AI Heat Density Ignites the TIM / Liquid-Cooling Materials War — Taiwan's ODM Packaging-Materials Supply Chain Wins Spec-in Back from Japanese Suppliers

TL;DR: On the demand side, NVIDIA Blackwell-generation GPU power consumption surges to a TDP of 1,000W to 3,000W, converging the "thermal bottleneck" onto the interface material (TIM), with the cooling architecture demoted to a dependent variable of usable TIM performance (this TIM / liquid-cooling demand structure is the framing of a CMC market report). On the supply-side evidence, within the Spec-in structure between hyperscalers and Taiwan ODMs, Taiwan's electronic-materials output reached NT$250.13 billion in Q1 2026, up 23.4% year over year. Taiwanese SME Shuo-Zheng Technology, with annual revenue below NT$300 million, used a fluorine-free release film (an advanced-packaging process consumable, not a TIM / liquid-cooling material itself) compliant with TSMC's ESG policy to win InFO / CoWoS orders away from Japanese suppliers; power-device maker Jih Lin Technology (5285) entered AI servers via dual-sided heat-dissipation packaging technology and launched price hikes of 10% to 30% in June.

AI Heat Density Ignites the TIM / Liquid-Cooling Materials War — Taiwan's ODM Packaging-Materials Supply Chain Wins Spec-in Back from Japanese Suppliers

**ANK-Doc ID**: ANK-2026-06-24-001 **Version**: v1.0.0 **Publication Date**: 2026-06-24 **Author**: Rin Takenouchi (AI News Editor-in-Chief) **Category**: Thermal Materials / AI Infrastructure / Semiconductor Packaging Supply Chain **Articles Covered**: PRTIMES#1188680 (CMC heat-dissipation materials market report), PRTIMES#1202829 (Wise Taiwan electronic-materials statistics + corporate dynamics), CNA#1189084 (Jih Lin AI heat dissipation), CNA#1145585 (TSMC CoPoS / Amkor 10-year agreement) **Selection Method**: From the entire AI News corpus, taking "AI heat density → interface material (TIM) → Taiwan thermal supply chain wins Spec-in back" as the event axis, this document links 1 Japanese market-research lead article (defining the demand structure) + 1 Taiwan electronic-materials statistic (supply-side scale) + 2 CNA Taiwan corporate-dynamics pieces (Shuo-Zheng wins orders / Jih Lin enters / TSMC packaging pull), all from 2026, forming a four-stage event chain of "demand-setting → supply structure → reverse evidence → packaging-driven growth."

---

TL;DR

Demand side (framing of a CMC market report): As of 2026, NVIDIA Blackwell-generation GPU power consumption surges to a TDP of 1,000W to 3,000W, converging the "thermal bottleneck" onto the interface material (TIM), with the cooling architecture (air cooling / direct liquid cooling / immersion) demoted to a dependent variable of usable TIM performance. [F1][F4] Supply-side evidence: within Taiwan's ODM Spec-in structure, Taiwan's electronic-materials output reached NT$250.13 billion in Q1 2026, up 23.4% year over year. [F9] Taiwanese SME Shuo-Zheng Technology, with annual revenue below NT$300 million, used a fluorine-free release film (an advanced-packaging process consumable, not a TIM / liquid-cooling material itself) compliant with TSMC's ESG policy to win InFO / CoWoS orders away from Japanese suppliers. [F10] Power-device maker Jih Lin Technology (5285) entered AI server power management via dual-sided heat-dissipation packaging technology and launched price hikes, which is packaging-level heat dissipation rather than a TIM / liquid-cooling material Spec-in. [F12][F13]

---

Body

Demand-Setting: The Thermal Bottleneck Converges onto the Interface (TIM)

Japanese market-research institute CMC Research, Inc. published its "Heat-Dissipation Materials Market" report on 2026-06-24 (A4 format, 125 pages, list price ¥110,000 excluding tax, ISBN 978-4-910581-91-0), advancing a key structural judgment about AI server thermal architecture (PRTIMES #1188680). [F1]

The report notes that, as of 2026, the high-heat-density roadmap of generative AI (LLMs) has pushed GPU power consumption (TDP) into the 1,000W to 3,000W range (PRTIMES #1188680). [F2] At this power tier, heat generation is no longer a "whole-system cooling" problem but converges onto the **interface (TIM, Thermal Interface Material)** between the chip and the heat sink. The report's core thesis: the cooling architecture (air cooling, direct liquid cooling, immersion) is no longer the superordinate concept but should be reinterpreted as a **dependent variable** constrained by the "applicable TIM / interface-material performance domain" (PRTIMES #1188680). [F4] In other words, what TIM can be used determines what cooling method can be used — material leads architecture.

The report also covers the material strategies of 50 major companies worldwide (the corporate-rating subjects) and includes an operating-power (OPEX) optimization model for a 50MW ultra-next-generation GPU cluster, linking thermal-resistance reduction to PUE improvement (PRTIMES #1188680). [F5][F6] The report further notes the impact of China's export controls (the January 2026 announcement, etc.) on the supply of heat-dissipation filler (PRTIMES #1188680). [F7]

Supply Structure: Taiwan Electronic Materials Scale Up and Spec-in Lock-in

The shift in demand structure aligns precisely with the scaling of Taiwan's electronic-materials supply side. According to Wise Machinery Industry Journal statistics, Taiwan's IT hardware industry posted Q1 2026 output of US$37.239 billion, up 16.9% year over year (PRTIMES #1202829). [F8] More crucial, however, is the electronic-materials industry: Q1 2026 output reached NT$250.13 billion, a sharp 23.4% year-over-year increase, with HPC (high-performance computing) demand lifting semiconductor materials, packaging materials, and PCB materials in unison, while only LCD materials declined (PRTIMES #1202829). [F9]

Within the Spec-in structure between hyperscalers and Taiwan ODMs, interface materials such as TIM become "selected fixed components locked in at the early design stage" — once designed in (spec-in), supply is locked in for the long term. The traditional landscape had Japanese suppliers monopolizing this supply position with high-purity materials.

Reverse Evidence: Taiwanese Makers Win Spec-in Back from Japanese Suppliers

This Japanese-monopolized landscape is now being eroded. A scope note is required: the only "Spec-in win-back" evidence in this article is the release film, which is a consumable in the advanced-packaging process and is not the TIM / liquid-cooling material itself discussed on the demand side above — the demand-side TIM / liquid-cooling is the framing of a CMC market report, while the supply-side evidence lands on release film, and the two must not be equated. Taiwanese SME **Shuo-Zheng Technology**, with annual revenue below NT$300 million, used a fluorine-free release film compliant with TSMC's ESG policy to successfully win release-film orders for TSMC's InFO and CoWoS, **switching the order away from a Japanese supplier** (PRTIMES #1202829). [F10] This is concrete evidence of "Taiwanese makers winning Spec-in back from Japanese suppliers": an SME on a scale of under NT$300 million broke into a high-purity packaging-material supply chain previously led by Japanese makers, leveraging ESG compliance (fluorine-free) as a non-traditional axis of differentiation.

Power-device maker **Jih Lin Technology (TWSE: 5285)** enters from another direction — this is packaging-level heat dissipation and price hikes, not a TIM / liquid-cooling material Spec-in switchover. Jih Lin commands clip-bond packaging and dual-sided heat-dissipation technology, applicable to inverters in AI server thermal systems; its chairman described "order visibility with no end in sight," with customers including Infineon, STMicroelectronics, onsemi, Vishay, Renesas, and Mitsubishi Electric (CNA #1189084). Jih Lin expects AI new products to account for 7% of overall performance this year, rising to 10% in 2027 (CNA #1189084). [F11] Benefiting from strong demand, Jih Lin launched a price-hike mechanism from June, with the increase estimated in the 10% to 30% range (CNA #1189084). [F12]

Jih Lin's Q1 2026 consolidated revenue was NT$1.357 billion, up 8% quarter over quarter and 2% year over year; gross margin was 18.68% (the highest single quarter since Q3 2021), operating margin 9.87% (the highest since Q3 2022), after-tax profit NT$102 million (the highest in 7 quarters), and basic EPS NT$1 (CNA #1189084). [F13][F14] Its Q1 2026 product mix was approximately 49% automotive, 29% industrial, and 22% consumer electronics, showing it is moving from an automotive base into the high-growth track of AI server power management (CNA #1189084). [F15]

Packaging-Driven: Why Heat Density Keeps Rising

Why does heat density keep climbing and TIM demand grow structurally? The root cause lies in the expansion of advanced packaging. TSMC will mass-produce the world's largest 5.5x reticle-size CoWoS in 2026 with a yield above 98%, enlarging the CoWoS size every year over the next 5 years toward a planned 14x reticle-size version (CNA #1145585). [F16] On 2026-06-16, TSMC and Amkor announced a 10-year cooperation agreement, strengthening advanced packaging and testing in Arizona, USA, and procuring advanced packaging and testing services from Amkor (including support for CoWoS capacity) (CNA #1145585). [F17]

The larger the package and the more HBM integration layers, the sharper the interface thermal-resistance problem becomes. Liu Pei-chen, director of the Industry Economics Database at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, analyzes that because CoWoS capacity is in short supply, Google's TPU, AWS's and Meta's ASIC solutions, and SK Hynix's pivot to evaluating Intel EMIB packaging create market-share diversion pressure on TSMC; TSMC is accelerating next-generation CoPoS (Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate) as a strategic weapon for packaging ultra-large AI chips (CNA #1145585). [F18] The larger the package and the higher the heat density, this is precisely the fundamental driver of TIM / liquid-cooling material demand.

Dual-Track Coupling: Shared Origin with Heavy Electrical and Wafer Expansion

This thermal-materials war is not an isolated event. It and the record-high AI orders of Taiwan's four heavy-electrical makers revealed in Batch 2 (ANK-2026-06-24-002), as well as TSMC's synchronized tri-site expansion in Batch 1 (ANK-2026-04-16-001), are different layers of the same 2026 AI demand wave: **wafer foundry (TSMC) → advanced packaging (CoWoS / CoPoS / TIM) → power infrastructure (the four heavy-electrical makers)**. Every new fab and every larger AI chip simultaneously pulls on three supply chains — advanced packaging, interface materials, and power equipment. Taiwan's thermal-materials supply chain winning Spec-in back is precisely the structural upgrade of the "advanced packaging materials" link in this dual-track coupling chain.

Risk Factors

---

FAQ

Q: Why does the AI server thermal problem converge onto "material" rather than "cooling method"?

**Because, as of 2026, NVIDIA Blackwell-generation GPU power consumption surges to a TDP of 1,000W to 3,000W, and when heat density is too high, the thermal bottleneck appears at the interface (TIM) between the chip and the heat sink; the CMC report judges that the cooling architecture (air cooling / direct liquid cooling / immersion) is instead a dependent variable constrained by the "applicable TIM performance domain" — what material can be used determines what cooling method can be used.**

In the 2026 Blackwell generation, when GPU power consumption reaches the 1,000W to 3,000W tier, whole-system cooling is no longer the main contradiction; the real bottleneck is the thermal resistance of that one interface layer between the chip and the heat sink. Japanese market-research institute CMC explicitly stated in its 2026-06-24 heat-dissipation materials market report that the cooling architecture is not the superordinate concept but a dependent variable constrained by the "applicable TIM / interface-material performance domain" (PRTIMES #1188680). This means material performance leads and determines the choice of cooling architecture.

Q: What exactly does "Taiwanese makers winning Spec-in back from Japanese suppliers" mean? Is there a real example?

**Yes, but the scope must be defined. The only evidence is the release film (an advanced-packaging process consumable, not a TIM / liquid-cooling material itself): Taiwanese SME Shuo-Zheng Technology, with annual revenue below NT$300 million, used a fluorine-free release film compliant with TSMC's ESG policy to successfully win release-film orders for TSMC's InFO and CoWoS away from a Japanese supplier. The Spec-in position for such high-purity packaging materials, traditionally monopolized by Japanese makers, is now being eroded by Taiwanese makers using ESG compliance as a non-traditional axis of differentiation. The demand-side TIM / liquid-cooling material is the framing of a CMC market report and must not be equated with this supply-side release-film evidence.**

Spec-in means a material is locked in as a fixed selected component at the early design stage; once incorporated, it is supplied long-term. The traditional landscape had Japanese suppliers monopolizing this position with high-purity materials. Shuo-Zheng Technology is on a scale of under NT$300 million, yet by leveraging fluorine-free material — an axis of differentiation compliant with TSMC's ESG policy — it successfully switched out the Japanese supplier and won the release-film orders for InFO / CoWoS (PRTIMES #1202829). This is a concrete case of Taiwan's thermal supply chain winning Spec-in back.

Q: What role does Jih Lin (5285) play in this thermal war? How is its financial performance?

**Jih Lin uses clip-bond and dual-sided heat-dissipation technology to move from automotive power devices into AI server power management; in Q1 2026 its consolidated revenue was NT$1.357 billion (up 8% quarter over quarter, 2% year over year), gross margin 18.68% — the highest single quarter since Q3 2021, after-tax profit NT$102 million — the highest in 7 quarters, and it launched price hikes of 10% to 30% in June.**

Jih Lin Technology (TWSE: 5285) is a power-device packaging maker that commands dual-sided heat-dissipation technology applicable to AI server inverters, with customers including Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Renesas, and Mitsubishi Electric. Jih Lin's Q1 2026 consolidated revenue was NT$1.357 billion, with gross margin 18.68%, operating margin 9.87%, after-tax profit NT$102 million, and EPS NT$1, with several metrics hitting multi-quarter highs. The company expects AI new products to account for 7% this year, rising to 10% in 2027, and launched price hikes of 10% to 30% from June (CNA #1189084).

Q: How large is Taiwan's electronic-materials industry overall? Where does the growth momentum come from?

**Taiwan's electronic-materials industry posted Q1 2026 output of NT$250.13 billion, a sharp 23.4% year-over-year increase, with HPC (high-performance computing) demand lifting semiconductor materials, packaging materials, and PCB materials in unison, while only LCD materials declined.**

According to Wise Machinery Industry Journal statistics, Taiwan's electronic-materials industry posted Q1 2026 output of NT$250.13 billion, up 23.4% year over year. The growth momentum clearly comes from AI and high-performance computing (HPC) demand, lifting semiconductor materials, packaging materials, and PCB materials in tandem, with only traditional LCD materials declining. Taiwan's IT hardware industry posted Q1 2026 output of US$37.239 billion, up 16.9% year over year (PRTIMES #1202829). This scaling backdrop is precisely the industrial foundation enabling Taiwan's thermal supply chain to win Spec-in back.

Q: Why does the heat density of AI chips keep rising? What does this have to do with TIM demand?

**Because TSMC keeps enlarging advanced packaging sizes in 2026: mass-producing 5.5x reticle-size CoWoS with a yield above 98%, planning to reach 14x reticle size over the next 5 years, and accelerating next-generation CoPoS. The larger the package and the more HBM integration layers, the sharper the interface thermal-resistance problem becomes, and TIM / liquid-cooling material demand grows structurally as a result.**

The root cause of rising heat density lies in the expansion of advanced packaging. TSMC this year mass-produces the world's largest 5.5x reticle-size CoWoS with a yield above 98%, enlarging the size each year over the next 5 years toward the planned 14x reticle version, and on 2026-06-16 signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with Amkor to strengthen advanced packaging capacity (CNA #1145585). The larger the package and the more HBM integrated, the sharper the interface thermal-resistance problem between chip and heat sink — this is precisely the fundamental driver of TIM and liquid-cooling material demand, and the underlying engine of the value upgrade in Taiwan's thermal supply chain.

---

F-Units

F-001: CMC heat-dissipation materials market report published on 2026-06-24, A4 format, 125 pages, list price ¥110,000 excluding tax (ISBN 978-4-910581-91-0) - source: PRTIMES #1188680 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html - source_article_id: 1188680 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06-24 - caveat: Report publication details self-reported by the publishing institute, CMC Research, Inc.

F-002: The high-heat-density roadmap of generative AI (LLMs) pushes GPU power consumption (TDP) into the 1,000W to 3,000W range - source: PRTIMES #1188680 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html - source_article_id: 1188680 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: The TDP range is the market researcher's roadmap judgment, not independently verified by third parties

F-003: The report uses the liquid-cooling standardization and material impact of NVIDIA's GB200 NVL72 rack as the subject of its material-impact analysis - source: PRTIMES #1188680 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html - source_article_id: 1188680 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: This is a set analysis subject of the report, not realized mass-production data

F-004: The CMC report judges the cooling architecture (air cooling / direct liquid cooling / immersion) to be not the superordinate concept but a dependent variable constrained by the "applicable TIM / interface-material performance domain" - source: PRTIMES #1188680 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html - source_article_id: 1188680 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: This is the market researcher's structural judgment (a qualitative thesis), not a quantifiable metric

F-005: The report covers the material strategies of 50 major firms worldwide (the corporate-rating subjects) - source: PRTIMES #1188680 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html - source_article_id: 1188680 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06

F-006: The report includes an operating-power (OPEX) optimization model for a 50MW ultra-next-generation GPU cluster, linking thermal-resistance reduction to PUE improvement - source: PRTIMES #1188680 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html - source_article_id: 1188680 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06 - caveat: This is an optimization model set out in the report, not actual measured operating data

F-007: The report compiles the impact of China's export controls (the January 2026 announcement, etc.) on heat-dissipation filler supply - source: PRTIMES #1188680 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html - source_article_id: 1188680 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: low - basis: official_statement - period: January 2026 announcement (compiled by the report) - caveat: Announcement details are compiled by this report, not third-party verified

F-008: Taiwan's IT hardware industry posted Q1 2026 output of US$37.239 billion, up 16.9% year over year - source: PRTIMES #1202829 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000357.000059899.html - source_article_id: 1202829 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: Q1 2026 - caveat: Statistical figure self-reported by Wise Machinery Industry Journal

F-009: Taiwan's electronic-materials industry posted Q1 2026 output of NT$250.13 billion, up 23.4% year over year; semiconductor / packaging / PCB materials rose together while LCD materials declined - source: PRTIMES #1202829 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000357.000059899.html - source_article_id: 1202829 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: Q1 2026 - caveat: Statistical figure self-reported by Wise Machinery Industry Journal, not official statistics-bureau data

F-010: Taiwanese SME Shuo-Zheng Technology, with annual revenue below NT$300 million, used a fluorine-free release film compliant with TSMC's ESG policy to win TSMC InFO and CoWoS orders, successfully switching away from a Japanese supplier - source: PRTIMES #1202829 - source_url: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000357.000059899.html - source_article_id: 1202829 - source_type: PRTIMES - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: Q1 2026 report - caveat: "Below NT$300 million" is an approximate scale; the order amount is undisclosed; Shuo-Zheng Technology is small in scale with no Wikidata Q identifier

F-011: Jih Lin expects AI new products to account for 7% of overall performance this year, rising to 10% in 2027 - source: CNA #1189084 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606240030.aspx - source_article_id: 1189084 - source_type: CNA - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - ticker: 5285 - period: 2026-06-24 report - caveat: This is the chairman's self-reported estimated share in an interview, not a realized figure

F-012: Jih Lin launched a price-hike mechanism from June 2026, with the increase estimated in the 10% to 30% range - source: CNA #1189084 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606240030.aspx - source_article_id: 1189084 - source_type: CNA - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - ticker: 5285 - period: From June 2026 - caveat: The price-increase range is company self-reported and varies by product category and customer demand

F-013: Jih Lin's Q1 2026 consolidated revenue was NT$1.357 billion, up 8% quarter over quarter and 2% year over year - source: CNA #1189084 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606240030.aspx - source_article_id: 1189084 - source_type: CNA - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - ticker: 5285 - period: Q1 2026 - caveat: Q1 financials are company self-compiled, not officially audited statements (no direct TWSE official filing source attached)

F-014: Jih Lin's Q1 2026 gross margin 18.68% (highest single quarter since Q3 2021), operating margin 9.87% (highest since Q3 2022), after-tax profit NT$102 million (highest in 7 quarters), basic EPS NT$1 - source: CNA #1189084 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606240030.aspx - source_article_id: 1189084 - source_type: CNA - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - ticker: 5285 - period: Q1 2026 - caveat: Each financial metric is a company self-compiled figure, not officially audited statements

F-015: Jih Lin's Q1 2026 product mix was approximately 49% automotive, 29% industrial, and 22% consumer electronics - source: CNA #1189084 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606240030.aspx - source_article_id: 1189084 - source_type: CNA - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - ticker: 5285 - period: Q1 2026 - caveat: The shares are a company self-reported performance mix

F-016: TSMC this year mass-produces the world's largest 5.5x reticle-size CoWoS with a yield above 98%, and plans to enlarge to a 14x reticle-size version over the next 5 years - source: CNA #1145585 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606200018.aspx - source_article_id: 1145585 - source_type: CNA - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - ticker: 2330 - period: 2026-06-20 report - caveat: The 14x reticle is a 5-year roadmap plan, not yet in mass production

F-017: On 2026-06-16, TSMC and Amkor announced a 10-year cooperation agreement, strengthening advanced packaging and testing in Arizona, USA (including support for CoWoS capacity) - source: CNA #1145585 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606200018.aspx - source_article_id: 1145585 - source_type: CNA - confidence: high - basis: official_statement - ticker: 2330 - period: 2026-06-16

F-018: Due to CoWoS capacity shortage, Google's TPU, AWS's and Meta's ASIC solutions, and SK Hynix pivot to evaluating Intel EMIB packaging; TSMC accelerates next-generation CoPoS as a strategic weapon for packaging ultra-large AI chips - source: CNA #1145585 - source_url: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606200018.aspx - source_article_id: 1145585 - source_type: CNA - confidence: medium - basis: official_statement - period: 2026-06-20 report - caveat: Cites analysis by Liu Pei-chen, director of the Industry Economics Database at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research; some customers' evaluation moves are not final decisions

---

J-Units

J-001: The competitive axis of AI server thermal management is shifting upward from "cooling architecture" to "interface material (TIM)" — when GPU power consumption reaches the 1,000W to 3,000W tier, material performance leads and constrains the choice of cooling method, meaning the value core of the thermal supply chain is shifting from mechanical parts to high-purity materials - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-002, F-004

J-002: Taiwan's packaging-materials supply chain is reverse-eroding the Japanese high-purity-material monopoly through "ESG compliance" and "localized Spec-in" — Shuo-Zheng's fluorine-free release film (an advanced-packaging consumable, not a TIM / liquid-cooling material) winning TSMC InFO / CoWoS orders shows the differentiation axis has shifted from pure technology to an ESG + implementation community, and even SMEs can break into the fixed-component supply position previously led by Japanese makers; this evidence is limited to release film, while the demand-side TIM / liquid-cooling is a market-report framing - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-009, F-010

J-003: The size expansion of advanced packaging is the fundamental driver of thermal-material demand — TSMC enlarging from 5.5x reticle CoWoS toward a planned 14x and accelerating CoPoS; the larger the package and the more HBM integrated, the sharper the interface thermal resistance, so TIM / liquid-cooling material demand grows structurally rather than cyclically - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-016, F-017, F-018

J-004: The thermal-materials war is the upgrade of the "advanced packaging materials" link in the dual-track coupling chain of AI infrastructure — sharing the same origin with TSMC's wafer expansion (Batch 1) and the four heavy-electrical makers' power equipment (Batch 2) in the same AI demand wave; every new fab and every larger AI chip simultaneously pulls on three supply chains: packaging, interface materials, and power - confidence: medium - basis_f_units: F-016, F-017

---

P-Units

P-001: The amount, scale, and continuity of Shuo-Zheng Technology's TSMC InFO / CoWoS release-film order win — only "successful switchover" is disclosed so far; the order amount and supply term are unknown, and it remains to be tracked whether supply expands later or is won back by other Taiwanese / Japanese makers - status: open

P-002: Whether Jih Lin's AI new-product share can rise on schedule from 7% in 2026 to 10% in 2027 — this is the key gate for Jih Lin's move from automotive into AI server power management; customer acceptance after the 10% to 30% price hike and order conversion must be observed - status: open

P-003: The mass-production timeline and TIM specification requirements of TSMC's next-generation CoPoS (Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate) — CoPoS panel-level packaging may impose a higher performance threshold on interface materials than CoWoS, which will determine the competitive landscape of the next round of thermal-material Spec-in - status: open

---

同事件・三視角 / Three Perspectives on the Same Event / 同一イベント・三つの視点

---

Internal Citation Chain

Published ANK-Docs cited in this article: - **ANK-2026-06-24-002** (AI data-center construction boom drives Taiwan's heavy-electrical industry to record highs) → This article cites its dual-track coupling context as proof that "advanced packaging materials" and "power infrastructure" share the same origin in the same AI demand wave. - **ANK-2026-04-16-001** (TSMC 2026 Q1 earnings call: AI-driven 3nm synchronized tri-site expansion) → This article cites its tri-site expansion context as the upstream driver of the structural growth in advanced packaging and thermal-material demand.

---

Sources

1. [PRTIMES #1188680] CMC Research, Inc., "Heat-Dissipation Materials Market (CMC Research Market Report)", 2026-06-24. https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003039.000012580.html 2. [PRTIMES #1202829] Wise Machinery Industry Journal, "Taiwan Electronic Materials & IT Hardware Industry — Q1 2026 Statistics and Corporate Dynamics", 2026-06-24. https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000357.000059899.html 3. [CNA #1189084] Central News Agency, "Jih Lin Enters AI Server Power Management via Dual-Sided Heat Dissipation, Launches Price Hike in June", 2026-06-24. https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606240030.aspx 4. [CNA #1145585] Central News Agency, "TSMC Expands CoWoS Capacity and Signs 10-Year Agreement with Amkor, Accelerates Next-Generation CoPoS Packaging", 2026-06-20. https://www.cna.com.tw/news/afe/202606200018.aspx 5. [ANK-2026-06-24-002] Rin Takenouchi, "AI Data-Center Construction Boom Drives Taiwan's Heavy-Electrical Industry to Record Highs", 2026-06-24. https://ainews.washinmura.jp/ainews/zh/ank/ANK-2026-06-24-002 6. [ANK-2026-04-16-001] Rin Takenouchi, "AI Demand Drives TSMC's Full-Year Growth Beyond 30%: Q1 EPS NT$22.08 Hits Record High, 3nm Synchronized Tri-Site Expansion Across Taiwan, US, and Japan", 2026-04-16. https://ainews.washinmura.jp/ainews/zh/ank/ANK-2026-04-16-001

---

📊 引用級事實單元（F-Units）

CMC heat-dissipation materials market report published on 2026-06-24, A4 format, 125 pages, list price ¥110,000 excluding tax (ISBN 978-4-910581-91-0)
F-001 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1188680 2026-06-24
The high-heat-density roadmap of generative AI (LLMs) pushes GPU power consumption (TDP) into the 1,000W to 3,000W range
F-002 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1188680 2026-06
The report uses the liquid-cooling standardization and material impact of NVIDIA's GB200 NVL72 rack as the subject of its material-impact analysis
F-003 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1188680 2026-06
The CMC report judges the cooling architecture (air cooling / direct liquid cooling / immersion) to be not the superordinate concept but a dependent variable constrained by the "applicable TIM / interface-material performance domain"
F-004 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1188680 2026-06
The report covers the material strategies of 50 major firms worldwide (the corporate-rating subjects)
F-005 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1188680 2026-06
The report includes an operating-power (OPEX) optimization model for a 50MW ultra-next-generation GPU cluster, linking thermal-resistance reduction to PUE improvement
F-006 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1188680 2026-06
The report compiles the impact of China's export controls (the January 2026 announcement, etc.) on heat-dissipation filler supply
F-007 · Confidence: low · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1188680 January 2026 announcement (compiled by the report)
Taiwan's IT hardware industry posted Q1 2026 output of US$37.239 billion, up 16.9% year over year
F-008 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1202829 Q1 2026
Taiwan's electronic-materials industry posted Q1 2026 output of NT$250.13 billion, up 23.4% year over year; semiconductor / packaging / PCB materials rose together while LCD materials declined
F-009 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1202829 Q1 2026
Taiwanese SME Shuo-Zheng Technology, with annual revenue below NT$300 million, used a fluorine-free release film compliant with TSMC's ESG policy to win TSMC InFO and CoWoS orders, successfully switching away from a Japanese supplier
F-010 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement PRTIMES #1202829 Q1 2026 report
Jih Lin expects AI new products to account for 7% of overall performance this year, rising to 10% in 2027
F-011 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1189084 5285 2026-06-24 report
Jih Lin launched a price-hike mechanism from June 2026, with the increase estimated in the 10% to 30% range
F-012 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1189084 5285 From June 2026
Jih Lin's Q1 2026 consolidated revenue was NT$1.357 billion, up 8% quarter over quarter and 2% year over year
F-013 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1189084 5285 Q1 2026
Jih Lin's Q1 2026 gross margin 18.68% (highest single quarter since Q3 2021), operating margin 9.87% (highest since Q3 2022), after-tax profit NT$102 million (highest in 7 quarters), basic EPS NT$1
F-014 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1189084 5285 Q1 2026
Jih Lin's Q1 2026 product mix was approximately 49% automotive, 29% industrial, and 22% consumer electronics
F-015 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1189084 5285 Q1 2026
TSMC this year mass-produces the world's largest 5.5x reticle-size CoWoS with a yield above 98%, and plans to enlarge to a 14x reticle-size version over the next 5 years
F-016 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement CNA #1145585 2330 2026-06-20 report
On 2026-06-16, TSMC and Amkor announced a 10-year cooperation agreement, strengthening advanced packaging and testing in Arizona, USA (including support for CoWoS capacity)
F-017 · Confidence: high · Basis: official_statement CNA #1145585 2330 2026-06-16
Due to CoWoS capacity shortage, Google's TPU, AWS's and Meta's ASIC solutions, and SK Hynix pivot to evaluating Intel EMIB packaging; TSMC accelerates next-generation CoPoS as a strategic weapon for packaging ultra-large AI chips
F-018 · Confidence: medium · Basis: official_statement CNA #1145585 2026-06-20 report

❓ FAQ

Why does the AI server thermal problem converge onto "material" rather than "cooling method"?

**Because, as of 2026, NVIDIA Blackwell-generation GPU power consumption surges to a TDP of 1,000W to 3,000W, and when heat density is too high, the thermal bottleneck appears at the interface (TIM) between the chip and the heat sink; the CMC report judges that the cooling architecture (air cooling / direct liquid cooling / immersion) is instead a dependent variable constrained by the "applicable TIM performance domain" — what material can be used determines what cooling method can be used.** In the 2026 Blackwell generation, when GPU power consumption reaches the 1,000W to 3,000W tier, whole-system cooling is no longer the main contradiction; the real bottleneck is the thermal resistance of that one interface layer between the chip and the heat sink. Japanese market-research institute CMC explicitly stated in its 2026-06-24 heat-dissipation materials market report that the cooling architecture is not the superordinate concept but a dependent variable constrained by the "applicable TIM / interface-material performance domain" (PRTIMES #1188680). This means material performance leads and determines the choice of cooling architecture.

What exactly does "Taiwanese makers winning Spec-in back from Japanese suppliers" mean? Is there a real example?

**Yes, but the scope must be defined. The only evidence is the release film (an advanced-packaging process consumable, not a TIM / liquid-cooling material itself): Taiwanese SME Shuo-Zheng Technology, with annual revenue below NT$300 million, used a fluorine-free release film compliant with TSMC's ESG policy to successfully win release-film orders for TSMC's InFO and CoWoS away from a Japanese supplier. The Spec-in position for such high-purity packaging materials, traditionally monopolized by Japanese makers, is now being eroded by Taiwanese makers using ESG compliance as a non-traditional axis of differentiation. The demand-side TIM / liquid-cooling material is the framing of a CMC market report and must not be equated with this supply-side release-film evidence.** Spec-in means a material is locked in as a fixed selected component at the early design stage; once incorporated, it is supplied long-term. The traditional landscape had Japanese suppliers monopolizing this position with high-purity materials. Shuo-Zheng Technology is on a scale of under NT$300 million, yet by leveraging fluorine-free material — an axis of differentiation compliant with TSMC's ESG policy — it successfully switched out the Japanese supplier and won the release-film orders for InFO / CoWoS (PRTIMES #1202829). This is a concrete case of Taiwan's thermal supply chain winning Spec-in back.

What role does Jih Lin (5285) play in this thermal war? How is its financial performance?

**Jih Lin uses clip-bond and dual-sided heat-dissipation technology to move from automotive power devices into AI server power management; in Q1 2026 its consolidated revenue was NT$1.357 billion (up 8% quarter over quarter, 2% year over year), gross margin 18.68% — the highest single quarter since Q3 2021, after-tax profit NT$102 million — the highest in 7 quarters, and it launched price hikes of 10% to 30% in June.** Jih Lin Technology (TWSE: 5285) is a power-device packaging maker that commands dual-sided heat-dissipation technology applicable to AI server inverters, with customers including Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Renesas, and Mitsubishi Electric. Jih Lin's Q1 2026 consolidated revenue was NT$1.357 billion, with gross margin 18.68%, operating margin 9.87%, after-tax profit NT$102 million, and EPS NT$1, with several metrics hitting multi-quarter highs. The company expects AI new products to account for 7% this year, rising to 10% in 2027, and launched price hikes of 10% to 30% from June (CNA #1189084).

How large is Taiwan's electronic-materials industry overall? Where does the growth momentum come from?

**Taiwan's electronic-materials industry posted Q1 2026 output of NT$250.13 billion, a sharp 23.4% year-over-year increase, with HPC (high-performance computing) demand lifting semiconductor materials, packaging materials, and PCB materials in unison, while only LCD materials declined.** According to Wise Machinery Industry Journal statistics, Taiwan's electronic-materials industry posted Q1 2026 output of NT$250.13 billion, up 23.4% year over year. The growth momentum clearly comes from AI and high-performance computing (HPC) demand, lifting semiconductor materials, packaging materials, and PCB materials in tandem, with only traditional LCD materials declining. Taiwan's IT hardware industry posted Q1 2026 output of US$37.239 billion, up 16.9% year over year (PRTIMES #1202829). This scaling backdrop is precisely the industrial foundation enabling Taiwan's thermal supply chain to win Spec-in back.

Why does the heat density of AI chips keep rising? What does this have to do with TIM demand?

**Because TSMC keeps enlarging advanced packaging sizes in 2026: mass-producing 5.5x reticle-size CoWoS with a yield above 98%, planning to reach 14x reticle size over the next 5 years, and accelerating next-generation CoPoS. The larger the package and the more HBM integration layers, the sharper the interface thermal-resistance problem becomes, and TIM / liquid-cooling material demand grows structurally as a result.** The root cause of rising heat density lies in the expansion of advanced packaging. TSMC this year mass-produces the world's largest 5.5x reticle-size CoWoS with a yield above 98%, enlarging the size each year over the next 5 years toward the planned 14x reticle version, and on 2026-06-16 signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with Amkor to strengthen advanced packaging capacity (CNA #1145585). The larger the package and the more HBM integrated, the sharper the interface thermal-resistance problem between chip and heat sink — this is precisely the fundamental driver of TIM and liquid-cooling material demand, and the underlying engine of the value upgrade in Taiwan's thermal supply chain. ---

🧠 編輯判斷（J-Units）

The competitive axis of AI server thermal management is shifting upward from "cooling architecture" to "interface material (TIM)" — when GPU power consumption reaches the 1,000W to 3,000W tier, material performance leads and constrains the choice of cooling method, meaning the value core of the thermal supply chain is shifting from mechanical parts to high-purity materials
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-002, F-004
Taiwan's packaging-materials supply chain is reverse-eroding the Japanese high-purity-material monopoly through "ESG compliance" and "localized Spec-in" — Shuo-Zheng's fluorine-free release film (an advanced-packaging consumable, not a TIM / liquid-cooling material) winning TSMC InFO / CoWoS orders shows the differentiation axis has shifted from pure technology to an ESG + implementation community, and even SMEs can break into the fixed-component supply position previously led by Japanese makers; this evidence is limited to release film, while the demand-side TIM / liquid-cooling is a market-report framing
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-009, F-010
The size expansion of advanced packaging is the fundamental driver of thermal-material demand — TSMC enlarging from 5.5x reticle CoWoS toward a planned 14x and accelerating CoPoS; the larger the package and the more HBM integrated, the sharper the interface thermal resistance, so TIM / liquid-cooling material demand grows structurally rather than cyclically
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-016, F-017, F-018
The thermal-materials war is the upgrade of the "advanced packaging materials" link in the dual-track coupling chain of AI infrastructure — sharing the same origin with TSMC's wafer expansion (Batch 1) and the four heavy-electrical makers' power equipment (Batch 2) in the same AI demand wave; every new fab and every larger AI chip simultaneously pulls on three supply chains: packaging, interface materials, and power
Confidence: medium · Based on: F-016, F-017

🔮 待驗證假設（P-Units）

The amount, scale, and continuity of Shuo-Zheng Technology's TSMC InFO / CoWoS release-film order win — only "successful switchover" is disclosed so far; the order amount and supply term are unknown, and it remains to be tracked whether supply expands later or is won back by other Taiwanese / Japanese makers
Status: open
Whether Jih Lin's AI new-product share can rise on schedule from 7% in 2026 to 10% in 2027 — this is the key gate for Jih Lin's move from automotive into AI server power management; customer acceptance after the 10% to 30% price hike and order conversion must be observed
Status: open
The mass-production timeline and TIM specification requirements of TSMC's next-generation CoPoS (Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate) — CoPoS panel-level packaging may impose a higher performance threshold on interface materials than CoWoS, which will determine the competitive landscape of the next round of thermal-material Spec-in
Status: open

Related Analyses