Samsung Sets Up 3.xD Chiplet Advanced Packaging in Japan, Yokohama Lab Officially Begins Operations
nashnova research
Samsung's Yokohama Advanced Packaging Lab went fully operational in September 2026, with nearly 100 engineers and over 50 Japanese partners developing 3.xD chiplet technology — backed by ¥40 billion over five years. Advanced packaging is now Samsung's declared third strategic pillar.
What exactly is the Yokohama lab building?
The lab focuses on 3.xD chiplet technology — a packaging approach that merges 2.xD lateral interconnects with 3D vertical stacking — targeting large-area chip modules for AI and high-performance computing.
Four R&D tracks: fine-pitch chip-to-wafer bonding, large-area resin interposers (using specialty resin instead of silicon as the "bridge" between chips — cheaper and scalable to bigger areas), fine-pitch flip-chip attach on large substrates, and power-delivery optimization for heterogeneous multi-chip modules.
This means → Samsung is not just stacking chips taller. The goal is scaling package area wider, integrating different chip types, and keeping power delivery stable — exactly the bottleneck holding back chiplet mass production today.
Why Japan — and who is paying?
Samsung plans to invest ¥40 billion over five years. Japan's central government is subsidizing up to ¥20 billion; Yokohama city is adding another ¥2.5 billion — government funding covers nearly half the total.
Close to 100 Japanese and Korean engineers work on-site. Partners exceed 50 Japanese firms, including equipment maker Tokyo Electron and substrate supplier Ibiden.
In plain terms = Japan's decades-deep strength in substrates, specialty materials, and semiconductor equipment is a gap Samsung cannot fill internally. Placing the lab next door to those suppliers compresses process-tuning cycles dramatically.
How has advanced packaging's status inside Samsung changed?
At the August 2026 FMS conference, Samsung formally elevated advanced packaging alongside memory and foundry as the three pillars of its integrated semiconductor service, spanning design through mass production.
Samsung also previewed a zHBM concept — stacking HBM (high-bandwidth memory) vertically on top of an AI accelerator rather than placing it side by side — though it has not yet linked zHBM directly to the Yokohama project.
A customer-side signal arrived in parallel: Samsung and Broadcom signed a July MoU expanding collaboration across memory, advanced foundry, and packaging, covering 2.3D and 2.5D integration for AI and networking chips.
How does this compare with TSMC's Japan footprint?
TSMC moved earlier: it established a Japan 3DIC R&D center in 2021 and completed cleanroom construction at AIST Tsukuba in 2022 — TSMC's first cleanroom-equipped R&D facility outside Taiwan.
The technical emphasis differs: TSMC targets high-density 3D packaging integrating logic, memory, and peripheral components. Samsung explicitly targets large-area 3.xD chiplet modules, prioritizing resin interposers and large-substrate process breakthroughs.
This reflects a divergence in approach: TSMC enters from "stack denser," Samsung from "spread wider." Which company converts R&D into production-ready differentiation is the key test of this investment's value.
Where does the project stand today?
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry rated the project on track in its June 2026 interim review, with completion targeted for fiscal year 2028.
In plain terms = Samsung's timeline from investment to deliverable is roughly four to five years. The project is past the midpoint but has not yet reached the critical milestone of proving production-scale capability.
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