GlobalFoundries has agreed to manufacture silicon interposers for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), under a $2 billion agreement that will add fabrication capacity at its Malta facility in New York. The arrangement, with an initial term of five years, supports TSMC’s Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS) packaging ecosystem, with volume production expected to begin ramping during the first half of 2028.
TSMC’s Chip on Wafer on Substrate packaging ecosystem relies on components that connect several semiconductor dies inside one assembly, and the Malta agreement would establish an additional United States manufacturing source for them. GlobalFoundries will provide the interposer fabrication services while other suppliers carry out the manufacturing and assembly stages needed for complete computing packages. The partners envisage potential expansion, with annual interposer volumes and added capacity still unspecified.
In high performance computing systems, a processor may be packaged alongside stacks of high bandwidth memory, making the distance and quality of connections between the devices a significant design factor. Routing large quantities of data across a circuit board introduces longer electrical paths than those available inside a package. Bringing the dies closer together provides more densely arranged connections, with fabrication precision, heat management and assembly quality becoming increasingly demanding.
Silicon interposers provide fine conductive routes between the dies assembled above them and the connections leading into the package substrate. These tracks carry signals and help distribute power while accommodating components manufactured through different processes. The interposer’s dimensions and connections must remain accurate through assembly and operation because even a small defect may affect several costly dies rather than one separately mounted device.
Manufacturing the routing layers requires lithography, deposition, etching and inspection processes able to form closely spaced conductive features and insulating material consistently. Each operation influences the electrical behaviour of the finished component, while errors in alignment or layer thickness can create defects that are harder to isolate after packaging. GlobalFoundries has identified the intended supply function but has not disclosed the complete fabrication sequence it will qualify for TSMC.
The cost of the processors and memory subsequently attached to an interposer puts particular emphasis on screening its connections and dimensions before final assembly. Defective contacts, variable conductor geometry or insulating faults may reduce signal quality or assembly yield. Manufacturing controls must therefore detect variation early enough to prevent flawed components from progressing into downstream operations where recovering or replacing individual devices can be more difficult.
Among the manufacturing capabilities identified for the proposed line are embedded deep trench capacitors, formed within silicon to provide capacitance close to circuits with rapidly changing electrical demand. Their proximity can help limit short term voltage fluctuations as processors and memory devices switch activity. The improvement depends on the surrounding contacts and power distribution network being designed for the same operating conditions.
As currents increase and devices change operating state rapidly, resistance and inductance in the power paths create voltage losses and disturbances that nearby capacitors can help manage. The electrical performance of the complete package still depends on conductor geometry, contact resistance, external power conversion and other components. Qualification will therefore need to address the power distribution system as an assembly, rather than treating a capacitor structure as an isolated guarantee of stability.
Those requirements extend beyond the interposer fabrication line because the finished component must be compatible with subsequent assembly and test processes. Contact positions, surface condition, mechanical dimensions and electrical specifications determine whether processors and memory dies can be attached reliably. A process adjustment in New York could consequently require corresponding qualification work by other members of TSMC’s packaging supply chain.
At Malta, GlobalFoundries expects to use its existing semiconductor manufacturing campus to establish the additional capability. Existing infrastructure and process engineering expertise can support integration, but the interposer production flow must still be installed, commissioned and qualified. Equipment performance, incoming materials, defect control and yields will affect how rapidly the plant can move towards the production ramp planned for the first half of 2028.
The new work concerns silicon interposers and related packaging elements, with leading processor and memory fabrication remaining separate manufacturing activities. TSMC will integrate supply from Malta into a broader packaging ecosystem whose later assembly stages involve other specialised operations. The detailed division of those downstream activities has not been specified, making it premature to infer a relocation of finished chip production to the New York site.
The $2 billion value covers a commercial manufacturing agreement with an initial term of five years and scope for discussions about further capacity. It is separate from a capital budget for buildings or equipment at Malta, which has not been made public. Production economics will depend on qualified output and customer demand, while the companies have given neither an employment forecast nor an annual unit target.
Production at Malta could add geographical diversity to a packaging supply chain that spans fabrication, component assembly and test facilities in several locations. Its contribution will be measurable through the reliability and volume of qualified interposers incorporated by downstream manufacturers, rather than the new supply location alone. The first evidence is expected during equipment qualification and the planned production ramp in the first half of 2028.
