LG Innotek will unveil its flip chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) for AI accelerators for the first time. Following plans to begin mass production next year of high-value FC-BGA for AI training and inference, the company aims to start full-scale production of glass substrates, regarded as next-generation semiconductor substrates, in 2028.
LG Innotek said on the 9th it will showcase next-generation substrate technologies and products at KPCA Show 2026 (International Semiconductor Substrate and Advanced Packaging Industry Exhibition), held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon from the 9th to the 11th.
Now in its 23rd year, KPCA Show is Korea's largest exhibition dedicated to printed circuit boards (PCB) and semiconductor packaging, hosted by the Korea PCB & Semiconductor Packaging Industry Association. This year, about 350 companies from Korea and abroad are participating.
At this exhibition, LG Innotek will debut its FC-BGA for AI accelerators. FC-BGA is a high-spec semiconductor substrate that connects the semiconductor chip and the mainboard. FC-BGA for AI accelerators is used in high-performance semiconductors such as graphics processing units (GPU) and Neural Processing Unit (NPU), requiring high circuit density and large-area design technology.
The product unveiled this time is a large-area substrate with each side longer than 100 mm. LG Innotek applied its ultra-fine circuit implementation and high-layer-count technologies accumulated over about 50 years in the substrate business. The company plans to begin mass production of high-value FC-BGA for AI training and inference, including AI accelerators, starting in 2027.
It will also exhibit a large-area FC-BGA measuring 85 mm by 85 mm, along with an extra-large sample whose area is about 40% larger.
It will also showcase "chip embedding," a next-generation packaging technology. Unlike the conventional method of placing a semiconductor chip on the substrate surface, this technique inserts the chip inside the substrate. By shortening the connection distance between the chip and the substrate, it can improve signal transmission performance and reduce electrical resistance and power loss.
It will also unveil glass substrate technology, which is drawing attention as a next-generation semiconductor substrate. By applying glass to the core layer of the substrate instead of traditional organic materials, the technology reduces warpage, which easily occurs in large-area substrates, and improves the accuracy of ultra-fine circuit implementation. LG Innotek is developing the technology with the goal of mass-producing glass substrates in 2028.
In the package substrate zone, it will present its wireless frequency system-in-package (RF-SiP) substrates, which hold the No. 1 global market share, and its flip chip chip scale package (FC-CSP) substrates, whose applications for high-performance memory are expanding.
It will also introduce the "Cu-Post" process, which places solder balls on ultra-fine copper pillars to connect the substrate and the mainboard. Compared with conventional methods, it narrows the solder ball pitch to about 20%, allowing more circuits to be arranged in the same area. By using copper, which has more than seven times the thermal conductivity of lead, it also improves heat dissipation performance.
In tape substrates, it will display display-use substrates such as chip-on-film (COF) and 2-metal COF, as well as "Econova," a next-generation smart IC substrate. Econova is the world's first product to apply an eco-friendly new material that can deliver high performance without precious metal plating processes such as palladium or gold.
Cho Ji-tae, executive vice president and head of LG Innotek's Package Solution Business Unit, said, "This exhibition is an intuitive opportunity to see how LG Innotek's substrates are used across industries and daily life, including AI, smartphones and mobility," adding, "We will change the paradigm of the substrate market with innovative products."
LG Innotek's Package Solution Business posted 935.6 billion won in revenue and 99.6 billion won in operating profit in the first half of this year. Those figures rose 18% and 94%, respectively, from a year earlier. The operating margin also climbed from 6.5% to 10.6%. LG Innotek aims to foster the Package Solution Business as a future growth pillar and achieve 1 trillion won in operating profit by 2031.