5G, OLED Device Expansion, Attention on Substrate Material Business
LG Innotek's 3 types of substrate materials, No. 1 in global market share
RF-SiP substrate, reducing signal loss by up to 70%


Substrate material parts are used in mobile, IoT device communication chips and application processors (AP), and high-resolution display panels such as OLED. LG Innotek's substrate material business is attracting attention. Last year, LG Innotek's global market share for communication semiconductor substrates, tape substrates, and photomasks was 38%, 42%, and 34%, respectively, ranking first in all.

The substrate materials business recorded the best performance in 2020, with a 10% increase in sales and a 61% increase in operating profit compared to the previous year, establishing itself as LG Innotek's flagship business. The substrate materials business division, which leads the way in communications semiconductors and display substrates, is also behind the company's forecast of achieving KRW 10 trillion in sales and KRW 1 trillion in operating profit this year. The industry believes that the spread of 5G smartphones and OLED TVs due to the COVID-19 pandemic is supporting the growth of the substrate materials business.

In particular, LG Innotek has maintained the world's No. 1 position in radio frequency system in package (RF-SiP) substrates since 2018. RF-SiP is a communication semiconductor component that combines power amplifiers, filters, etc. for communication in smartphones or wearable devices into a single package. The component that connects the RF-SiP to the main board is the RF-SiP board.

As smartphones become thinner and more powerful due to the spread of 5G, semiconductor companies want thinner and smaller substrates. Last year, LG Innotek released the world's thinnest 'RF-SiP substrate for 5G' using coreless and microcircuit technologies. This product applied 'signal loss reduction technology' to reduce signal loss by up to 70% compared to existing products.

LG Innotek is investing in the substrate material sector and expanding its business to adjacent areas. In line with the spread of 5G and OLED, it invested 184.5 billion won in the substrate material sector alone, including semiconductor substrates for communications, last year. It is also developing and investing in substrates for antenna modules. In addition, it is preparing for the AiP substrate market with the interlayer alignment technology that it has accumulated through its RF-SiP substrate business, which stacks multiple substrate layers accurately and evenly.

According to Prismark, a global market research firm, the substrate market for AiP is expected to grow from $180 million in 2021 to $550 million in 2024.