(July 20, 2009) COLLEGE POINT, NY — Component and assembly maker Interplex Industries acquired Quantum Leap Packaging Inc. (QLP), an electronics packaging and polymer science company. Included in the transaction are all of QLP’s proprietary technologies including resin technologies such as Quantech. The original purpose of Quantech was to solve the fundamental problems of conventional liquid crystal polymers (LCPs), such as true adhesion to metal, extremely-high-temperature performance capabilities (> 450°C), and isotropic coefficients of expansion matching metals for hermetic semiconductor packaging.
Quantech can be used to provide a lower cost and reliable air-cavity packaging solution compared to ceramic-based packages for the semiconductor packaging industry in applications such as high-power RF-Microwave assemblies, image sensors, HB-LEDs, MEMs, and optical electronic systems. QLP’s HermeTech package, based on Quantech technology, is a plastic hermetic package.
“The addition of QLP is a natural expansion of Interplex’s vertically integrated global electronic packaging business,” said Steven Feinstein, Interplex’s executive VP. “QLP materials and packaging technology have been validated and qualified in high-reliability hermetic ceramic packaging applications (The results were recently jointly published with Freescale at the International Microwave Symposium, June 2009). The acquisition by Interplex, a global manufacturing organization with scale, should allow for this new materials science and packaging technology to be commercialized in a wider variety of applications,” said Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D., founder and CTO of QLP.
“Freescale is pleased that Interplex and QLP have joined forces to continue the development and commercialization of this technology. To the best of our knowledge, QLP offers the only polymer technology capable of passing the rigorous reliability testing of hermetic ceramic package applications for base stations”, said Mali Mahalingam, Ph.D., IEEE Fellow, manager of packaging operations, RF Division, Freescale Semiconductor Inc.
Interplex will integrate QLP’s packaging technology into its Interplex Engineered Products (IEP) facility in East Providence, RI and eventually expand it globally as required by the market. IEP is one of Interplex’s global facilities that specialize in electronic packaging and possesses vertically integrated stamping, plating, overmolding, and testing capabilities. QLP’s new name will be Interplex QLP (iQLP).
For more information, visit www.interplex.com.