GlobalFoundries가 미국에서 TSMC의 CoWoS 어드밴스드 패키징용 실리콘 인터포저 제조 5년 $2 billion 계약을 확보했다.

GlobalFoundries and TSMC have entered into a five-year manufacturing agreement valued at $2 billion. Under the arrangement, GlobalFoundries will produce silicon interposers for TSMC's CoWoS advanced packaging technology, establishing a U.S.-based manufacturing source that will enable TSMC's clients to market their products as completely made and packaged in America. Volume production is scheduled to ramp up in the first half of 2028.

"By providing manufacturing service using GF's trusted U.S. manufacturing footprint, we are creating a secure, scalable source of essential advanced-packaging elements that will help customers accelerate innovation and strengthen the semiconductor supply chain," said Ed Kaste, senior vice president of CMOS Business at GlobalFoundries.

GlobalFoundries will expand manufacturing capacity at its Malta, New York facility to produce silicon interposers used in TSMC's CoWoS-S packaging ecosystem. These interposers are custom silicon components that provide high-density connections between logic chiplets and high-bandwidth memory stacks, enabling the creation of complex multi-die processors for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing applications. The companies have not disclosed the production capacity to be installed, though the agreement provides a framework for additional expansion depending on demand.

Silicon interposers for CoWoS-S are application-specific, customized for particular processor designs based on the number, dimensions, and placement of logic chiplets and HBM stacks, as well as the interconnections between them. They must meet the power-delivery requirements of specific processors, including power distribution networks and embedded deep trench capacitors, with designs accounting for signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal characteristics. Large interposers may exceed the maximum lithographic reticle size and therefore require stitching, raising questions about GlobalFoundries' capability to handle extra-large system-in-packages.

GlobalFoundries will function as a subcontractor rather than a supplier, manufacturing multiple customer-specific interposer designs. The company must ensure compatibility between its design rules, manufacturing processes, and qualification procedures so that interposers produced by GF can integrate into TSMC's CoWoS packaging flows. The handling of intellectual property ownership and protection remains unclear, as interposer layouts may incorporate technologies and production methods specific to TSMC and its customers.

Manufacturing silicon interposers represents only one part of the CoWoS-S production process. The technology also requires attaching logic chiplets and HBM stacks to interposers using high-precision bonding equipment, assembling the structures onto organic substrates, and performing electrical testing—operations requiring dedicated manufacturing capacity that this agreement does not address.

Following its exit from leading-edge process technology development in 2018, GlobalFoundries is now becoming part of TSMC's advanced packaging supply chain in the U.S. The agreement represents an opportunity for GlobalFoundries to participate in manufacturing advanced AI processors without producing leading-edge logic dies. Though the company abandoned leading-edge development eight years ago, its manufacturing capabilities remain suitable for producing certain components used in sophisticated multi-chip packages, including CoWoS-S interposers.

TSMC's plans to establish advanced packaging operations in Arizona make this agreement particularly significant. The company intends to introduce CoWoS and 3D-IC packaging capabilities in Arizona before 2029 and has signed a 10-year agreement with Amkor Technology, which is building an advanced packaging facility in Peoria, Arizona, scheduled to begin production in early 2028.

As GlobalFoundries ramps up interposer production in New York in the first half of 2028, TSMC could potentially establish a largely domestic CoWoS supply chain comprising logic dies manufactured in Arizona, silicon interposers produced in New York, and advanced packaging and testing performed by TSMC and/or Amkor in Arizona. For the near term, HBM stacks would still be sourced from memory manufacturers in Asia, though both Micron and SK hynix intend to bring HBM assembly facilities to the U.S. this decade. The U.S. should have a vertically integrated supply chain for advanced AI processor production by 2029–2030.

A key uncertainty remains: GlobalFoundries and TSMC have not disclosed how CoWoS assembly operations will be divided between TSMC and Amkor, or whether GlobalFoundries' interposers will be used in Arizona at all. GF's language about a trusted U.S. manufacturing footprint strongly implies that its interposers will be primarily aimed at system-in-packages fabricated entirely in the U.S. However, expanding interposer production alone will not increase the number of finished AI processors unless sufficient chip-on-wafer assembly and testing capacity is available.

The initial agreement covers five years with a mechanism for additional capacity expansion, but the companies have not disclosed planned manufacturing volumes, capital expenditures associated with the expansion, or the breakdown of the $2 billion valuation. It remains to be seen how GlobalFoundries' manufacturing capabilities align with CoWoS-S's technical advancements.