April 13, 2011 – ACN Newswire — Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) manufacturing solutions provider to semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic industries, signed an agreement with the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), to set up a Center of Excellence in Advanced Packaging in Singapore.
The Center will be located at Singapore’s Science Park II and will focus on developing new capabilities in advanced packaging, which is a key growth market for the semiconductor industry. The Center will have a full line of wafer level packaging (WLP) processing equipment for die stacking and through silicon vias (TSV), etc., and will conduct research in semiconductor hardware, process, and device structures. Applied has provided equipment for WLP since 2009 with a comprehensive line of processing systems for production line manufacturing.
Applied expects many advanced logic devices at the 40nm and below technology nodes to be packaged at the wafer level.
Russell Tham, regional president, Applied Materials South East Asia, said, "This collaboration is part of Applied Materials’ strategy to expand our global R&D network and extend our leading position in advanced packaging, bringing our development activities closer to our customers in Asia."
According to Professor Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director of IME, "Such a close collaboration will spur the growth of next generation equipment and translate into greater share of the semiconductor market in Asia and the world for Applied Materials, and position Singapore as the country of choice for global semiconductor R&D."
IME is a research institute with advanced R&D capabilities in 3D-ICs using TSV technology. IME’s capabilities in this area include its 300mm facility. The Center leverages R&D capabilities in 3D-TSV, built by IME over the years, to support advanced packaging tool development for Applied Materials, added Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR.
In April of last year, Applied Materials opened its Singapore Operations Center, its first facility in Asia for manufacturing advanced semiconductor equipment, at Changi North Industrial Park.
The ceremony for the planned Advanced Packaging Center was attended by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Lim Hng Kiang.
Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) provides innovative equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.
The Institute of Microelectronics (IME) is a research institute of the Science and Engineering Research Council of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). A*STAR oversees 14 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research institutes, and 9 consortia & centers. For more information about IME, please visit www.ime.a-star.edu.sg.
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