C&G Hi Tech, a semiconductor equipment corporation participating in the 'Semicon Korea 2025' exhibition, noted that its glass substrate prototypes received significant interest from global corporations including Samsung and SK. A C&G Hi Tech representative said, "It seems there was a lot of interest in the glass substrate prototypes. Many came to see them from various places, including Samsung and SK."
C&G Hi Tech is one of the hottest stocks in the market recently. It announced success in copper thin-film formation by applying a new physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology to the inner wall of the next-generation glass printed circuit board (Glass PCB) through glass vias. The company disclosed that it signed a contract with Samsung Electronics to supply semiconductor manufacturing equipment worth 654 billion won over a two-month period. This amounts to 39% of its recent sales.
C&G Hi Tech unveiled glass substrate prototypes with metallic thin films at the 'Semicon Korea 2025' exhibition held at COEX in Samsung-dong, Seoul, from the 19th to the 21st. This serves as a foundation for mass production of glass substrates and has undergone plasma ion beam surface treatment.
C&G Hi Tech announced it has succeeded in large-area (510*515mm) thin-film formation with a thickness of over 7N/cm and a aspect ratio of 1:5. The higher the delamination strength, the stronger the adhesion. The industry requires a delamination strength of 5N/cm or more.
Glass substrates use glass instead of organic materials such as plastic in semiconductor substrates. They do not warp easily under high temperatures and consume less power, making them a focus as next-generation semiconductor substrates. The surface roughness is very low, enabling the implementation of fine circuits.
However, glass does not bond well with metal electrodes, making commercialization difficult. C&G Hi Tech explained that it increased the adhesion between glass and copper by utilizing ion beam surface treatment technology. It then stated that it has developed technology to form metallic thin films on the inner wall of the fine through holes in the glass substrate through the PVD process.
C&G Hi Tech stated, "Currently, we have only succeeded in small areas," adding that "the goal is to achieve large-area thin-film formation with an aspect ratio of 1:10 by the second half of the year."
Still, it explained that the commercialization or mass production of glass substrates is still a distant topic. Hong Sa-moon, CEO of C&G Hi Tech, said, "The market is not open yet to discuss mass production," noting that "since it is still in the development stage, it may take 2 to 3 years to see actual demand formation and mass production." He also mentioned that if a customer requests just the substrate, stating they will handle the plating (subsequent processing) themselves, it would be possible to supply a substrate that has been thinly plated (primary processing).
Meanwhile, C&G Hi Tech's stock price, which was in the low 10,000 won range earlier this month, soared to as high as 20,450 won the previous day, leading it to be designated as a short-term overheated stock. As a result, C&G Hi Tech can only engage in transactions through fixed-price trading every 30 minutes from the 20th to the 24th.