Philoptics Unveils Korea’s First 2.0mm-Thick Glass Substrate, Demonstrates Defect-Free TGV Technology

Philoptics (161580) is setting its sights on the thick glass substrate market, which is drawing attention as the next-generation material for semiconductor packaging substrates. At the 'KPCA SHOW 2026', taking place from September 9 to 11 at Songdo Convensia in Incheon, the company will unveil, for the first time in Korea, a 2.0mm-thick TGV (Through Glass Via) glass substrate and showcase its globally validated laser processing technology.

Philoptics announced on September 7 that it will debut a 2.0mm-thick glass substrate in the standard mass production size of 510mm x 515mm at the exhibition. As the thickness of the glass substrate increases, defects are more likely to occur during the TGV processing stage. Philoptics explains that it has achieved defect-free processing technology even with thick glass substrates.

TGV is a technology that creates micro-holes penetrating the glass substrate and then forms electrodes within them. As glass substrates are emerging as next-generation materials to meet the increasing size of semiconductor packages, TGV processing technology is also being positioned as a key competitive advantage.

Recently, as the number of GPUs and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) integrated into a single package increases in the artificial intelligence semiconductor market, the substrate area continues to grow. Larger substrates mean a greater risk of warpage—bending caused by heat generated from the chips—so the use of physically robust thick glass substrates is expected to rise significantly.

Another advantage of thick glass substrates is that they provide space inside the substrate to accommodate passive components. For stable power delivery to AI semiconductors, it is essential to place passive components such as multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) as close to the chip as possible. If the substrate thickness is sufficient, a blind cavity can be precisely machined to a certain depth within the substrate, allowing for the integration of bulkier passive components.

This can reduce signal loss and provide efficient management of the total package thickness. The space previously occupied by passive components can now be used to house a greater number of logic and memory chips, greatly improving the use of internal package space.

The challenge lies in processing thick glass substrates at mass production quality. As glass thickness increases, the difficulty of TGV processing also rises, and the industry consensus is that relying solely on subsequent etching processes makes it difficult to simultaneously ensure production yield and reliability.

Philoptics has addressed this issue with precision laser processing technology. The company claims it has achieved industry-leading zero-defect quality, meeting all the key TGV quality metrics—such as through-hole yield, taper angle, roundness, hole wall roughness, and hole position accuracy.

In particular, regardless of glass substrate thickness, the company emphasized that it has stably achieved a TGV defective hole occurrence rate of 0ppm while also significantly increasing process speed. This means that even after processing one million holes, not a single defect has been reported.

Philoptics' technology has been validated by several global customers. According to the company, it has secured competitiveness in the next-generation glass substrate market, from glass interposers to glass core substrates.

The likelihood of equipment orders is also growing. Philoptics stated that it has successfully completed technical validation from major overseas customers leading the global semiconductor value chain, and with equipment adoption all but confirmed, it is currently working on the final administrative steps toward a formal order.

A Philoptics representative said, "We have secured unmatched technology that enables a stable TGV defective hole occurrence rate of 0ppm regardless of glass substrate thickness, while dramatically boosting process speed. We will continue to introduce the highest-level laser precision processing equipment to provide the optimal processing solutions to our customers and further aim to set a new global standard for next-generation glass substrate processing."

The company added, "With our technology successfully validated by major overseas customers leading the global semiconductor value chain, equipment adoption is virtually confirmed and we are in the final administrative stage before the order is placed."

Leveraging the unveiling of the 2.0mm-thick glass substrate, Philoptics plans to highlight its TGV laser processing capabilities in the large-area and high-thickness glass substrate market, and to expand its business into actual equipment supply based on global customer validation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.