 million to further development; the technology is still at the lab-prototype stage, and Nagare is looking for an R&D fab partner, with the goal of sampling working Z2RAM memory tiles within the next four years and production shipments within the next decade. Challenges include the lack of an open standard for 3D bonding integration (Nagare may have to design an interface itself) and reliability concerns with oxide semiconductors (atomic vacancies and single- or few-electron effects shifting transistor threshold voltage).
Z2RAMSRAMDRAMNagare Labs, Intel and 7 totalThe RegisterPartnership/M&A
ICEYE and Nokia have signed a letter of intent with Ukraine's Ministry of Defence to explore cooperation on satellite communications, with the aim of giving Ukraine satellite communications that it controls itself. The letter of intent was announced on 22 October, during the Finnish Prime Minister's visit to Ukraine, according to a press release from Nokia. Earlier this month, the two Finnish companies announced a partnership to develop secure broadband satellite communications systems in low Earth orbit (LEO) for governments; the systems are built on European technology and are designed to give nations ownership and control of the satellites, the ground segment and the terminals, with intended uses ranging from defence and border security to emergency services and disaster response. The letter of intent commits the parties only to exploring cooperation; it is not a supply agreement, and the press release gives no timeline, scope or value.
secure broadband satellite communications systems in low Earth orbit (LEO)ICEYE, NokiaEvertiqPartnership/M&A