TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan‘s semiconductor testing companies expect strong growth next year as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence applications fuels demand for advanced testing technologies, CNA reported Saturday.
Packaging and testing are a crucial stage in semiconductor manufacturing. It involves enclosing fabricated chips and verifying their performance to ensure they function properly, according to Pocket Securities.
The boom in AI chips, such as graphics processing units and application-specific integrated circuits, has increased testing complexity and duration. GPUs are designed to handle highly parallel workloads, making them ideal for training and running complex AI models, while ASICs are customized chips optimized for specific applications, according to Google Cloud.
Probe card and test equipment maker Mpi Corp. continues to benefit from growing demand for micro-electromechanical systems probe cards, which are increasingly used to test AI ASICs. MEMS probe cards provide highly precise electrical testing at the wafer stage, helping to identify defective chips before packaging, an essential step given the complexity and high cost of AI semiconductors, according to Gugu Fund.
To meet rising demand, Mpi is expanding its probe card production capacity. The company offers cantilever, vertical, and MEMS probe card solutions and plans to further increase output for vertical and MEMS types this year, with another expansion round planned for next year.
Mpi has already entered 3-nm wafer testing. It is preparing to support 2-nm processes by next year.
Beyond probe cards, Mpi’s thermal test systems are designed for extremely high-power chips used in automotive and satellite applications. Its printed circuit board inspection equipment has also seen robust orders driven by AI server-related demand.
Test interface supplier Winway Technology said that as new AI products enter mass production and global cloud service providers ramp up infrastructure investments, orders tied to ASIC and high-performance computing applications continue to grow.
In the first half of this year, revenue from Winway’s advanced testing for sub-7-nm chips rose to 87% of its total. Foreign institutional investors said Winway’s new HyperSocket test sockets are expected to scale next year, serving high-end testing needs for US AI customers.
The company also anticipates significant growth in system-level testing for US AI chipmakers next year. System-level testing, or SLT, is used to test fully packaged semiconductor chips under real-world operating conditions to ensure their performance and functionality meet application standards, according to Uanalyze.
Chunghwa Precision Test Tech Co. reported that demand from cloud providers, sovereign AI infrastructure projects, and edge AI devices is boosting the need for high-end chip testing, particularly for high-pin-count probe cards. The company is continuing to develop advanced probe card technologies and full-contact tester equipment.
Keystone Microtech Corp., a maker of integrated circuit test substrates, said its US operations serve local chip design customers and expect revenue from that market to double. The firm also works closely with local outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing partners in Taiwan.
