Toppan has constructed a new manufacturing line at its Niigata plant (Shibata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan ) for Flip Chip-Ball Grid Array (FC-BGA) substrates, a form of high-density semiconductor packaging. The new line will come online in January 2026.
Against a backdrop of rising demand for data centers and edge computing, demand for FC-BGA substrates is increasing. Toppan began mass production of FC-BGA substrates at the Niigata plant in 2014 and has since increased capacity in phases, including the launch of mass production on an expanded line in 2022. Recent years, however, have seen an acceleration in scaling of FC-BGA size, a rise in the number of layers, and increasingly advanced technical specifications, leading to continued growth in production capacity utilization.
The launch of the new manufacturing line will bolster Toppan’s capabilities for high-end FC-BGAs – large-scale, multi-layer substrates delivering high-speed transmission needed for AI and data center semiconductors. FC-BGA production capacity at the Niigata plant will reach double the fiscal 2022 first half level.
The new manufacturing line- features enhanced support for high-speed transmission. The company says a process will be established to support new low-dielectric constant/low-dielectric dissipation factor materials. The line will employ copper wiring surface treatment that takes into account skin effects during high-speed signal transmission. There will be a further increase in transferable substrate thickness. The line is designed to support production of sizes that are too large even for JEDEC-standard-compliant trays. Inspection processes and measures against foreign particles will also be enhanced to increase yield rate. Smart autonomous mobile robots will be adopted for transfer between certain processes.
Toppan aims to launch mass production on the new FC-BGA manufacturing line by the end of fiscal 2025. With the Singapore plant currently under construction and due to launch operations in late 2026, a two-plant manufacturing system is expected to enhance business continuity capabilities and facilitate global supply of FC-BGAs.
