Taiwan's Nan Ya PCB (NPC) has begun sampling six- to 12-layer flip-chip (FC) substrates for Intel's recently-announced Sandy Bridge processors, as well as Japan-based Ibiden Electronics and Shinko Electronic Industrial, with mass shipments slated for March or April, according to industry sources.

At the just concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Intel introduced its second-generation Core processor - Sandy Bridge - for thin, light and multimedia notebooks and all-in-one PCs. Most end products are expected to come later in the first quarter.

NPC reportedly becomes a new substrate supplier for Intel's CPU. The company was quoted in previous reports as revealing it has scaled up monthly output of FC substrates to 37 million units from 30 million originally, in order to satisfy rising orders for CPUs.

According to Prismark, the global IC substrate market will grow from US$7.885 billion in 2010 to US$8.245 billion in 2011, showing a 4.56% rise. The consulting firm also expressed optimism about growth in the advanced flip-chip packaging segment this year.