(January 6, 2021)
　　Considering the various PCB products worldwide in 2020, the output value of substrate is expected to achieve an annual growth rate of 18.5%, which would be the highest among all products. However, the output value of substrates reached 16%, second to multilayer and soft board products. The reasons behind this significant growth for the year 2020, can be summarized as follows: 1. IC shipments worldwide have continued to grow. Based on WSTS data, the global growth rate of output value for IC production in 2020 is approximately 6%, and although the growth rate of shipment is slightly lower than that of output value, it is estimated to be at 4%. 2. With an increased need for 5G base stations and high-performance computers, the demand for high-unit-price ABF substrate has strengthened, keeping in mind that the core chips make use of ABF substrates. Consequently, the rising price and volume has improved the growth rate of output value for substrate. 3. The renewed demand for substrates from 5G mobile phones. Despite a decrease in shipments of 5G mobile phones in 2020 (approximately 200 million pieces only), the increased need for AiP modules in millimeter wave 5G mobile phones, as well as the number of PA modules in RF front-end, has resulted in the enhanced demand for substrates. Overall, whether it is technological development or market-driven demand, substrate is undoubtedly the most prominent product of all the PCB products in 2020.
 
　　Regarding the global trends in IC packaging, there are different types of packaging that can be classified into high-end, lead-frame types such as QFN, MLF, or SON; and traditional lead-frame types, for example: SO, TSOP, QFP and DIP (with fewer pins). All of these aforementioned types only need lead-frame to carry IC. When considering the long-term changes pertaining to the proportions of various package types, the growth rate of wafer-level and bare-chip packages is predicted to be the highest. Hence, the compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2024 could reach as high as 10.2% and the proportion of the overall packaging should climb from 17.8% in 2019, to 20.5% in 2024. This increase can be primarily attributed to the use of personal mobile devices, which encompass smartwatches, earphones and wearable devices. The increased demand and development of these devices will only continue in the future. In fact, when taking into account that these products do not require highly complex chips and since the focus is on thinness and cost, it is highly probable that wafer-level packaging will be widely adopted. As for high-end package types that use substrates, they embrace general BGA and FCBGA packaging and thus the compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2024 should be approximately 5%.