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Absolics Inc. partners with a local U.S. educational institution to develop human resources for semiconductors.
● Absolics Inc. signed an industry-academia collaboration agreement with Georgia Piedmont Technical College to set up an education/training program and jointly structure the curriculum.● The collaboration is aimed to develop technical talent that the glass substrate business could benefit from and contribute to reinforce the competitiveness of the local semiconductor industry ecosystem.Absolics Inc., a semiconductor glass substrate business in which SKC (CEO & President Woncheol Park) has invested, partnered with a local U.S. educational institution to develop human resources for the semiconductor industry.Absolics Inc. signed an industry-academia collaboration MOU with Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC) on March 9 (local time) to jointly set up an education/training program for human resources development of the semiconductor industry. The signing ceremony, held at GPTC’s Newton Campus in Covington, Newton County, Georgia, was attended by key officials from both sides including Absolics Inc. CTO Seongjin Kim and GPTC President Tavarez Holston.This MOU will serve as a basis for Absolics Inc. and GPTC to structure an education/training curriculum of industry-academia collaboration customized for jobs such as semiconductor quality management and defect analysis. The goal sought through this arrangement is to develop the human resources that the semiconductor glass substrate business need and contribute to reinforcing the competitiveness of the overall local semiconductor industry ecosystem in the long term.Absolics Inc. is the first company in the world to promote the semiconductor glass substrate business that is building a manufacturing facility on an SKC inc. site in Georgia since last November. A first-phase investment of USD 240 million was made to complete the manufacturing facility next year with an annual production capacity of 12,000 square meters. A second-phase investment of USD 360 million will also follow to expand the annual production capacity to 72,000 square meters.The semiconductor glass substrate business also started through local industry-academia collaboration. Commercialization of the business was built on the combination of GPTC’s basic glass substrate technology and SKC’s processing technology and manufacturing know-how. This additional industry-academia collaboration with GPTC laid the groundwork for Absolics Inc. to participate in talent development and achieve recruitment stability.Founded in 1961, GPTC is one of the largest and most historic community colleges in Georgia specializing in tech education. Over 1,000 students in fields such as industrial technology and computer science graduate from the college each year. GPTC President Tavarez Holston expressed his anticipation saying, “We look forward to a successful, long-term industry-academia collaboration with global companies SKC and Absolics Inc. that will contribute to local community development.”An Absolics Inc. executive said, “This industry-academia collaboration with GPTC, which is the best industrial technology education institution in the region, will contribute to develop talent needed for the future semiconductor industry and build a local semiconductor ecosystem,” and added, “We will continue to expand industry-academia collaborations to ensure the future availability of talented manpower.” [End of document][Absolics Inc. CTO Seongjin Kim (right) and GPTC (Georgia Piedmont Technical College) President Tavarez Holston holding the industry-academia collaboration MOU for semiconductor human resources development after signing it at GPTC’s Newton Campus on March 9.].jpg
2023-03-10
SKC solmics renamed SK enpulse, bracing for a new leap forward
Officially adopted this year, the new
corporate name stands for dynamic growth and commitment to usher in a new trend
in the chip material industryIn high gear on the fast track to localize high-value
materials such as CMP pad, and blank mask···
to evolve into a global semiconductor ESG solution provider
SKC solmics, an investee
specialized on semiconductor materials of SKC (President: Woncheol Park),
is renamed SK enpulse, bracing for a new leap to join the league of global
semiconductor ESG solution providers.
Officially adopted
this year, SK solmics’ new corporate name, SK enpulse, is a compound word
combining the English prefix ‘en’ as in ‘enable’ with ‘pulse’ indicating trend
and wave. It epitomizes the company’s commitment to fostering dynamic growth
and creating a new trend in the chip material industry.
SK enpulse is the
key semiconductor-making arm of SKC. The company has spearheaded the
localization of fine ceramic for chip applications with over a 30-year-long
R&D history. Affiliated a subsidiary of SKC in 2008, the company has been
rapidly innovating its business model, expanding its reach to cover high-value
chip materials including CMP pad and blank mask.
Under its new
name, SK enpulse vows to put new business growth into high gear. CMP pads are used
to flatten the surface of semiconductor wafers to increase the degree of
integration in chips. SK enpulse has been growing fast, carving out niches as
primary suppliers of SK hynix and DB HiTek in the CMP pad market, 80% of which
was dominated by global chemical giant Dupont.
Blank masks serve as
the canvas of the exposure step in chipmaking process where ultra-fine circuits
are drawn at nanometer spacing. SK enpulse succeeded late last year in localizing
high-end blank masks 90% of which was dominated by Japanese competitors. That has
drawn significant attention from chipmakers.
In addition to
adopting the new name, SK enpluse plans to further accelerate its growth by
consummating the merger with SK telesys this February. The company will also
seek to transform its identity from being a pioneer in the localization of
semiconductor materials/components to a global semiconductor ESG solution
provider committed to ESG management and global expansion.
“We have decided
to adopt a new name aligned with SKC’s vision for the semiconductor material
business and new corporate identity,” said a source in SK enpulse. “We will be
reborn as a provider of high-value semiconductor materials, increasing our market
cap. to 1.5 trillion won by 2025.” [End]
[SK enpluse CI]
2023-01-15
SKC, announces the world’s first commercialization of glass substrate: a game changer for semiconductor packaging
Data processing improved greatly while power consumption is reduced
followed by tech certification by a global semiconductor manufacturer SKC to build a 12,000-square-meter production plant in Georgia, U.S. by
2023 and target to expand it into a 72,000-square-meter production plant by
2025
SKC (CEO Lee Wan-jae) is starting to commercialize high-performance computing glass substrate that it has developed for the first time in the world. Glass substrate is a futuristic material that is considered a 'game changer' in the semiconductor packaging field because it can significantly increase the performance and power efficiency of computer chipsets.SKC held a board meeting on the 28th and decided to build a semiconductor glass substrate production base within the premises of SKC inc. in Georgia, USA by investing a total of US$80 million, including a technology value of US$70 million. It is aiming to complete the 12,000-square-meter mass production facilities by 2023.SKC's glass substrate for high performance computing (HPC) is expected to change the game for semiconductor packages. When a glass substrate is applied, the package thickness is cut in half and so is power consumption. Data center footprint can be significantly reduced as data throughput is dramatically improved. The company’s prototype has already been certified technologically by a global semiconductor manufacturer.In general, semiconductors such as CPU, GPU, and memory are packaged as one component on a substrate together with several MLCCs before being connected to a PCB. Plastic substrates were widely used, but their uneven surface turned problematic for high-performance semiconductor packaging involving repetitive miniaturization. An alternative method was developed in which silicon with a smooth surface was used as an intermediate substrate(interposer).However, compared to a glass substrate, this method has low efficiency and limited uses; The package gets thicker due to an interposer, making it hard to be used for mobile applications; The increased distance between the semiconductor chip and the PCB results in larger power consumption, too. In addition, it is difficult to economically produce large-area rectangular substrates required for high performance in round silicon.By contrast, the SKC glass substrate has a smooth surface and can make a large square panel, so it can respond to the trend of larger size products as well as the miniaturization of semiconductor packaging. The glass substrate does not require an interposer, reducing its thickness and raising its power efficiency. So it can be applied to mobile products easily. It is particularly advantageous for high performance products as MLCC, which had to be installed on the surface of the board, can be placed inside the board so that larger CPUs or GPUs can be mounted on the surface with more memory when necessary.SKC has decided to consider expanding the production capacity to 72,000 square meters per year by 2025, given that the semiconductor packaging market for high-performance computing is rapidly growing due to a surge in data throughput such as AI and data center servers. According to multiple market research institutes, the market will nearly triple from US$3.5 billion in 2020 to US$9.7 billion in 2025.An SKC official said, "SKC's glass substrates are receiving great attention from global semiconductor material suppliers and semiconductor manufacturers alike as they are produced with the groundbreaking technology that enables chip designers to achieve the maximum performance they can ever aspire to,” adding, “We will build a stable business base in collaboration with our business partners so we supply our innovative products to global semiconductor manufacturers while contributing to innovations across the industry using high-performance semiconductors.”
[Reference
photo]
[The glass
substrate for semiconductor packaging developed by SKC for the first time in
the world. It is called the ‘game changer’ in the field of semiconductor
packaging due to its thin thickness leading to high power efficiency on top of
its outstanding data processing performance.]
[The packaging
with a glass substrate developed by SKC for semiconductor packaging for the
first time in the world.]
2021-10-28
A leading company that strive for the world’s best.
Global ESG material solutions company
SKC is making efforts to create a better future for all of our partners.
SKC is making efforts to create a better future for all of our partners.
