The Dilemma of Semiconductor Packaging Inks
In modern electronic devices, semiconductor passive components such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors, while not directly amplifying signals like transistors, are the cornerstone for stable circuit operation. They undertake important tasks such as voltage division, current limiting, energy storage, and signal filtering, and are widely used in various fields from smartphones and computers to automotive electronics and industrial control. For instance, in smartphones, passive components assist in signal processing and power stabilization, ensuring the normal operation of various functions; in automotive electronic control systems, they also play a critical role in ensuring safe driving and a comfortable experience.
To protect these passive components and enable them to operate stably in complex environments, insulating inks for semiconductor packaging are crucial. Insulating inks act like a protective armor for passive components, isolating them from external moisture, chemicals, and physical damage. However, the packaging inks currently available in the market face numerous challenges.
In terms of flexibility, existing inks often fall short. During the production of semiconductor components, various complex processes and mechanical stresses are encountered. If the ink lacks sufficient flexibility, it is like a rigid armor that is prone to cracking when bent or impacted. Once the ink cracks, it cannot effectively protect the internal passive components, potentially leading to short circuits, performance degradation, or even complete failure, severely affecting product quality and reliability.
Acid resistance is also a prominent issue. In some stages of semiconductor manufacturing, such as electroplating processes, acidic plating solutions are used. If the packaging ink has poor acid resistance, it is like armor corroded by acid rain; in acidic environments, the ink coating will gradually erode, exposing internal components like resistors to danger, ultimately leading to component damage and severely impacting the performance of the entire circuit.
Solvent resistance is equally important. During the use of inks, they may come into contact with various organic solvents. If the ink has poor solvent resistance, it is like armor dissolving in solvents, leading to the ink coating peeling off. Once the coating peels off, the passive components lose their protective barrier, making them susceptible to external environmental interference, reducing the stability and lifespan of electronic devices.
These issues not only affect the performance and quality of semiconductor products but also increase production costs and cycles. Therefore, finding a new type of packaging ink that can effectively address these problems has become a key breakthrough needed in the semiconductor industry.
Aisen’s Patent Highlights
In September 2025, Aisen Co., Ltd. successfully obtained a highly valuable patent focusing on the field of semiconductor passive component packaging inks, bringing new hope to the challenges currently faced by packaging inks. The highlights of this patent mainly lie in two key aspects: optimizing the resin system and using silica-grafted carbon fiber fillers, each innovation embodies the wisdom and efforts of Aisen’s research team. Let us delve into the secrets behind these innovations.
(1) The Synergistic Secrets of the Resin System
In this patent, Aisen Co., Ltd. has carefully formulated a unique resin system that includes 20-35 parts of phenolic resin, 5-15 parts of polyurethane resin, and 5-25 parts of epoxy resin. This combination of three resins is not arbitrary but is determined through extensive experiments and research, allowing them to synergize and leverage their unique advantages.
Phenolic resin is a material with good heat resistance and mechanical strength. In semiconductor packaging, it provides stable structural support for the ink, with a long-term usage temperature of up to 150-200°C and a bending strength of 80-150MPa, ensuring that the packaged components maintain good performance even in high-temperature environments or under certain mechanical forces, without deformation or damage. It is like a steel beam in construction, providing a solid framework for the entire structure.
Polyurethane resin is known for its excellent flexibility. With an elastic modulus of 100-900MPa and tensile strength of 10-550psi, it allows the ink to have a certain elasticity after curing, effectively cushioning mechanical stresses generated during production and avoiding ink cracking due to stress concentration, much like giving the packaging ink a flexible protective garment, significantly enhancing its flexibility and impact resistance.
The addition of epoxy resin is to enhance the ink’s adhesion. It typically possesses excellent bonding properties, firmly bonding the chip to the lead frame or substrate, forming a reliable connection, with a tensile strength of 50-100MPa, ensuring a tight fit between the ink and the encapsulated components, preventing issues like coating peeling during use, akin to strong glue that tightly binds all parts together.
By precisely adjusting the proportions of these three resins, their strengths complement each other, forming a balanced composite resin system that lays a solid foundation for the stability and durability of the packaging ink.
(2) The Amazing Effects of Silica-Grafted Carbon Fiber
Another major innovation in the patent is the silica-grafted carbon fiber filler, which brings a qualitative leap in the performance of packaging inks.
To prepare silica-grafted carbon fiber, Aisen Co., Ltd. employs a special grafting technique. First, silica is modified to increase the number of active groups on its surface, while the carbon fiber is activated to enhance its reactivity. Then, under specific conditions, the modified silica undergoes a grafting reaction with the activated carbon fiber. This grafting technique acts like a bridge, tightly connecting silica and carbon fiber, fully leveraging the advantages of both.
Silica itself has a high specific surface area, which provides more reaction sites and increases interactions with other materials. Additionally, it possesses certain chemical stability and insulation properties, providing good protection for the packaging ink. However, the smaller the silica particles, the larger the specific surface area, making them more prone to agglomeration, which affects their dispersion and performance in the resin.
Carbon fiber, on the other hand, exhibits excellent toughness, acid resistance, and solvent resistance. Its strong impact resistance effectively enhances the ink’s resistance to cracking, much like adding steel bars to concrete, significantly increasing overall strength. Moreover, the chemical stability of carbon fiber allows it to remain stable in acidic and solvent environments, not easily corroded or dissolved.
By combining silica and carbon fiber through grafting technology, not only is the agglomeration of silica particles prevented, allowing for better dispersion in the resin, but the introduction of carbon fiber also significantly enhances the ink’s toughness and acid resistance. Some groups in the modified filler can also participate in the resin curing reaction, further strengthening the connection between the filler and the resin network, thereby comprehensively improving the ink’s solvent resistance, crack resistance, and other key properties, providing more reliable protection for semiconductor passive components.
Performance Leap Brought by the Patent
(1) Enhanced Connectivity and Durability
During the curing process of the ink, the modified silica-grafted carbon fiber filler acts like energetic “connectors.” The active groups on its surface can actively participate in the resin curing reaction. These groups chemically react with resin molecules, forming strong chemical bonds, akin to building numerous solid bridges between the filler and the resin network, tightly connecting the two.
This close connection greatly enhances the bonding strength between the filler and the resin network. When the ink is subjected to external mechanical stress or chemical erosion, these connections can effectively disperse the stress, preventing separation between the filler and the resin. When subjected to tensile forces, due to the strong connection between the filler and the resin, stress can be evenly distributed throughout the system, avoiding material damage caused by localized stress concentration. Additionally, when facing organic solvent erosion, this tight connection can effectively resist the penetration and damage of solvent molecules, significantly improving the ink’s solvent resistance.
(2) Enhanced Mechanical and Chemical Resistance
From a microscopic perspective, carbon fibers act like resilient “nano-springs” evenly distributed throughout the ink system. When the ink is impacted or bent, these “nano-springs” can utilize their unique flexibility and high strength characteristics. They can absorb and disperse energy through their elastic deformation, much like a solid spring structure effectively buffering vibrations during an earthquake, reducing damage to buildings. This elastic deformation effectively reduces internal stress concentration in the ink, preventing cracking issues due to excessive stress, thus endowing the ink with excellent flexibility and impact resistance.
In terms of chemical resistance, carbon fiber exhibits excellent chemical stability, akin to a corrosion-resistant “golden armor.” When the ink is in harsh chemical environments such as acidic plating solutions, carbon fiber can effectively resist the erosion of acidic substances due to its stable chemical structure. Corrosive particles like hydrogen ions in acidic plating solutions find it difficult to chemically react with carbon fiber, thus unable to damage the ink. Furthermore, the presence of carbon fiber enhances the structural stability of the entire ink system, further improving its resistance to chemicals, ensuring that the ink can still provide reliable protection for semiconductor passive components in complex chemical environments.
Aisen’s Technological Landscape and Industrial Significance
(1) Strengthening Technological Barriers
Aisen Co., Ltd., as a national-level specialized and innovative “little giant” enterprise, has become a shining star in the field of semiconductor electronic materials. This patent regarding semiconductor passive component packaging inks undoubtedly adds a significant stroke to its brilliant technological landscape, further solidifying its unassailable technological barriers.
In today’s fiercely competitive semiconductor market, technological innovation is fundamental for enterprises, and patents are a powerful testament to technological innovation. Aisen Co., Ltd. has accumulated a wealth of core patent technologies through continuous R&D investment and outstanding innovation capabilities. These patents act as solid defenses, making it difficult for competitors to surpass, and providing Aisen with a unique competitive advantage in the market.
This packaging ink patent is particularly significant. It not only addresses long-standing key challenges faced by semiconductor packaging inks, such as flexibility, acid resistance, and solvent resistance, but also significantly enhances the performance and reliability of the ink through unique material innovations and formula optimizations. This further solidifies Aisen’s technological leadership in the field of semiconductor packaging materials, enabling it to provide higher quality and more reliable products and solutions to customers.
For high-end customers, product performance and quality are the primary considerations when choosing suppliers. Aisen’s patented technology can meet the stringent requirements of high-end customers for semiconductor packaging materials, thereby attracting more high-end customers to establish long-term stable partnerships with Aisen. Several internationally renowned semiconductor manufacturing companies have expressed cooperation intentions after rigorously evaluating Aisen’s patented technology and products, bringing new business growth opportunities to Aisen and further enhancing its visibility and influence in the international market.
(2) Responding to Market Demand
Against the backdrop of the booming semiconductor industry, the trend of domestic substitution for high-end packaging materials has become increasingly evident, driven by several important factors. With the rapid rise of China’s semiconductor industry, the demand for high-end packaging materials has surged. However, for a long time, the high-end packaging materials market has been dominated by foreign enterprises, which not only restricts the independent development of China’s semiconductor industry but also brings issues related to supply chain security. Therefore, achieving domestic substitution for high-end packaging materials has become an inevitable choice for the development of China’s semiconductor industry.
Aisen Co., Ltd. has keenly captured this market trend, actively increasing R&D investment and continuously promoting technological innovation. In the first half of 2025, Aisen’s R&D investment reached 30.4199 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 44.5%, fully demonstrating the company’s high regard for and firm commitment to R&D. With strong support for R&D investment, Aisen has achieved fruitful results in technological innovation, having obtained 7 new patent authorizations this year (as of the end of September 2025).
The acquisition of these patent technologies not only provides strong technical support for Aisen’s product upgrades and market expansion but also makes an important contribution to the domestic substitution process of high-end packaging materials in China. Through independent research and innovation, Aisen has successfully broken the technological monopoly of foreign enterprises in the field of high-end packaging materials, reducing China’s semiconductor industry’s dependence on imported materials and enhancing the industry’s self-controllable capabilities.
For example, this semiconductor passive component packaging ink patent has reached an internationally advanced level, and its performance can fully compete with similar foreign products. This provides China’s semiconductor manufacturing enterprises with more high-quality domestic alternatives when choosing packaging inks, not only reducing procurement costs but also improving the stability and security of the supply chain.
Future Outlook
Aisen Co., Ltd.’s patent opens up new avenues for the development of semiconductor passive component packaging inks, holding immeasurable value. It not only addresses key technical challenges currently faced by the industry and enhances product performance but also solidifies Aisen’s technological advantages and promotes the domestic substitution process of high-end packaging materials.
Looking ahead, as the semiconductor industry continues to develop rapidly, the performance requirements for packaging materials will become increasingly stringent. Aisen is expected to leverage this patented technology to play a greater role in the semiconductor packaging field, leading the trend of technological innovation. Its products may be widely applied in more high-end electronic products, helping these products achieve qualitative leaps in performance and reliability, providing consumers with a better user experience.
At the same time, Aisen’s success will inspire more domestic enterprises to increase their investment in semiconductor materials R&D, promoting technological progress and industrial upgrading across the entire industry. We have reason to believe that, with the joint efforts of numerous enterprises, China’s semiconductor industry will occupy a more important position in the global market.
The development of the semiconductor industry is changing rapidly, with new technologies and innovations constantly emerging. We hope everyone continues to pay attention to the dynamics of the semiconductor packaging field and witness the vigorous development of this vibrant and opportunity-filled industry.