AST opens advanced substrate facility
AST has opened a 95,000-square-metre facility in Singapore to manufacture high-end FC-BGA substrates for AI, networking and next-generation computing applications.
Advanced Substrate Technologies (AST), a joint venture between TOPPAN Holdings and Broadcom, has opened the facility in Singapore's Jurong Lake District. The site is the first manufacturing facility outside Japan within the TOPPAN Group capable of producing high-end flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) substrates.
The facility is designed to manufacture large-body, high-layer-count substrates for advanced semiconductor products, including AI compute and networking devices. The expansion is intended to address growing demand for advanced substrate capacity as AI and data-centre applications drive requirements for higher-performance semiconductor packaging.
The Singapore site will complement TOPPAN's existing production hub in Niigata, Japan, while also incorporating R&D capabilities to support future substrate and semiconductor packaging requirements. AST plans to work with technology institutions in Singapore as it develops these capabilities.
More than 200 engineers and skilled technicians have been hired since construction began in March 2024, with further recruitment planned as manufacturing operations scale.
The facility was brought online three months ahead of schedule and is targeting the start of high-value manufacturing by late 2026. AST will work with TOPPAN and Broadcom to increase production capacity as demand for advanced substrates continues to grow.
