The semiconductor industry is becoming one of the world's most strategically important technology sectors, providing the foundation for advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles, IoT devices, and data centers. As global supply chains continue to shift, Vietnam has an opportunity to play a more significant role in this industry, spanning integrated circuit design, chip packaging and testing, and semiconductor materials research.
New investments, together with Vietnam's strategic development roadmap for the semiconductor industry through 2030, are laying the groundwork for domestic market growth. However, to strengthen its position in the global value chain, Vietnam must address several critical challenges, particularly in core technologies, engineering talent, and testing and measurement capabilities.
1. Vietnam's Semiconductor Industry Is Entering a New Phase of Growth
For many years, Vietnam's participation in the semiconductor supply chain has been concentrated primarily in assembly, packaging, and testing. Although these are essential stages of semiconductor manufacturing, they have not yet provided the country with significant advantages in core technologies. Today, Vietnam is broadening its development strategy to include integrated circuit design, chip research, and fabrication, with the aim of gradually establishing a domestic semiconductor ecosystem.
Under Vietnam's Strategy for Semiconductor Industry Development to 2030, with a Vision to 2050, issued under Decision No. 1018/QD-TTg dated September 21, 2024, the country aims to establish at least 100 chip design companies, one small-scale semiconductor fabrication plant, and 10 semiconductor packaging and testing facilities by 2030. The strategy also targets the development of a workforce of approximately 50,000 engineers and bachelor's degree holders in the semiconductor sector.
Recent developments indicate that these ambitions are gradually translating into concrete projects. On November 3, 2026, FPT announced the commencement of trial operations at its chip packaging and testing plant in Bac Ninh, with a maximum designed capacity of 300 million chips per year. The facility is equipped with Automated Test Equipment (ATE) integrated with handler systems to perform functional testing and chip sorting.
This marks a significant step forward for Vietnam's domestic packaging and testing capabilities. Beyond production lines, Assembly, Testing and Packaging (ATP) operations also require stringent quality control, test program development, and highly accurate defect detection.
2. Three Key Development Areas for Vietnam's Semiconductor Industry
Integrated Circuit Design and Prototype Fabrication
Chip design is a highly technology-intensive stage that requires expertise in processor architecture, digital logic design, analog circuit design, and functional verification. One of the major challenges facing domestic companies and research teams is the high cost of prototype fabrication and limited access to wafer manufacturing facilities.
On June 26, 2026, the National Semiconductor Chip Design and Prototyping Support Center was officially launched in Hanoi. The center aims to connect research organizations with semiconductor fabrication, packaging, and testing facilities. Notably, the Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) model allows multiple chip designs to share a single wafer fabrication run, significantly reducing prototype development costs.
This provides an essential foundation for domestic design teams to move beyond software-based simulations toward actual prototype fabrication and product evaluation.
Chip Packaging and Testing
Assembly, Testing and Packaging (ATP) is considered one of the semiconductor segments with strong growth potential in the short and medium term. Vietnam benefits from its established electronics manufacturing base, engineering workforce, and the presence of international semiconductor companies.
The growing adoption of advanced packaging technologies is also transforming industry requirements. Techniques such as 2.5D integration, 3D ICs, and Chiplet architectures enable multiple semiconductor dies to be integrated into a single system, improving performance and data bandwidth.
These developments place greater demands on interconnect testing, signal integrity evaluation, thermal management, and the reliability assessment of packaged components.
SiC/GaN Power Semiconductors and AI Applications
The development of electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and AI data centers is driving demand for high-efficiency power semiconductor devices.
Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) are two major Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductor materials. Compared with many conventional silicon devices, they can operate at higher voltages, temperatures, and switching frequencies.
SiC is widely used in electric vehicle power converters, fast-charging systems, and energy applications. GaN is particularly suitable for high-power-density power supplies and high-frequency switching circuits.
This is a promising area for research and development, but it also requires advanced capabilities in electrical characterization, switching loss evaluation, and device reliability verification.
3. Technology and Testing Challenges
Despite the promising opportunities, semiconductor industry development cannot rely solely on investment capital and the number of manufacturing facilities. The ability to master manufacturing processes, maintain quality control, and develop new technologies will ultimately determine long-term competitiveness.
Wafer fabrication remains one of the most technically demanding stages of semiconductor manufacturing. It requires cleanroom infrastructure and highly sophisticated equipment for photolithography, thin-film deposition, plasma etching, and precision material characterization.
In addition, semiconductor testing and measurement play a critical role throughout the entire development process, from device research to product validation. Semiconductor parameter analyzers are used to characterize I-V and C-V properties, leakage current, and breakdown voltage in transistors, diodes, and other semiconductor device structures.
For SiC/GaN power devices, engineers must also evaluate voltage and current characteristics, switching times, and switching losses. These measurements typically require oscilloscopes with suitable bandwidth, high-voltage differential probes, and accurate signal analysis capabilities.
At the circuit and system levels, noise analysis, rise and fall times, Signal Integrity (SI), and transient response measurements are equally important, particularly for high-speed electronic devices and AI systems.
Therefore, investment in semiconductor laboratories must go hand in hand with the development of measurement and testing infrastructure, as well as hands-on engineering training. These capabilities provide the foundation for shortening research cycles, identifying defects at an early stage, and improving product reliability.
4. Outlook to 2030: Strengthening Vietnam's Position in the Global Value Chain
During the 2026–2030 period, Vietnam has an opportunity to expand its role in the global semiconductor supply chain. Packaging and testing, integrated circuit design, and the development of application-specific chips could deliver tangible results in the short term. Over the longer term, capabilities in materials research, wafer fabrication, and advanced packaging technologies will determine the industry's level of technological independence.
The biggest challenge is to establish stronger collaboration among businesses, universities, research institutes, and technology suppliers. In particular, engineers need practical access to advanced testing and measurement equipment and real-world experimental processes, rather than relying solely on theoretical knowledge.
5. Tektronix Semiconductor 2026: Exploring Advances in Semiconductor Test and Measurement
As demand for integrated circuit research and development continues to grow, precision test and measurement technologies are becoming increasingly important to strengthening Vietnam's semiconductor capabilities.
On November 11, 2026, EMIN, in collaboration with Tektronix, will host the Tektronix Semiconductor 2026 seminar at the National Innovation Center (NIC) in Hanoi.
The program will focus on emerging test and measurement technologies, research into SiC/GaN wide bandgap semiconductors, and device and system validation in the era of Physical AI. A key topic is "Wide Bandgap Semiconductor: From Materials Research to Failure Analysis," which explores material research and failure analysis methodologies for next-generation semiconductor devices.
In addition to the technical presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to experience live equipment demonstrations, exchange insights with Tektronix experts, and explore solutions for semiconductor research, development, and engineering education.
Seminar Information:
Time: 09:00–14:00, November 11, 2026
Venue: 6th Floor, National Innovation Center (NIC), Lane 7, Ton That Thuyet Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Organizers: EMIN in collaboration with Tektronix
Target Audience: Engineers, R&D specialists, lecturers, researchers, and businesses in the semiconductor industry
Registration Fee: Free of charge
View the detailed seminar agenda at here.
The seminar provides an opportunity for engineers and industry experts to stay up to date with the latest testing and measurement methodologies, discuss technical challenges in semiconductor research, and explore equipment solutions that support the development of Vietnam's semiconductor ecosystem.
