March 11, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — ST. FLORIAN, AUSTRIA — EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology, and semiconductor markets, announces that Austrian technology research company NanoTecCenter Weiz Forschungsgesellschaft mbH (NTC Weiz) has purchased an EVG620 precision alignment system for installation in its new R&D facility focused on organic/plastic electronics. NTC Weiz will use the EVG620 system to align and expose coated organic substrates for advanced applications. This purchase, NTC Weiz’s first from EV Group, gives EVG further access to the latest developments in the semiconductor and broader electronics markets while strengthening the company’s ties with the European research community.
According to Professor Emil List, scientific managing director at NTC Weiz, “Our new R&D cleanroom will be focused on next-generation organic semiconductor technology, one of the fastest growing areas of the electronics industry, and one with the greatest potential for yielding paradigm-shifting products. To ensure the highest quality results, we need state-of-the-art equipment for this new line. Our competitive evaluation, together with EVG’s reputation for innovative yet reliable systems and solutions, convinced us that they are the ideal partner for our latest research venture.”
Its high throughput, tool flexibility, and modular design have made the EVG620 one of EV Group’s most popular mask aligners, with a significant number of installations at customer sites around the world. The precision alignment system also allows for imprint processes with stamps and substrates from small, chip-size pieces to 6-inch (150-mm) wafers. EVG’s proprietary chuck design, which supports both soft and hard stamps, provides uniform contact force for high-yield, large-area printing. Configurations for nanotechnology applications can include release mechanisms for stamps, in addition to programmable high and low contact force, as well as in-situ fine alignment.
“As a leading R&D organization chartered with driving research efforts in the nanotechnology arena, NTC Weiz is well positioned to utilize our EVG620 mask aligner to maximum benefit,” says Alois Malzer, product manager for mask aligners at EVG. “The system’s flexibility and extendibility enable its use for a variety of applications, and we look forward to playing an enabling role in NTC Weiz’s organic semiconductor technology research and development efforts.”
About NanoTecCenter Weiz
Founded in 2006, the NTC Weiz is a nonprofit research company located in Weiz, Austria, funded 50 percent each by the Graz University of Technology and JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH. NTC Weiz conducts research and development work in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In its main R&D focus are the development and application of nanostructured materials, as well as the development of processes and devices in the fields of optoelectronics, sensorics, and nanoanalytics.
The activities range from mission oriented research, scientific services, process, and product development in cooperation with national and international partners to technological coaching for large, medium, and small enterprises.
The NTC Weiz operates a cleanroom with an area of 150-square meters and a gray room of 145-square meters, the latter also being easily expandable to a cleanroom. The facilities integrate a modular pilot and demonstration fabrication line including an inert glove box cluster for thin-film deposition both by evaporation and by solution-processing, state-of-the-art, industrial inkjet printers, a most-modern e-beam lithography, a photolithography cluster, including the EVG620 precision alignment system, an integrated wet bench for solution-based processing, an atomic force microscopy, various optical microscopes, a well-equipped chemistry laboratory, as well as state-of-the-art lab equipment for the electrical characterization of various devices under different conditions.
The NTC Weiz develops sensor and device concepts by combining profound solid-state physics and advanced materials scientific know-how with industrial scalable processing, characterization and device fabrication experience.
Visit www.ntc-weiz.at
About EV Group
EV Group is a world leader in wafer processing solutions for semiconductor, MEMS, and nanotechnology applications. Through close collaboration with its global customers, the company implements its flexible manufacturing model to develop reliable, high-quality, low-cost-of-ownership systems that are easily integrated into customers’ fab lines. Key products include wafer bonding, lithography/nanoimprint lithography, and metrology equipment, as well as photoresist coaters, cleaners, and inspection systems.
In addition to its dominant share of the market for wafer bonders, EVG holds a leading position in NIL and lithography for advanced packaging and MEMS. Along these lines, the company co-founded the EMC-3D consortium in 2006 to create and help drive implementation of a cost-effective through-silicon via (TSV) process for chip packaging and MEMS/sensors. Other target semiconductor-related markets include silicon-on-insulator, compound semiconductor, and silicon-based power-device solutions.
Founded in 1980, EVG is headquartered in St. Florian, Austria and operates via a global customer support network, with subsidiaries in Tempe, AZ; Albany, NY; Yokohama and Fukuoka, Japan; and Chung-Li, Taiwan. The company’s vertical infrastructure allows EVG to respond quickly to new technology developments, apply the technology to manufacturing challenges, and expedite device manufacturing in high volume.
Visit www.evgroup.com