The growth of AI computing power is pushing Advanced Packaging to the forefront of system innovation. The combination of logic, memory, and optical interconnects affects product performance, power consumption, and cost; whether these innovations can enter mass manufacturing depends on whether high-density interconnects can be stably realized under real production conditions. Consequently, the competition in Advanced Packaging extends to the coordinated control of materials, processes, equipment, and metrology.
On August 28, at the Equipment, Materials, and Components Sub-forum of the 12th Zhangjiang Hi-Tech · ICwise Integrated Circuit Industry Leaders Conference held in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, Chen Shubin, Chairman of Attach Point Intelligent Equipment, shared his thoughts on industry trends and corporate development under the theme "Gathering Chips to Strengthen the Chain, AI Creates the Future — Domestic Substitution of Advanced Packaging 2.5D/3D Bonding Technology".
Packaging as Product Is Changing the Competitive Logic
In Chen Shubin's view, the fundamental difference between Advanced Packaging and traditional packaging lies in "moving from protecting chips to defining products." He proposed, "Advanced Packaging redefines products and also redefines chips. It is a system-level innovation, which is why it is called Packaging as Product."
When multiple chips collaborate within the same package, interconnect density, heat dissipation, and reliability jointly affect the system value. Chen Shubin predicts that by 2030, about 75%–80% of the value in the three types of AI hardware markets — memory, computing, and transmission — will rely on Advanced Packaging to varying degrees. Advanced Packaging is upgrading from a manufacturing step to the infrastructure for AI system expansion.
Denser, More, and Larger Bring Composite Manufacturing Constraints
Chen Shubin summarized the direction of technological evolution as "denser, more, and larger." In his outlook, the IO Pitch on the memory side narrows from 35 μm to 10 μm, and the IO Pitch of GPU/ASIC on the computing side narrows from 50 μm to 20 μm; HBM evolves from HBM3E to HBM4/HBM4E, with stacking advancing to 16Hi and above; the integration scale on the computing side, referenced by the single exposure field area, advances from 3.3–5.5 times to 9.5–14 times, and the packaging path expands towards CoPoS and 3DIC.
In his outlook, the memory side moves from HBM3E/HBM4 to HBM+HBF integrated packaging, and the process moves from FCMR to TC and HB+TC; the HBM configured for GPU/ASIC on the computing side increases from 8–12 units to 12–20 units, the packaging expands from CoWoS to CoPoS, and the process evolves from FC+MR to WL DA+FC+TC; the transmission side moves from traditional Transceivers to CPO/COUPE, and the process advances from DA/eutectic to HB and Fluxless TC.
These changes require multiple indicators to be met simultaneously. Higher alignment accuracy needs to be matched with interface cleanliness, temperature, pressure, warpage control, and production takt time. In hybrid bonding, improving alignment accuracy cannot eliminate the interface risks caused by surface contamination; for thermocompression bonding using non-conductive films, the material flow, curing, and solder joint formation must be coordinated. The process route should be selected in combination with the packaging architecture, interconnect density, reliability, and cost.
Transforming One-Time Success into a Stable Process Window
The mass production value of advanced bonding needs to be verified under material batch variations, equipment drift, and real production environments. Process development should define acceptable surface states, temperature, pressure, and alignment ranges, and verify that the connection quality can still be stably reproduced when these conditions change. A process window that can cover normal fluctuations is the foundation for technology to move from R&D to the factory.
This requires materials, processes, equipment, and metrology to jointly define verification conditions from the early stage of development: materials determine the interface state, processes organize the bonding process, equipment provides repeatable control, and metrology verifies the results and provides feedback for adjustments. The evaluation focus should also cover yield, effective throughput, reliability, and cost per qualified unit, bringing technology choices back to the complete manufacturing scenario.
Integrating Metrology and Inspection into the Entire Process Development
Chen Shubin summarized bonding, metrology and inspection, and AI as three key technologies: bonding undertakes high-precision interconnection of chips with different IO densities, with yield requirements reaching over 99%; metrology and inspection run through incoming materials, defects, and process monitoring to prevent million-dollar-level losses on a whole wafer; AI is oriented towards the entire process of thinning, dicing, bonding, and molding, precipitating process experience into a data-driven automatic optimization closed loop.
To make this closed loop work, metrology and inspection should be moved forward to surface and topography inspection before bonding, extended to critical state monitoring during the process, and then the post-bonding offset, void, and electrical results should be correlated with material batches, equipment status, and process parameters. Tracing defect results back to material, equipment, and process states helps narrow down the troubleshooting scope, accelerate yield improvement, and also provides a foundation for data-driven process optimization.
From Die Bonding to Industrial Synergy
According to the company, Attach Point Intelligent Equipment was founded at the end of 2016. Over the past decade, it has focused on die bonding, with cumulative shipments exceeding 1,000 units, serving more than 70 customers globally. Currently, TCB and hybrid bonding are both undergoing verification with leading customers. The company has received investments from two major chain leaders, YMTC and JCET, and has initially entered the supply chains of ASE, Amkor, and some US customers.
According to the company's disclosure, APIE's CIS intelligent entire line has a market share of 65%, and its 3D ultra-thin stacking die bonder has a market share of 55%. The company introduced that the wafer-level thermocompression bonder TCB to be released in 2026 is a domestic first, benchmarked against South Korea's Mr. H. The existing accumulation of applications and deliveries provides a foundation for the company to extend to higher-density interconnects.
Looking to the future, Chen Shubin introduced the three five-year stage plans starting from the "15th Five-Year Plan": by 2030, the goal is to break through a market capitalization of CNY 100 billion and become the global No. 1 in die bonding; by 2035, to become the global No. 1 in Total Solution for Advanced Packaging; by 2040, to rank among the top in the world in the full spectrum of equipment, materials, and processes. According to the company's IPO timetable, Attach Point Intelligent Equipment plans to officially go public in 2028.
From the perspective of industrial demand, this vision means the continuous extension of capabilities: die bonding requires stable and reproducible manufacturing capabilities, total solutions require cross-process integration, and longer-term development requires working with customers, materials, and metrology partners to shorten the distance from R&D to mass production.
Chen Shubin also recalled his experience of meeting Jensen Huang at NVIDIA's Silicon Valley headquarters in October 2023. He mentioned in his speech that at that time, NVIDIA's market capitalization was about 1 trillion US dollars, and Jensen Huang said, "1 trillion is not the end, just the beginning," and two years later it became 5 trillion US dollars. Talking about the long-term space of AI, he said, "In the past, we shouted 'technology for the people', and in the future, it may become 'technology with AI as the core' — how AI changes human life and improves human happiness is a direction worth pursuing for 100 years."