AI chips to be produced on large glass: Nippon Electric Glass to start shipping glass substrates in 2026

The idea of ​​using glass as a material for certain types of electronic components is not entirely new, even outside the LCD industry. Japan’s Nippon Electric Glass expects to begin supplying large glass substrates for multi-chip chips next year, which could help create new accelerators for AI systems.

Image source: Nippon Electric Glass

The manufacturer will start supplying samples of glass substrates measuring 510 x 510 mm to its customers from next year. Until now, the company has specialized in producing glass for packaging that stores semiconductor components, but now it is ready to offer its materials directly for chip production. By 2028, it plans to increase the substrate sizes to 600 mm on each side.

The advantage of glass substrates, according to the manufacturer, is their higher resistance to high temperatures compared to modern plastic ones. In addition, a glass substrate is simply harder than a plastic one. In a glass substrate, it is necessary to make the finest holes for mounting chiplets; Nippon Electric Glass has learned to do this using carbon dioxide lasers. The glass substrates themselves can be manufactured on almost the same equipment as display panels, so technical re-equipment will not be too complicated and expensive. Competitors often offer to make holes in a glass substrate using chemical etching using compounds that provoke metal corrosion. AGC and Dai Nippon Printing are trying to gain a foothold in this market segment, so Nippon Electric Glass is not the only market player vying for the attention of manufacturers of chips that are complex in terms of layout.

The company is also developing a hybrid version of a glass-ceramic substrate, which will be distinguished by increased strength. Samples of such substrates in a size larger than 500 mm will begin to be delivered to customers by the end of this year. Intel began talking about the use of glass substrates back in 2023, predicting that industry participants will switch to them in the second half of this decade. Accordingly, such materials will be in demand in the market.