ASE Group

{{Short description|Taiwanese manufacturer of semiconductor testing products}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.

| logo = ASE LOGO.png

| logo_upright = 1.1

| type = Public

| traded_as = ASE Technology Holding Co., Limited
{{NYSE|ASX}}
{{TWSE|3711}}

| industry = Semiconductor assembly, testing & packaging

| foundation = 1984

| founders = Jason Chang

| location_city = Kaohsiung

| location_country = Taiwan

| area_served = Worldwide

| revenue = {{US$|link=yes}}8.72 billion (2015)

| num_employees = 65,695

| homepage = {{URL|https://ase.aseglobal.com/}}

}}

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. ({{lang-zh|c=日月光半導體製造股份有限公司}}), previously known as ASE Group ({{lang-zh|c=日月光集團}}), is a leading provider of independent semiconductor packaging and test manufacturing services, with its headquarters in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.CNN Money. "[https://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=ASX Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc]." 12 May 2016.

Overview

The company was founded in 1984 by brothers Jason Chang and Richard Chang, who opened its first factory in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.{{cite web|title=Milestones |url=http://www.aseglobal.com/en/About/Milestones.asp |website=aseglobal |access-date=12 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007221944/http://www.aseglobal.com/en/About/Milestones.asp |archive-date=7 October 2015 }} Jason Chang currently serves as company chairman and is on the 2024 Forbes list of the world's billionaires.{{cite web |author=Ho |first=Jane |date=29 May 2024 |title=Jason Chang |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/jason-richard-chang/?list=taiwan-billionaires |work=Forbes}}

As of 1 April 2025, the company's market cap was US$19.55 billion.Yahoo! Finance. "[https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ASX/ Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASX)]." Retrieved 1 April 2025.

On 26 May 2016, ASE and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) announced that they signed an agreement to form a new holding company, as part of the consolidation in the global semiconductor industry. Both companies said that each will retain its legal entities, management and staff, besides the current independent operations and operating models.By Shuli Ren, Barron's Asia. "[http://blogs.barrons.com/asiastocks/2016/05/26/ase-spil-finally-happy-together-bernstein-sees-37-upside-for-ase/ ASE, SPIL: Finally, Happy Together; Bernstein Sees 37% Upside For ASE]." 26 May 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.By J.R. Wu, Reuters. "[https://www.reuters.com/article/ase-spil-idUSL3N18N1VJ Taiwan's top two chip test firms ASE, SPIL plan new holding company]." 26 May 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.

Technology

According to the market research firm Gartner, ASE is the largest Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) provider, with 19 percent market share.Ed Sperling, Semiconductor Engineering. "[http://semiengineering.com/foundries-vs-osats/ Foundries Versus OSATs]." 24 July 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2016. The company offers services such as semiconductor assembly, packaging and testing.Yahoo! Finance. "[https://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=ASX ASE]." Retrieved 19 May 2016. ASE provides semiconductor assembly and testing services for over 90 percent of electronics companies in the world.By Ding Yining, ShanghaiDaily.com. "[http://www.shanghaidaily.com/business/it/ASE-set-to-spend-US4b-to-lift-income/shdaily.shtml ASE set to spend US$4b to lift income]." 22 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2016. The packaging services include fan-out wafer-level packaging (FO-WLP), wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WL-CSP), flip chip, 2.5D and 3D packaging, system in package (SiP) and copper wire bonding.IDC. "[http://www.idc-online.com/technical_references/pdfs/electronic_engineering/Whats_next_for_semiconductor_packaging.pdf What's Next for Semiconductor Packaging?]." Retrieved 19 May 2016.

Fan-out wafer-level packaging (FO-WLP), a process that enables ultra-thin, high-density packages, has been around for several years, and the fan-out technology is becoming an industry trend due to increasing market demand for smaller and thinner mobile products. According to the research firm Yole Développement, the fan-out packaging market is predicted to reach $2.4 billion by 2020, increasing from $174 million in 2014.Mark LaPedus, Semiconductor Engineering. "[http://semiengineering.com/fan-out-packaging-gains-steam/ Fan-Out Packaging Gains Steam]." 23 November 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.

Wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WL-CSP) is the technology that enables the smallest available packages in the market, meeting the increasing demand for smaller and faster portable consumer devices. This ultra-thin package type has integrated into mobile devices such as smartphones. In October 2001, ASE began volume production of wafer-level chip-scale packages.EDN. "[http://www.edn.com/electronics-news/4348976/ASE-Ramps-Wafer-Level-CSP-Production ASE Ramps Wafer Level CSP Production]." 12 October 2001. Retrieved 31 May 2016.

Flip chip is a method of flipping the chip to connect with either substrate or leadframe.Darvin Edwards, Electronic Design. "[http://electronicdesign.com/boards/package-interconnects-can-make-or-break-performance Package Interconnects Can Make Or Break Performance]." 14 September 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2016. According to the research firm Yole Développement, the flip chip technology market value is expected to reach $25 billion in 2020. This market trend is mainly driven by mobile and wireless devices like tablets, computing applications such as servers, and consumer applications like smart TVs.i-Micronews. "[http://www.i-micronews.com/component/hikashop/product/flip-chip-technologies-and-markets-trends Flip Chip: Technologies and Markets Trends] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630210929/http://www.i-micronews.com/component/hikashop/product/flip-chip-technologies-and-markets-trends |date=30 June 2016 }}." Sep 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016.

2.5D packaging can enable hundreds of thousands of interconnects within a small package space.Rick Merritt, EET Asia. "[http://m.eetasia.com/ART_8800714214_480100_NT_cb47446d.HTM#.Vv1TxvkrLIV Semicon West highlights 10 chip trends]{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}." 21 July 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016. This packaging technology is used in applications such as high memory bandwidth, network switches, router chips and graphics cards for the gaming market.Ed Sperling, Semiconductor Engineering. "[http://semiengineering.com/is-the-stacked-die-supply-chain-ready/ Is The 2.5D Supply Chain Ready?]." 28 September 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016. Since 2007, ASE has been working with AMD to bring 2.5D packaging technology to market. The two companies collaborated on Fiji, a 2.5D-based GPU processor designed for extreme gamers, which is small enough to fit a 6-inch PCB and connects 240,000 bumps.Mark LaPedus, Semiconductor Engineering. "[http://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-manufacturing-69/ The Week In Review: Manufacturing]." 17 July 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016. In June 2015, Fiji was officially launched at the E3 gaming conference.Francoise von Trapp, 3DInCites. "[http://www.3dincites.com/2015/07/at-amd-die-stacking-hits-the-big-time/ At AMD, Die Stacking Hits the Big Time]." 22 July 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2016.

System in Package (SiP) is the technology for bundling multiple ICs to work together inside a single package.Semiconductor Engineering. "[http://semiengineering.com/kc/knowledge_center/System-In-Package/199 System In Package]." Retrieved 13 June 2016. SiP technology is being driven by market application trends in wearables, mobile devices and Internet of Things (IoT).Ed Sperling, Semiconductor Engineering. "[http://semiengineering.com/why-packaging-matters/ Why Packaging Matters]." 19 November 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016.Ken Liu, CENS. "[http://cens.com/cens/html/en/news/news_inner_48171.html ASE to Invest US$100-200 Bn. to Double SiP Capacity Over Three Years]." 15 April 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016. In 2004, ASE was one of the first companies to begin mass production of SiP technology.Roger Allan, Electronic Design. "[http://electronicdesign.com/displays/sip-really-packs-it SiP Really Packs It In]." 29 November 2004. Retrieved 13 June 2016. In April 2015, the company planned to double its SiP production capacity in the next 3 years.

Facilities

The company's main operations are in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with other plants located in China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. It also has offices and service centers in China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Belgium and the United States.Nasdaq. "[http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/asx ASX]." Retrieved 5 July 2016.

On 1 October 2013, a water incident occurred at the ASE K7 facility.Jason Pan, Taipei Times. "[http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2015/09/30/2003628905 Court reverses verdict in ASE pollution case]." 30 September 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2016. In February 2014, officials from the Kaohsiung City Government and the Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) visited the K7 factory to evaluate the resumption of operations at the facility.Kathryn Chiu, The China Post. "[http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan-business/2014/02/14/400548/Officials-to.htm Officials to review resumption of ASE K7 factory]." 14 February 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2016. In December 2014, after checking the company's improvement on wastewater treatment, the EPB officials agreed to allow the K7 facility to resume operations.Chen Ja-fo, Jackson Chang and Scully Hsiao, Taiwan News. "[http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=2645542 ASE Kaohsiung plant to resume full operations soon]." 15 December 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2016.

From 2010 to 2013, ASE has invested US$13.2 million in treating industrial water. In addition, ASE invested $25.3 million to build a water recycling plant, K14 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.Chiu Yu-Tzu, ZDNet. "[https://www.zdnet.com/article/ase-chairs-apology-for-water-pollution-delivered/ ASE chair's apology for water pollution delivered]." 17 December 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2016. The water recycling plant began trials in January 2015. With the first phase of the project now complete, the plant handles up to 20,000 metric tons of wastewater per day. Half of the water is recycled and returned to ASE’s facilities for reuse; the other half is discharged into the city’s drains. The effluent from the recycling plant not only conforms to local regulations, but the average concentration values are far less than the regulatory limit.{{cite web | first=Steven | last=Crookon | publisher=Taiwan Business TOPICS | url=https://topics.amcham.com.tw/2016/12/taiwans-export-processing-zones-forward-looking-50/ | title=Taiwan’s Export Processing Zones: Forward-looking at 50 | date=19 December 2016 | accessdate=4 December 2018}}