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Samsung automating semiconductor packaging, doubling efficiency

Jessica Tsai, Taipei; Judy Lin, DIGITIMES Asia 0

Credit: AFP

Samsung Electronics is not only the first company in the world to launch a labor-free semiconductor packaging line, but it has also set a goal of converting its packaging plants to be human labor-free by 2030.

According to the results of Samsung's conversion of its packaging production lines to an unmanned process, manufacturing manpower has been reduced by 85%, the occurrence rate of equipment failures has been reduced by 90%, and the overall equipment efficiency has increased by approximately 2 times or more.

Generally speaking, the traditional semiconductor packaging production line needs a large amount of manpower. According to the Korean media ET News, at the 2023 New Generation of Semiconductor Packaging Equipment & Materials Innovation Strategy Forum, Samsung TSP (Test & System Package) head Kim Hee-rye said in a keynote speech that starting in June 2023, Samsung is building manless production lines for its packaging plant.

Samsung's packaging factories are located in Cheonan and Wonyang, South Korea, where the unmanned production lines are built. However, the proportion of unmanned production lines accounts for only about 20% of the current Samsung packaging production lines. Samsung plans to convert the entire packaging factory into an unmanned factory by 2030.

Samsung has achieved complete automation through transportation equipment such as wafer transfer devices, elevators, and conveyor belts. This has significantly reduced waiting time and movement time during the process and has also improved production efficiency. Operators who were previously in the packaging production line are now assigned to the integrated control center outside the production line, where they are responsible for managing equipment and checking for abnormalities.