Taiwan-based IC testing houses including King Yuan Electronics (KYEC), Sigurd Microelectronics and Ardentec have all kicked off R&D for more advanced 3nm-made chips, while also exerting efforts to develop solutions for AiP (antenna-in-package) modules, according to industry sources.

TSMC is expected to move its 3nm process node to volume production in the second half of 2022, prompting the testing houses to start deployments in 3nm chips testing solutions to better serve the foundry after having completed the development of their 5nm chips testing capability, the sources said.

AiP testing is also among key businesses for testing houses in 2021 as AiP modules are indispensable for 5G mmWave applications that will be significantly gaining momentum, the sources said, with ASE Technology now at the forefront of testing and measuring such modules.

King Yuan now has over 1,000 testing machines and 400-plus burn-in systems, able to support testing of advanced chips, AiP modules, CIS devices and MEMS components, the sources said.

Its chairman CK Lee has said that IC testing will become even more important than ever, now that wafer-level, 3D and heterogeneous packaging solutions are increasingly used to process diverse applications.

Sigurd now puts R&D focus on testing technologies for 5G SoCs, AiP modules, Wi-Fi 6/6E chips and diverse AI chips, and has also moved to explore 3nm chips testing solutions.

With close partnership with TSMC, Ardentec is set to benefit significantly from the foundry stepping up capacity support for automotive MCUs and other peripheral chips,the sources said. The company will continue to strengthen its R&D efforts on testing capability for power management ICs, analog devices, sensors, AiP modules and advanced HPC and AI chips.

By DIGITIMES