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Tuesday 15 September 2026
Murata considers bigger MLCC expansion as AI server demand extends beyond 2028

Murata Manufacturing is considering a new, potentially larger expansion of multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) capacity beyond its existing investment plans, as demand from AI servers is expected to remain strong through the end of the decade.

Tuesday 15 September 2026
AI servers are eating MLCC capacity, and Chinese suppliers are taking what's left

AI servers are reshaping the global multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) market. Murata Manufacturing and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) are steering limited capacity toward high-value server components, tightening conventional supply, lifting prices, and creating an opening for Chinese suppliers in PCs.

Tuesday 15 September 2026
Interview: Corning sees CPO, glass core as new semiconductor battlegrounds

As artificial intelligence applications accelerate, surging global semiconductor demand is pushing advanced packaging, co-packaged optics (CPO), glass core substrates (GCS), and fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) to the forefront of industry attention. Corning is expanding its footprint across the semiconductor supply chain by leveraging its core strengths in advanced glass formulations and optical fiber technologies, collaborating closely with value-chain partners to navigate next-generation technological shifts.

Tuesday 15 September 2026
Sivers Semiconductors positions laser arrays as solution to copper's limits

At this year's China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE), Sivers Semiconductor brought two products to its booth that trace the trajectory of the optical networking industry: a 1.6T pluggable optical transceiver currently ramping toward mainstream adoption, and a prototype module built for external light source (ELS) architectures, a technology that could define the next generation of data center interconnects.

Tuesday 15 September 2026
AI server tracker: CCL makers outpace PCB and substrate suppliers as server demand grows
Taiwan's copper-clad laminate (CCL) makers significantly outpaced printed circuit board (PCB) and IC substrate suppliers in August, as stronger server demand, pricing and product-mix upgrades lifted revenue across the board supply chain.
Tuesday 15 September 2026
Chinese chip tools reach 35% of equipment installed at local fabs
Chinese-made semiconductor equipment accounted for roughly 35% of tools installed at fabs in China in 2025, up from about 25% a year earlier, as domestic suppliers gain ground in key process-equipment markets.
Tuesday 15 September 2026
Inside CIOE: takeaways from China's biggest optoelectronics show
Last week, from September 9 to 11, thousands of vendors gathered for an enormous trade show in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen. At the China International Optoelectronic Expo (CIOE), DIGITIMES reporters got a peek into the trends going on within this booming industry.
Tuesday 15 September 2026
Global data center capex could reach US$31.6 trillion by 2050 as AI demand surges
PwC and Oxford Economics jointly released their Global Data Centre Outlook 2026–50 in early September, projecting cumulative global data center capex of US$31.6 trillion by 2050 under the baseline scenario. If AI adoption accelerates, investment could approach US$50 trillion under an upside scenario.
Tuesday 15 September 2026
Exclusive: China's 8-inch SiC suppliers turn to pricing discipline after 6-inch price war

As the silicon carbide (SiC) industry shifts from 6-inch to 8-inch wafer manufacturing, leading China-based substrate suppliers are taking a more disciplined approach to pricing and customer selection, seeking to protect margins and avoid a repeat of the severe price competition that has battered the 6-inch market.

Monday 14 September 2026
STMicro lead times top 1 year, boosting Taiwan chip makers
AI crowd-out effects are rippling through the supply chain, with lead times for microcontroller units (MCUs) from STMicroelectronics reportedly stretching beyond 1 year and triggering severe shortages in industrial control MCUs. That is opening the door for Taiwanese chip makers to push into high-end industrial MCUs, while supply is expected to remain tight through 2027 and stable delivery becomes key to defending market share.
Monday 14 September 2026
DIGITIMES Insight: China's GaN challengers are no longer playing catch-up
Chinese GaN power semiconductor maker Innoscience gained direct access to capital markets after listing in Hong Kong at the end of 2024, giving it fresh funding to expand GaN capacity and technology development.
Monday 14 September 2026
Samsung, Qualcomm deepen 2nm talks as pricing and yield hurdles persist
Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm are expanding discussions over 2nm foundry cooperation, with pricing, yield, and process optimization still unresolved as Samsung seeks to regain a share of Qualcomm's flagship processor business.
Monday 14 September 2026
A Taiwan PCB maker's China affiliate is worth three times its parent — and the parent just bought more of it

UK-based investment firm Palliser Capital announced on September 9 that following several months of constructive dialogue with the management of veteran printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer WUS Printed Circuit, it has further increased its holdings, officially pushing its stake past 5%. Moving forward, Palliser plans to actively present recommendations to WUS Printed Circuit to push for measures that fully reflect the company's value.

Monday 14 September 2026
Renesas readies second price hike amid stronger power-chip demand

Renesas Electronics is reportedly preparing a second product price increase this year, with new pricing set to take effect January 1, 2027, as rising manufacturing costs coincide with stronger demand for power semiconductors used in data centers and other high-growth applications.

Sunday 13 September 2026
Artery secures spot in Arm ecosystem, pushing high-end MCUs into robotics, physical AI

As Arm targets expansion in physical AI, microcontroller (MCU) maker Artery Technology has emerged as a key ecosystem partner. Focusing on high-end 32-bit MCU applications, Artery has penetrated supply chains for robotics and unmanned aerial vehicles, with full-year 2026 revenue projected to double.

Saturday 12 September 2026
AI server boom reshuffles MLCC supply, opening a rare expansion window for Taiwan makers

Strong demand for AI computing is creating a capacity squeeze across the passive-component industry, opening new opportunities for Taiwanese suppliers.

Saturday 12 September 2026
Murata targets mass production of its AI power substrate next year
Murata Manufacturing plans to begin mass production next year of iPaS, the power substrate it has spent several years developing for AI chips, a step that would carry the world's largest multilayer ceramic capacitor maker out of the passive components it dominates and into the substrate layer itself. The company is targeting annual sales of JPY50 billion (US$325.56 million) within 18 months of that launch, according to The Elec, which reported the plan after Murata showed the product at the KPCA Show 2026 in Incheon on September 9.
Friday 11 September 2026
Samsung Electro-Mechanics, LG Innotek vie in AI package substrates
At South Korea's recent KPCA Show 2026, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and LG Innotek showcased their next-generation package substrate technologies. As AI semiconductors evolve toward higher performance, increased density, and larger footprints, both companies are competing for dominance in this high-value-added advanced packaging market.
Friday 11 September 2026
China's DRAM supply chain clears another materials hurdle
China's semiconductor localisation effort has reached another upstream materials milestone.​ Jiangsu Pacific Quartz Co. has secured qualification for high-purity quartz products at a domestic DRAM manufacturer capable of large-scale production.
Friday 11 September 2026
CIOE 2026: Hitachi relies on partnerships, not proprietary tech, to ride China's optical boom

At an optoelectronics trade expo in China, Hitachi High-Tech used its booth not to unveil a flagship product of its own, but to showcase a growing web of partnerships. This is a strategy the company says reflects both its late entry into the photonics race and its long-term goals in the region.

Friday 11 September 2026
AI packaging turns to glass, with TGV metallisation persisting as key technical hurdle
Taiwan supply-chain sources said low-CTE glass fibre cloth used in high-end substrates remains tight, while glass-core substrates for next-generation packaging are still in technical validation and supply-chain development. Key challenges include material brittleness and inconsistencies in through-glass via (TGV) metallisation processing and reliability.
Friday 11 September 2026
AI server tracker: Taiwan's August filings say demand is still accelerating
The clearest read yet on whether the AI build-out is still accelerating arrived this week in a batch of unaudited Taipei filings, and it accelerated. The 49 Taiwan-listed companies spanning AI server assembly, cooling, power, substrates, materials, networking, test, and optics reported combined August revenue of NT$2.84 trillion (US$89.74 billion), up 76.5% from a year earlier and 9.9% from July, according to their filings to the Market Observation Post System. Both the total and the growth rate are the highest of the cycle, and the year-on-year rate is a step up from July's 61.3%.
Friday 11 September 2026
Global IC substrate market to surge 32% to US$19.5 billion in 2026 as Taiwan, Korea lead ABF, BT
Rising demand for generative AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and data center buildouts is pushing the global IC substrate industry into a new phase marked by upgrades in high-end product specifications, tight supplies of critical materials, and intensifying competition in advanced packaging technologies.
Thursday 10 September 2026
AUO matching glass substrate size stokes TSMC collab speculation
AUO is accelerating its transformation by extending its established large-format panel manufacturing capabilities into advanced semiconductor packaging.
Thursday 10 September 2026
Spirox TGV inspection capable of scanning entire substrate in 20 minutes
As advanced packaging moves toward higher-density stacking, demand is rising for glass through-glass via (TGV) and through-silicon via (TSV) inspection, while glass core substrates are steadily shifting from technology validation to mass production. Spirox chairman Peter Chin said the company has entered advanced packaging inspection with nonlinear optical technology, with TGV aperture sizes now at 4μm and 3μm still under validation, while materials, foundry, memory and packaging companies in Taiwan, Japan, the US and South Korea have already sent samples for testing.