Kim Won-ki, Group Leader in charge of silicon capacitor development at Samsung Electro-Mechanics, made these remarks on the 11th at a Samsung Electro-Mechanics product seminar (SEMinar) held at the Taepyeong-ro Building in Jung-gu, Seoul.
Silicon capacitors are key components that enhance power stability in high-speed, high-density electronic devices such as artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and optical communications. They play a role similar to that of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), often referred to as the “rice of the industry.” Generally, capacitors act as a kind of dam, temporarily storing electricity and then supplying it stably when semiconductors require it. At the same time, they function as filters that remove minute electrical noise (parasitic resistance components).
Silicon capacitors are produced using semiconductor processes based on silicon wafers. This involves depositing thin dielectric (insulating) layers and electrode layers onto the wafer. Thinner than MLCCs, they can be mounted directly inside semiconductor packages and excel at quickly responding to power fluctuations to reduce noise and stabilize the power supply.
Group Leader Kim explained, “Silicon capacitors are customized products manufactured to meet customer requirements regarding capacitance, thickness, number of terminals, and chip size,” adding, “MLCCs and silicon capacitors have a complementary relationship.”
Silicon capacitors are categorized into product groups based on their mounting location. These include “top-side,” which is placed next to AI accelerator chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) on a semiconductor substrate; “land-side,” located directly beneath the AI chip; and “embedded,” which is inserted inside the substrate. Top-side types are primarily used in AI servers, land-side types in mobile application processors (APs) and high-performance computing (HPC), and embedded types in HPC and server graphics processing units (GPUs) and central processing units (CPUs).
Market growth potential is also highly rated. Group Leader Kim stated, “The silicon capacitor market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 18% from this year through 2031,” adding, “Adoption is expected to expand, particularly for semiconductor packaging.” He explained that as investment in AI infrastructure expands, demand for power stabilization components will also increase.
The range of applications is also expected to expand to include AI servers, autonomous vehicles, and HPC. Samsung Electro-Mechanics recently signed a 1.5 trillion won supply contract for silicon capacitors with a major global corporation. The company plans to use this as a springboard to expand its product lineup, diversify its customer base, and increase its market share.
Group Leader Kim stated, “Embedded silicon capacitors integrated into flip-chip ball grid array (FC-GBA) substrates have recently entered the mass production (ramp-up) phase,” adding, “We have already begun supplying them.”
He continued, “We are emphasizing that Samsung Electro-Mechanics is the only company capable of supplying both MLCCs and packaged substrates together,” adding, “Customers can receive substrates and silicon capacitors in a packaged form, which offers the advantage of shortening development time and enabling turnkey solutions.”
