SCHMID Unveils "Any Layer ET" — A Full Panel-Level Damascene Platform Built on DRIE Plasma Etch and PVD Thin Film

By NineScrolls Team · 2026-05-01 · 5 min read · Industry

Summary

On April 30, 2026, SCHMID Group N.V. (NASDAQ: SHMD), the Freudenstadt-based equipment maker, introduced its proprietary Any Layer ET (Embedded Trace) Process — a full panel-level damascene platform aimed squarely at next-generation IC substrates, panel-level packaging (PLP), and glass core packages. The process replaces conventional mSAP and SAP build-up flows with a Deep Reactive Ion Etching plasma step followed by PVD seed deposition, ECD copper fill, and CMP planarization.

For an industry that just spent two years debating how to push redistribution layers below 2 µm line/space for AI accelerators, this is a concrete, equipment-backed answer.

The April 30 Announcement

SCHMID positioned Any Layer ET as a "full panel-level damascene process platform specifically developed for next-generation build-up layer manufacturing." The company develops and licenses the process technology while supplying the production equipment — it does not manufacture substrates itself.

"The future of advanced packaging will be defined by precision, reliability, and scalable manufacturing," said Roland Rettenmeier, Chief Sales Officer of SCHMID Group. "With Any Layer ET Process and Equipment, SCHMID provides customers with both the process know-how and the critical production equipment required to industrialize next-generation substrate manufacturing for AI-driven compute architectures and future glass core packaging."

Inside the Any Layer ET Process Flow

The Any Layer ET sequence is essentially a panel-scale version of the back-end-of-line damascene flow that has powered logic interconnects since the late 1990s. Per SCHMID's release, the four core steps are:

  1. Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) plasma for via and trench formation in dielectric materials such as Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF).
  2. Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) for thin-film deposition of titanium and copper seed layers.
  3. Electrochemical Deposition (ECD) for copper filling.
  4. Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) for excess copper removal and surface planarization.

SCHMID claims the architecture delivers ultra-fine line and space capability, superior surface planarity for multilayer build-up, improved signal integrity and power distribution, and enhanced long-term reliability through embedded conductor structures — all on full-panel formats compatible with organic substrates, hybrid substrates, and glass core platforms.

The Four-Tool Equipment Stack

The platform is built around four SCHMID machines, each mapped to one of the process steps:

SCHMID emphasized a "touchless transport architecture and single-panel handling concept" designed to keep defectivity low across large-format panels — a known yield-killer in panel-level packaging at sub-2 µm geometries.

Why Now: AI, Glass Cores, and the Limits of mSAP

SCHMID's framing is direct: AI, high-performance computing, advanced server architectures, and heterogeneous integration are pushing substrate complexity past what conventional modified semi-additive processing (mSAP) can deliver. Damascene-style embedded copper traces give cleaner sidewalls, tighter pitch, and better planarity for the multi-layer stacks AI accelerators now demand.

The technology specifically targets advanced IC substrates, panel-level packaging, glass core substrates, and high-density interconnect applications — the exact roadmap items Intel, TSMC, and the major OSATs have flagged as critical for sub-2 µm RDL and vertical interconnect integration.

SCHMID Heads to ECTC 2026 in Orlando

As part of the announcement, SCHMID confirmed that Rettenmeier will present at the IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC) 2026 in Orlando, Florida, in May 2026. His talk is titled "InfinityBoard – A Panel-Level Glass-Core Packaging Platform for Ultra-Fine RDL and Vertical Interconnect Integration."

"As AI infrastructure demand accelerates, substrate innovation becomes one of the most strategic enablers of overall system performance," Rettenmeier said. "ECTC provides the ideal platform to engage with the global ecosystem and discuss how full panel-level damascene manufacturing will shape the next generation of advanced packaging."

What This Means for Plasma Processing and Thin Film Deposition

Plasma processing equipment. Any Layer ET puts a DRIE plasma step at the front of the substrate flow — a meaningful shift. Conventional ABF build-up uses laser drilling for vias; SCHMID is replacing that with reactive ion etching against organic dielectrics. That implies sustained demand for plasma sources tuned for polymer etch chemistry, fluorine and oxygen-based feed gases, and chamber designs that can handle full-panel substrates rather than 300 mm wafers. PlasmaLine sits in the same category of equipment as semiconductor-grade ICP and CCP etch tools, scaled to panel format. Plasma activation for the seed-layer interface is a second touchpoint where surface-treatment plasma capacity matters.

Thin film deposition systems. The PVD step deposits Ti and Cu seed layers — classic sputter deposition chemistry now applied at panel scale. Demand here translates into requirements for larger Ti and Cu sputter targets, panel-format vacuum chambers, magnetron design optimized for uniformity across glass and organic substrates, and pre-clean modules. This is the same physics as wafer-level barrier/seed PVD, but scaled to a different substrate footprint. ALD adoption for ultra-thin barrier layers is a likely follow-on as line/space shrinks below 1 µm.

Equipment supply chain. Panel-level damascene multiplies the addressable market for vacuum components, plasma sources, mass flow controllers, RF generators, sputter targets, and end-point detection systems sized for large-area substrates. Glass core packaging — explicitly named in SCHMID's roadmap — adds requirements for thermal management, electrostatic chucking on dielectric carriers, and process monitoring tuned for transparent substrates. As Intel, TSMC, Samsung, and the Tier-1 OSATs evaluate panel-level platforms, every tool on the SCHMID stack pulls a tail of specialty consumables and components behind it. For component suppliers in the precision plasma and deposition niche, panel-level packaging is no longer an adjacent market — it is the front edge of demand.

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