As AI Chips Become Larger and More Complex, the Semiconductor Industry Is Looking Beyond Organic Package Substrates to Glass

🔲 iAtlas Daily #69 | Semiconductor Packaging & Materials | September 2026

For decades, semiconductor progress was largely associated with one direction:

Smaller Transistors

Smaller transistors allowed more computing power to fit onto a chip.

But AI is changing the physical structure of semiconductor systems.

Modern AI processors increasingly combine:

GPU / Accelerator

HBM

Chiplets

I/O

and:

Advanced Packaging

into increasingly large packages.

As the package becomes larger and more complex, another component becomes increasingly important:

The Substrate

The substrate sits underneath the semiconductor chips.

It provides:

Mechanical Support

Electrical Connections

Power Delivery

and:

Signal Routing

between the chips and the rest of the system.

Traditionally, advanced semiconductor packages have relied heavily on organic substrate materials.

But as packages become:

Larger

Denser

and:

More Power Hungry

the limitations of conventional organic substrates become more difficult to manage.

That is creating an opportunity for another material:

Glass

This month, Samsung Electro-Mechanics showcased its next-generation glass substrate technology at KPCA Show 2026.

SKC is investing hundreds of billions of won into Absolics as the company moves its glass substrates through customer reliability evaluation.

And Intel is working with Lens Technology to develop glass-based advanced packaging solutions.

The semiconductor industry’s next materials transition may therefore happen not inside the transistor—

but:

Underneath the chip.

As semiconductor scaling expands from the transistor into the package, the materials supporting that package are becoming part of the performance equation.

🌍 The Big Story

A semiconductor package may look simple from the outside.

But inside a modern high-performance package, multiple components must communicate at enormous speed.

Consider an AI accelerator.

It may contain:

Compute Dies

HBM Stacks

I/O Components

Power Connections

all inside one package.

These components need to exchange huge amounts of data.

That creates a fundamental manufacturing challenge:

How do you connect more chips across a larger package while maintaining precision, electrical performance and structural stability?

One possible answer is:

Glass Substrate

Glass offers physical and electrical characteristics that could make it particularly suitable for the next generation of large advanced semiconductor packages.

1. What Is a Semiconductor Package Substrate?

The semiconductor die does not normally connect directly to a computer motherboard.

Between them sits a package substrate.

A simplified structure looks like:

Semiconductor Chip

↓

Bumps

↓

Package Substrate

↓

Solder Connections

↓

Mainboard

The substrate distributes:

Electrical Signals

and:

Power

while also supporting the semiconductor mechanically.

For increasingly complex processors, this role becomes much more demanding.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics describes the package substrate as evolving from a simple interconnection component into a technology that directly affects:

Performance

Power Efficiency

and:

Signal Stability. Samsung Semiconductor

2. AI Is Making Semiconductor Packages Larger

Traditional processors could often be designed primarily around a single large die.

But semiconductor architectures are changing.

Instead of:

One Chip

we increasingly see:

Multiple Compute Dies

Memory

Chiplets

integrated together.

This creates:

Larger Package Area

AI accelerators are one of the strongest examples.

They need enormous memory bandwidth.

That is why HBM stacks are placed extremely close to the compute processor.

The package therefore needs to accommodate:

More Components

More Connections

and:

More Power

in a tightly integrated structure.

3. Larger Packages Create a Physical Problem

As substrates become larger, maintaining dimensional stability becomes more difficult.

One major issue is:

Warpage

Warpage means the substrate bends or deforms rather than remaining perfectly flat.

Imagine a thin sheet changing shape slightly during processing.

At everyday scale, a small bend may seem insignificant.

At semiconductor scale, it can create serious problems.

Connections may no longer align correctly.

That can affect:

Bump Alignment

Assembly

Yield

and:

Reliability

The larger the package becomes, the more difficult warpage management can become.

4. Why Do Organic Substrates Warp?

Conventional package substrates typically contain combinations of:

Organic Resin

Copper

and:

Reinforcement Materials

Different materials expand differently when heated.

During semiconductor manufacturing and operation, the package experiences temperature changes.

That creates:

Thermal Expansion

↓

Material Stress

↓

Dimensional Change

↓

Potential Warpage

Manufacturers already use sophisticated engineering to control this.

But as packages become larger, the challenge becomes harder.

5. Glass Has Different Physical Properties

Glass offers several potentially attractive characteristics.

It can provide:

High Rigidity

Excellent Flatness

Dimensional Stability

and:

Low Thermal Expansion

relative to many conventional organic structures.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics specifically highlights the ability of glass substrates to improve rigidity and dimensional stability while supporting better signal and power characteristics. Samsung Semiconductor

This is why glass becomes particularly interesting for:

Large-Area Advanced Packaging

6. Think of It as Building on a Flatter Foundation

A simple analogy helps.

Imagine constructing a very precise structure.

If the foundation moves or bends:

Alignment becomes harder.

But if the foundation remains extremely flat:

More precise structures can be built on top.

The same basic idea applies here.

Glass can potentially provide a more dimensionally stable platform for increasingly complex semiconductor packages.

That can help enable:

Finer Wiring

Higher Interconnect Density

and:

Larger Packages

7. But Glass Alone Does Not Connect Anything

A plain sheet of glass is not a semiconductor substrate.

Electrical signals need to move:

Across

and:

Through

the glass.

This requires one of the most important technologies in glass substrates:

TGV

Through-Glass Via

A TGV is a tiny connection channel formed through the glass.

The simplified process is:

Glass

↓

Create Microscopic Hole

↓

Fill / Plate with Conductive Metal

↓

Create Vertical Electrical Connection

These vias allow signals and power to pass from one side of the glass to the other.

8. TGV Is One of the Key Manufacturing Challenges

Creating one hole in glass is easy.

Creating:

Thousands

or potentially:

Millions

of microscopic structures with consistent:

Diameter

Position

Shape

and:

Electrical Performance

is much harder.

Manufacturing can involve technologies such as:

Laser Processing

Etching

Metallization

Plating

and:

Precision Inspection

Samsung Electro-Mechanics highlighted both fine connection-channel formation and metal filling as core glass-substrate technologies at KPCA Show 2026. Samsung Semiconductor

This is where glass substrate technology becomes a manufacturing challenge rather than simply a materials choice.

9. Glass Can Potentially Enable Finer Interconnects

Modern AI packages need enormous numbers of electrical connections.

As interconnect density increases, wiring needs to become:

Smaller

and:

Closer Together

Glass’s dimensional stability can help support finer circuit structures.

This could enable:

Higher-Density Interconnects

which are increasingly important for connecting:

Compute

↔

Memory

↔

Chiplets

inside advanced packages.

10. Signal Integrity Matters More as Data Rates Increase

Modern AI processors move enormous amounts of data.

HBM exists largely because processors need far more memory bandwidth than conventional memory architectures can provide.

But moving data at very high speed creates electrical challenges.

Signals can experience:

Loss

Interference

Noise

and:

Distortion

Package materials therefore affect more than mechanical structure.

They also influence:

Electrical Performance

Intel’s glass-substrate development work specifically targets higher interconnect density and improved power efficiency for future AI and data-center platforms. Intel

11. Power Delivery Is Becoming Another Packaging Challenge

AI chips consume enormous amounts of power.

That power needs to reach the processors reliably.

As compute density rises:

Power Demand

↑

Current Density

↑

Power-Delivery Complexity

↑

The package substrate plays a role in distributing that power.

This means next-generation substrates need to support both:

High-Speed Data

and:

High-Density Power Delivery

at the same time.

The substrate is therefore becoming part of system-level semiconductor design.

12. Glass Could Also Reduce Layer Count

Traditional organic substrates often require multiple build-up layers to create complex routing structures.

Glass-based architectures may allow some designs to achieve the required connectivity with fewer layers.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics says glass can potentially lower the number of substrate layers while improving signal characteristics and power efficiency. Samsung Semiconductor

Fewer layers could eventually affect:

Thickness

Manufacturing Complexity

and:

Cost

But these benefits depend heavily on whether glass processing itself can become economically competitive.

13. That Is the Critical Question

Glass has attractive engineering properties.

But semiconductor manufacturing is not decided by engineering performance alone.

The technology must also achieve:

High Yield

High Throughput

Low Defectivity

Reliability

and:

Competitive Cost

This is where the glass-substrate race becomes much more difficult.

14. Glass Is Also Fragile

The same material that provides excellent dimensional stability creates another challenge.

Glass can:

Crack

or:

Break

That creates difficulties during:

Handling

Drilling

Dicing

Transport

and:

Assembly

The manufacturing system therefore needs to control:

Mechanical Stress

and:

Edge Damage

very carefully.

Replacing organic material with glass does not eliminate manufacturing problems.

It exchanges one set of problems for another.

15. This Is Why Commercialization Has Taken Time

Glass substrates have been discussed for several years.

Yet they are still not widely used in mainstream commercial semiconductor packages.

Why?

Because a promising material must survive the entire manufacturing sequence.

The commercialization path looks like:

Material Development

↓

Prototype

↓

Process Development

↓

Reliability Testing

↓

Customer Qualification

↓

Yield Improvement

↓

Mass Production

Glass substrates are now moving through the later parts of this sequence.

But they have not completed it.

16. Absolics Is One of the Companies Closest to Commercialization

One of the most important companies in this field is:

Absolics

Absolics is backed by South Korea’s SKC and was established with participation from Applied Materials.

The company has built a dedicated glass-substrate facility in:

Covington, Georgia

in the United States.

Rather than locating production in Korea, the company positioned its manufacturing base close to the growing U.S. advanced-semiconductor ecosystem.

That makes Absolics important not only technologically, but geopolitically.

17. SKC Is Putting More Capital Behind Absolics

This month SKC announced an investment of approximately:

KRW 281 Billion

into Absolics through a rights offering.

SKC said the investment is intended to accelerate glass-substrate commercialization.

Absolics is currently conducting reliability evaluations for its embedding products while preparing proof-of-concept work for non-embedding products. SKC

Then on September 22, SKC committed an additional:

KRW 92.1 Billion

to the offering.

That brings its total subscription to approximately:

KRW 373.1 Billion

and increases SKC’s stake in Absolics to 82.37%. Seoul Economic Daily

This is a significant financial commitment to a technology that has not yet reached broad commercial production.

18. The Important Word Is “Qualification”

Semiconductor suppliers cannot simply manufacture a component and begin selling it.

Customers need to verify that the product can survive:

Thermal Cycling

Mechanical Stress

Long-Term Operation

Assembly Conditions

and:

Real Product Environments

This is:

Qualification

And qualification can take time.

For a completely new substrate material, customers need confidence that the package will remain reliable over years of operation.

That is particularly important in:

Data Centers

where failures can be extremely expensive.

19. Samsung Electro-Mechanics Is Building Its Own Glass Strategy

Absolics is not alone.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is also developing glass substrates.

At KPCA Show 2026 this month, the company displayed:

2.5D Package Substrates

2.1D Package Substrates

and:

Glass Substrates

for next-generation AI and server applications. Samsung Semiconductor

The company already operates a glass-substrate pilot line at its Sejong plant.

But its strategy extends further upstream.

20. Samsung Electro-Mechanics Is Securing the Glass Core Itself

In 2025, Samsung Electro-Mechanics signed an MOU with Sumitomo Chemical Group to create a joint venture for:

Glass Core

The glass core is the fundamental glass layer used inside the substrate.

The logic is important.

Instead of only developing:

Glass Substrate Manufacturing

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is also attempting to secure:

The Core Material

The initial production base is planned for Pyeongtaek, Korea. Samsung Electronics

The companies formalized the JV in 2026, with mass production targeted from the second half of 2027. Seoul Economic Daily

21. Intel Has Been Developing Glass for Years

Intel is another major player.

The company has spent years researching glass substrates for advanced packaging.

Its interest comes from a fundamental problem:

Future semiconductor packages are expected to become much larger.

Intel believes glass can support:

Higher Interconnect Density

Better Dimensional Stability

and:

Larger Package Sizes

than traditional organic substrates.

But Intel is not attempting to build the entire ecosystem alone.

22. Intel Is Bringing in a Glass Manufacturing Specialist

In July 2026, Intel announced a strategic collaboration with:

Lens Technology

The companies will explore glass-substrate-based packaging solutions for:

Data Centers

and:

Specialized Computing

The partnership combines:

Intel

→ Advanced semiconductor packaging

with:

Lens Technology

→ Precision glass processing and manufacturing. Intel

This is a revealing industrial model.

23. Semiconductor Packaging Is Pulling in New Types of Suppliers

Historically, the semiconductor supply chain included companies specializing in:

Wafers

Chemicals

Lithography

Deposition

and:

Packaging

Glass substrates can introduce expertise from another industrial domain:

Precision Glass Processing

That can bring in capabilities developed for:

Displays

Optics

Consumer Electronics

and:

Specialty Glass

The semiconductor ecosystem therefore expands.

24. The Supply Chain Around the Substrate Could Become Large

If glass substrates reach mass production, they could create demand across several layers:

Glass Materials

↓

TGV Formation

↓

Metallization

↓

Build-Up Layers

↓

Inspection

↓

Dicing

↓

Packaging

Each layer requires:

Materials

Equipment

Process Technology

and:

Quality Control

This means the glass-substrate opportunity is not limited to the substrate manufacturer itself.

It could create an entirely new advanced-packaging supply chain.

25. Korea Has an Interesting Position

This month’s developments reveal something notable.

Several important glass-substrate initiatives have strong Korean involvement.

SKC

→ Absolics

Samsung Electro-Mechanics

→ Glass substrate + Glass Core

Dongwoo Fine-Chem

→ Glass Core JV

This gives Korea an opportunity to participate in a new semiconductor-material ecosystem before commercial production becomes established.

That matters because advanced packaging is becoming increasingly strategic.

26. But Being Early Does Not Guarantee Winning

Glass substrate commercialization has already experienced delays across the industry.

That is normal for a new semiconductor manufacturing platform.

The difficult transition is not:

Prototype → Prototype

It is:

Prototype → Millions of Reliable Products

That requires stable:

Yield

Equipment

Materials

Supply Chain

and:

Customer Qualification

Until those pieces are proven, glass remains an emerging technology rather than an established replacement.

27. Organic Substrates Are Not Going Away

This distinction is important.

Glass should not be viewed as:

The material that will replace every organic semiconductor substrate.

Organic substrates already have:

Established Factories

High Manufacturing Experience

Large Supplier Networks

and:

Competitive Cost

Glass will need to justify itself where its performance advantages are worth the additional manufacturing complexity.

The most likely early applications are therefore:

High-End Advanced Packages

where conventional substrate limitations become most severe.

28. AI Is the Natural First Market

This is why AI repeatedly appears in glass-substrate discussions.

AI accelerators combine several difficult requirements:

Large Package Area

HBM Integration

High I/O Density

High Power

High Signal Speed

and:

Advanced Packaging

These are precisely the conditions where glass’s potential advantages become valuable.

The initial economics may therefore work at the top end of the market first.

29. The Pattern Is Similar to Other Semiconductor Technologies

Many semiconductor technologies begin in expensive applications.

The sequence often looks like:

Highest-Performance Product

↓

Technology Matures

↓

Yield Improves

↓

Cost Falls

↓

Broader Adoption

Glass substrates could follow a similar path.

First:

AI Accelerators

and:

High-End Servers

Later, potentially:

Other HPC

Networking

and broader computing applications.

But that expansion depends entirely on manufacturing economics.

30. Advanced Packaging Is Becoming a Materials Race

Advanced packaging is often described through technologies such as:

CoWoS

2.5D

3D Packaging

Chiplets

and:

Hybrid Bonding

But underneath all of these are physical materials.

Silicon

Copper

Organic Substrates

Underfill

Thermal Materials

and potentially:

Glass

The next stage of packaging competition may therefore be as much a:

Materials Race

as an architecture race.

31. This Connects Directly to HBM

HBM illustrates why the substrate matters.

An AI accelerator may place:

GPU

next to:

Multiple HBM Stacks

The system needs extremely dense connections between them.

As memory bandwidth increases, the physical distance and quality of those connections become increasingly important.

That means improvements in:

Interposers

Substrates

and:

Packaging

can affect the performance of the complete computing system.

The chip is no longer the only performance-critical object.

32. The Package Is Becoming the Computer

This is perhaps the larger transformation.

Traditional computing architecture could be simplified as:

Chip

↓

Package

↓

Board

But advanced semiconductor systems increasingly integrate multiple computing components inside one package.

The package begins containing:

Compute

Memory

I/O

and:

Interconnect

That means the package itself increasingly resembles:

A Miniature Computing System

As that happens, substrate technology becomes far more strategic.

🧩 Why This Matters

AI is pushing package substrates toward their physical limits.

Larger packages and denser connections make warpage, dimensional stability and signal integrity increasingly difficult.

Glass offers a different material platform.

Its rigidity, flatness and thermal characteristics could help enable larger, higher-density packages.

The technology is moving toward commercialization.

Absolics is undergoing customer evaluation, while SKC is committing additional capital to the business. SKC

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is building an ecosystem around glass.

Its strategy extends from glass-substrate processing to securing the glass core itself. Samsung Semiconductor

Intel is bringing precision-glass expertise into semiconductor packaging.

Its Lens Technology collaboration shows how the supplier ecosystem may broaden. Intel

Mass production remains the real test.

Yield, reliability, handling, TGV manufacturing and cost will determine whether glass moves from promising technology to commercial platform.

🔭 What to Watch

Absolics Qualification

Customer reliability qualification is one of the most important near-term milestones.

SKC Investment

Watch how the newly committed capital translates into manufacturing readiness and customer certification.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics

The company’s glass-core JV is targeting mass production from the second half of 2027. Seoul Economic Daily

TGV Manufacturing

Through-glass via yield and metallization will remain critical manufacturing challenges.

AI Package Size

Larger accelerators and more HBM integration strengthen the technical case for highly stable substrates.

Cost

Glass must eventually demonstrate competitive total manufacturing economics—not merely better physical properties.

Organic Substrates

Watch how conventional FCBGA technology improves in response. Glass is competing against a mature technology that is still advancing.

🧭 iAtlas Insight

The semiconductor industry spent decades asking:

How do we fit more transistors inside a chip?

Advanced packaging introduces another question:

How do we fit more chips inside a system?

That transition changes what matters.

When the system becomes larger:

Warpage matters more.

When connections become denser:

Dimensional stability matters more.

When HBM moves enormous amounts of data:

Signal integrity matters more.

And when power consumption increases:

Power delivery matters more.

The substrate therefore moves from being a supporting component toward becoming part of semiconductor performance itself.

Glass is interesting because it attacks several of these problems at the material level.

But the semiconductor industry does not reward promising materials.

It rewards materials that can be manufactured:

Reliably

Repeatedly

At High Yield

and:

At Acceptable Cost

That is the stage the glass-substrate industry is entering now.

Absolics is being funded through commercialization.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is building both substrate and glass-core capabilities.

Intel is partnering with a precision-glass manufacturer.

The pieces of an ecosystem are beginning to form.

The question is no longer whether glass can be used beneath advanced chips.

The question is:

Can the industry manufacture it economically enough to matter?

As semiconductor scaling moves beyond the transistor, the next critical material may not sit inside the chip at all. It may sit underneath it.

📚 Related Articles

📰 iAtlas Daily #64: Taiwan Is Building an Advanced Packaging Ecosystem Around TSMC
#64 explains why advanced packaging itself is becoming a strategic semiconductor ecosystem. #69 moves one layer deeper into the substrate materials supporting those packages.

📰 iAtlas Daily #63: The $400 Million Machine Reshaping Advanced Chipmaking
Connect glass substrates with the broader shift toward increasingly specialized and capital-intensive semiconductor manufacturing technologies.

🔗 References

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