Samsung Electronics may assign the rear-end packaging process of its next generation Exynos application processor to an external company, as it lacks efficient packaging expertise for chips that are smaller than 10nm, a report claims.

The South Korean chip maker recently approached American and Chinese OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) companies in order to work on its upcoming 7nm and 8nm chips, ETNews.com reports. The U.S. company did not immediately responded, the report claims, since it has been already working with Qualcomm. On the other hand, the unnamed Chinese company replied positively to Samsung's inquiry, the report continues.

Obviously, Samsung could also invest further in order to completely develop the new chips on its own. However, this would take time, and Samsung needs to develop, mass-produce and supply the finished products to its customers by end of this year.

Chips that are smaller than 10nm cannot use the traditional reflow soldering process - the most common method of attaching surface mount components to a circuit board. In the process, a solder paste is used to temporarily attach one or several electrical components to their contact pads, after which the entire assembly is subjected to controlled heat, which melts the solder, permanently connecting the joint.

But in case of smaller than 10nm chips, the ultra-thin copper pillars can be bent when heat is applied. As a result, the Thermal Compression (TC) bonding method emerged as an alternative to reflow process. In this method, a chip is connected to a board through heat and pressure, with a solder paste or a film placed between the chip and the board.