Nearly 30 Equipment Suppliers Included! The First Batch of Suppliers for TSMC CoPoS Revealed

The supply chain blueprint for TSMC's next-generation panel-level advanced packaging technology, CoPoS, has officially come to light.

According to a Digitimes report on Monday, supply chain sources revealed that the first batch of demo equipment has already been installed at Xintec’s Longtan plant, a TSMC subsidiary. Nearly 30 equipment vendors from Japan, the United States, Germany, and Taiwan are included on the first wave evaluation list, covering the full process from exposure, plating, grinding, to inspection.

TSMC’s CoPoS technology replaces the traditional round wafer with a larger rectangular glass panel as the packaging substrate, aiming to meet the rapidly growing packaging demand for AI GPU and high-performance computing (HPC) chips in the coming years. TSMC Chairman Mark Liu first proactively mentioned this technology at the April 2026 earnings call, and Taiwan Intellectual Property Office recently disclosed that TSMC has applied for the “TSMC-COPOS” trademark.

Supply chain insiders pointed out that the earliest possible mass production schedule for CoPoS could be realized by 2029, ahead of the market expectation of full-scale launch by 2030. However, most equipment vendors are still in the demo phase, and it generally takes about a year and a half from start of validation to obtaining official procurement qualification. Competition is fierce, and passing demo verification does not guarantee eventual mass production orders.

The first batch of equipment covers six major process stages

According to the equipment list disclosed by Digitimes, the initial CoPoS supply chain includes six major fields: exposure and coating, metallization and copper plating, grinding and laser processing, wet processing and heat treatment, molding and reflow, as well as measurement and inspection.

In the area of exposure and coating, TSMC has brought in a comprehensive lineup this time, including Canon’s FPA-5525iV LF2 exposure system from Japan, SUSS MicroTec’s DSC310s Gen4 exposure tool and ACS310 Gen2 coating/developing platform from Germany, Tokyo Electron (TEL)’s LITHIUS Pro SQ3, LM-3000 from SCREEN, and Scientech’s panel-level delamination coating equipment from Taiwan;

For metallization and copper plating, as CoPoS requires larger-sized Redistribution Layers (RDL) and more refined line processes, the equipment specifications have been upgraded simultaneously. Applied Materials and KLA from the United States, and Taiwan’s Leading Precision are on the list; Lam Research provides the SABRE 3D FP for copper plating and the Quaros FP for UBM etching. It’s reported that Lam Research edged out other major American companies to secure the demo line equipment order;

In grinding and laser processing, Japanese company DISCO has almost fully seized related orders; Nitto Denko provides frame mounting and UV erasing equipment, LINTEC takes charge of lamination and de-taping processes; Kulicke & Soffa’s APTURA WP and ASMPT’s Firebird XQ are adopted for fluxless die attach equipment; Japanese Shibaura supplies TFC-6600-WB and TFC-6500-WB systems; Taiwan’s All Ring steps in for dispensing equipment;

For wet processing and heat treatment, Grand Process Technology (GPTC) and Scientech from Taiwan are significant beneficiaries; AblePrint’s BPO-60A, Kokusai Electric’s 450A and 450A-HT, and Csun Mfg.’s HOMOL-AP31, HP-AP31, and CSL-A300PL equipment are being used for baking and heat treatment processes. Molding is handled by TOWA and APIC YAMADA from Japan, while SEMIgear and Heller are responsible for reflow equipment;

Glass substrates boost inspection demands, Taiwan vendors gain strategic position

With CoPoS introducing glass substrates, the significance of measurement and inspection steps has greatly increased, providing Taiwanese equipment manufacturers with an opportunity to reposition themselves in the market.

Taiwan’s V5 Tech emerges as one of the highlights in the first wave supply chain, with its V5P310 Pro Glass AXI inspection equipment and V5300 Macro AOI system joining the list; Favite is responsible for overlay measurement; Weike Semi steps in for 3D profile and dimensional measurement; Mirle Automation is cooperating with KOBELCO from Japan to enter Bevel Inspection and Bonding Shift measurement equipment. In addition, Chroma ATE, Gudeng Precision, Gallant Micro, Ta Liang, YaYa Tech, Nivek, and Semtek Corp. from Taiwan are also included in the list.

Industry insiders point out that CoPoS is not simply an expansion of the CoWoS process, but a newly constructed packaging line centered on square panels. It covers glass substrates, panel-level RDL, large-area exposure, high-precision placement, ultra-low warpage control, and an entirely new inspection mechanism, making it significantly different from existing CoWoS lines. Instead, this technical threshold offers equipment manufacturers who previously missed out on the CoWoS supply chain a new opportunity to compete.

Supply chain sources emphasized that most CoPoS equipment is of special specifications and typically has a higher unit price than existing equipment platforms. However, since it’s still in the qualification stage, actual prices depend on the final requirements of the customer. Demo machines are usually provided to clients for verification free of charge, with about three months from equipment delivery to completion of demo verification; subsequent mass production qualification will take even longer, and the overall competitive landscape remains highly uncertain.