This report keeps the user's ranking: optical chips, high-end MLCC, high-end CCL, memory and optical fiber. The ranking refers to industrial demand visibility and tradable supply-chain mapping, not short-term price certainty.
On the A-share side, optical chips have cleaner pure-play candidates; MLCC and CCL have identifiable leaders, but ETFs are only broad proxies. A-share memory exposure is mostly niche memory, modules, SSDs and interface chips rather than HBM-scale global memory producers.
In Korea, memory and MLCC are the cleanest mappings through SK hynix, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Korean CCL exposure is better expressed through PCB and package-substrate names, while optical-chip and optical-fiber exposure remains less pure.
Five durable AI hardware themes, mapped by purity first
The ranking is optical chips, high-end MLCC, high-end CCL, memory and optical fiber. Korea is strongest in memory and MLCC. China A-share exposure is cleaner in optical chips and CCL materials. Korean optical-chip and fiber names are weaker listed proxies.
Mapping table
Purity labels: core means direct business mapping; proxy means adjacent supply-chain exposure; weak proxy means thematic relevance but weaker revenue verification.
| Rank | Theme | China A-share names | Listed ETFs | OTC feeder funds | Korean equities | Purity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Optical chips / optical modulesCPO/NPO, silicon photonics, EML/DFB/AWG/PLC and optical engines. | Yuanjie 688498SJ Photons 688313Accelink 002281Zhongji Innolight 300308Eoptolink 300502TFC 300394 | 515880515050159995 | 007817 / 007818008086 / 008087008887 / 008888 | OE Solutions 138080.KQLG Innotek 011070.KS | A-shares are cleaner; Korea is a weaker proxy. | OE Solutions is more optical transceiver/module exposure than pure optical-chip exposure. |
| 02 | High-end MLCCAI server power integrity, decoupling, VRM and high-reliability passive components. | Chaozhou Three-Circle 300408Fenghua 000636Torch Electron 603678Sinocera 300285Jiemi 002859 | 515260159995512480 | 012550 / 012551008887 / 008888007300 / 007301 | Samsung Electro-Mechanics 009150.KSSamwha Capacitor 001820.KS | Korea is very direct; A-share exposure depends on high-end mix validation. | Samsung Electro-Mechanics has the cleanest Korean AI server MLCC mapping. |
| 03 | High-end CCL / PCB / substratesLow-loss materials, AI server PCB, network switches and FCBGA. | Shengyi 600183Nanya New Material 688519Wazam 603186Novoray 688300Zoina 300936Goldenmax 002636 | 515260512480159995 | 012550 / 012551007300 / 007301020464 / 020465 | ISU Petasys 007660.KSSIMMTECH 222800.KQDaeduck 353200.KS | A-shares are closer to CCL; Korea maps to PCB/package substrate. | ISU Petasys is the cleanest Korean AI server/network PCB proxy. |
| 04 | MemoryHBM, DRAM, NAND, eSSD, memory interface chips and storage modules. | GigaDevice 603986Montage 688008Longsys 301308Biwin 688525Ingenic 300223Puran 688766 | 159995512480561980 | 008887 / 008888007300 / 007301020464 / 020465014854 / 014855 | SK hynix 000660.KSSamsung Electronics 005930.KSSamsung pref 005935.KS | Korea is the global core; A-shares are proxy exposure. | For HBM and AI memory, the Korean names are more direct than A-share memory-module names. |
| 05 | Optical fiber / cableBackbone networks, carriers, optical fiber preforms, fiber and cable. | YOFC 601869Hengtong 600487ZTT 600522FiberHome 600498Tongding 002491 | 515880515050 | 007817 / 007818008086 / 008087 | Taihan Cable 001440.KSLS Corp 006260.KSTaihan Fiberoptics not directly listed | A-shares are cleaner; Korea is cable/fiber proxy exposure. | Optical fiber is less directly tied to AI datacenter optical-interconnect bottlenecks than optical chips and modules. |
How to use it
Attack priority
- Short-term fermentation: optical chips and CCL/PCB need order, qualification or pricing proof.
- Medium-term visibility: Korean memory and MLCC are more direct but more crowded.
- ETF beta: useful for theme exposure, not a substitute for pure-play stock work.
Purity priority
- China: Yuanjie, SJ Photons, Accelink, Three-Circle, Shengyi and Nanya.
- Korea: SK hynix, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and ISU Petasys.
- Weak proxies: OE Solutions, Taihan Cable and LS Corp.
Invalidation signals
- Rumors without customer qualification, pricing, orders or margin validation.
- ETF exposure diluted by unrelated consumer-electronics or low-end cycles.
- Small Korean proxy names moving more on liquidity than fundamentals.
ETF and feeder-fund groups
Fund codes, trading status, subscriptions and holdings can change. Recheck official fund pages before execution.
Source trail
This research note is for watchlist construction and source mapping only. It is not investment advice, a solicitation, or a guarantee of future returns.