Samsung Electro-Mechanics has again delayed its semiconductor glass substrate investment schedule, according to The Elec, after customers encountered bottlenecks in reliability evaluations of trial products. The delay has pushed back construction of the production line at GlaSSEM, its glass-core joint venture with Dongwoo Fine Chem, leaving the timing for equipment orders uncertain. GlaSSEM has not provided suppliers with an order schedule; equipment orders have been postponed from December last year to March and then June, marking more than three delays, and no further schedule guidance has been offered since June. Industry observers say the root cause is that global telecom-chip customers have failed to pass reliability certification for glass-substrate trial products. Samsung Electro-Mechanics continues to produce trial units at its Sejong site, and it has already selected most equipment suppliers for key production steps such as deposition, etching, laser drilling and inspection. Because trial products must be redone and resubmitted, the original investment plan is expected to be pushed back further. When GlaSSEM was established early last month, Samsung Electro-Mechanics targeted mass production in the second half of 2027, but it adjusted that timeline to 2028 during last month's earnings call. Production is now expected to be delayed further.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics' investment plan for semiconductor glass substrates has hit another snag.
According to The Elec, the delay stems from bottlenecks in customer evaluations of trial products. Reliability checks have not gone as expected, and that has slowed the entire program. As a result, construction of the production line at GlaSSEM — a joint venture set up with Dongwoo Fine Chem for glass-core substrates — has been pushed back. Equipment order timing is now unclear.
GlaSSEM has yet to communicate a new order schedule to partner suppliers. Orders were initially postponed from December last year to March this year, then moved again to June. That marks at least three delays. After June, the company stopped providing any further schedule guidance. Industry observers attribute the recurring postponements to global telecom-semiconductor customers failing reliability certification on glass-substrate trial products.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is still making trial products at its Sejong plant. For the mass-production line, most equipment vendors have been chosen for core processes: deposition, etching, laser drilling and inspection.
Because the trial products need to be remade and resubmitted for evaluation, the original investment plan is likely to slip further. When GlaSSEM was created early last month, the company aimed for mass production in the second half of 2027. At last month's earnings call, that target was revised to 2028. Now, production is expected to be delayed even more.
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