Rumor
CMP Pad Supplier with Monopoly Position Poised for Growth from Hybrid Bonding (HBM4E) and CoWoS Demand
Friday, November 28, 2025 at 02:38 PM
A company holding a monopoly on soft pads used for Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) is expected to see significant financial benefits. This growth is driven by the increasing adoption of hybrid bonding, especially for future High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4E), and rising demand for CoWoS advanced packaging.
Context
A critical shift in the AI supply chain is underway as memory makers adopt hybrid bonding for next-generation HBM. Samsung plans to use this advanced technique for its HBM4 memory, while Micron is partnering with TSMC for an HBM4E release targeted for 2027. This process, essential for higher performance, requires extreme surface polishing, creating a crucial dependency on specialized soft chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) pads. DuPont, through its legacy Rodel brands like Politex and Suba, holds a near-monopoly on these consumable pads, positioning it as a key beneficiary of this technological transition.
The demand is amplified by the explosive growth in advanced packaging. TSMC is aggressively expanding its CoWoS capacity, projected to surge from 35,000-40,000 wafers per month in 2024 to 80,000 in 2025 and potentially 140,000-150,000 by 2026. As both CoWoS and the new HBM4/HBM4E memory stacks require these unique soft pads, DuPont is set to capture significant, sustained revenue growth. This demand inflection is driven by two of the semiconductor industry's most powerful trends, with major financial impact expected to accelerate through 2027.
Sources (26)
HBM Hybrid Bonding: The Companies That Dominate CMP Will Be ...[PDF] Hybrid Bonding at Scale: Powering the Next Era of Semiconductor ...Hybrid Bonding to Debut with HBM4E - ALLPCBCMP PadsIMPULSE® V System - Onto InnovationEpic™ CMP Pads - EntegrisChemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) Pad MarketIndustry Outlook
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