EV Group and Brewer Science's New Ultrathin-Wafer Bonding Technology Key to Advanced Packaging Applications
ST. FLORIAN, Austria and ROLLA, Mo., Dec. 4 - A key industry milestone has been reached today surrounding the handling and processing of ultrathin wafers. In their ongoing joint development work, EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment for the advanced semiconductor and packaging, MEMS, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and emerging nanotechnology markets, and Brewer Science, Inc., the pioneer of industry-enabling technologies solutions for the semiconductor/microelectronics chemicals and equipment marketplace, unveiled they have demonstrated temporary wafer bonding capabilities for a wide range of backside processes, including through-silicon vias (TSVs) and backside metallization.
This latest achievement further validates the viability of the companies' unique approach, which is optimized for high-temperature advanced packaging applications. In July 2007, EVG and Brewer Science announced that they had combined the Brewer Science WaferBOND(TM) HT coating materials with EVG's proven EVG850TB/DB temporary wafer bonding/debonding platform to create the industry's first high-yield, high-performance solution for simultaneously debonding and cleaning sub-100-micron thinned wafers up to 300mm in diameter.
The solution resulted from a multi-year partnership formed to address growing industry demand for flexible, yet reliable, processes and equipment that can accommodate the challenges associated with increasingly thin and fragile product wafers - particularly for advanced 3D and wafer-level packaging approaches. Both EVG and Brewer Science are committed to speeding commercialization of TSVs for 3D chip stacking, as evidenced by their membership in the EMC-3D Consortium, of which EVG is also a co-founder.
Stefan Pargfrieder, EVG Business Development Manager, said, "The progress of EVG's joint work with Brewer Science has surpassed our expectations. In less than 18 months since initiating this development effort, we have successfully brought to market a manufacturing process superior to anything previously available. Moreover, demonstrating its use for TSVs, given the importance of this technology to both companies and to the industry overall, is crucial to enabling broad industry adoption of this approach."
Jim Lamb, Director of Corporate Business Development with Brewer Science, concurs, "These initial results offer a compelling substantiation of the value and cost-effectiveness of using our polymeric, spin-on WaferBOND(TM) HT system with the EVG850 platform in high-volume manufacturing environments. Three-dimensional device stacking is essential to producing multifunctional devices with improved performance and compact footprints. High-temperature processing compatibility and fast debonding processing times of less than 5 minutes are important attributes to furthering the viable production capability of this innovative technology."
EVG and Brewer Science will have key executives available to discuss its ultrathin wafer-handling solution for advanced packaging applications during SEMICON Japan 2007, which will start on Wednesday, December 5, and run through Friday, December 7 at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan. Editors/journalists are encouraged to visit the EVG booth, #5C-706, for more information.
About Brewer Science
Brewer Science, a multidivisional technology company, has pioneered industry-enabling innovations from ARC® anti-reflective coatings to ProTEK® etch protective coatings. Following on its long tradition of being first to introduce and implement cutting-edge technologies, Brewer Science is proud to introduce its WaferBOND(TM) HT temporary wafer bonding materials. Brewer Science is a major producer of high-quality materials, processes and machine solutions that meet the stringent requirements of today's IC, compound semiconductor, MEMS and optoelectronic industries. Under the leadership of Dr. Terry Brewer, president and founder, Brewer Science continues to develop innovative technologies, reliable products and responsive services, each attuned to the specific needs of individual customers. Further information on the technology and product information from Brewer Science can be obtained via the company's website at http://www.brewerscience.com/.
About EV Group (EVG)
Founded in 1980, EV Group is a global supplier of wafer bonders, aligners, photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems for semiconductor, MEMS and emerging nanotechnology markets. EVG holds the dominant share of the market for wafer bonding equipment and is a leader in lithography for advanced packaging, MEMS and nanoimprint lithography (NIL).
The company's unique Triple i approach (INVENT - INNOVATE - IMPLEMENT) is supported by a vertical infrastructure, allowing EV Group to respond quickly to new technology developments, apply the technology to manufacturing challenges and expedite device manufacturing in high volume. Headquartered in St. Florian, Austria, EV Group operates via a global customer support network, with subsidiaries in Tempe, Arizona; Albany, New York; Yokohama and Fukuoka, Japan; and Chung-Li, Taiwan. For more information, visit www.evgroup.com/ and our EVG-TShop "Click, Stop - the new way to shop" http://www.evgtshop.com/.
Source: EV Group
CONTACT: Jim Lamb, Director of Corporate Business Development of Brewer Science, Inc., +1-573-364-0300, jlamb@brewerscience.com; or Thomas Fodermeyer, Director Marketing and Communications of EV Group, + 43 7712 5311 0, Marketing@EVGroup.com; or Marie Labrie, Vice President of MCA, Inc.,
+1-650-968-8900, ext. 119, mlabrie@mcapr.com, for EV Group
Web site: www.evgroup.com/
http://www.brewerscience.com/
