August 31, 2011 — Ziptronix Inc. has licensed use of its oxide bonding technology for backside illumination imaging sensors patents to Sony Corporation.
ZiBond low-temperature bonding is covered in US Patents 6,902,987, 7,041,178, 7,335,572, and 7,387,944.
Oxide bonding, which Ziptronix patents under the ZiBond trademark, enables low distortion in backside illumination imagers. ZiBond improves yields and costs by allowing pixels to be scaled smaller, resulting in more die per wafer, said Dan Donabedian, CEO of Ziptronix Inc.
The oxide bonding process can be applied to imaging modules for digital still and video cameras, cell phone cameras, automotive sensors, and pico projectors and other projection systems. A digital camera with 5 megapixels (MP) could be converted to 16MP using Ziptronix’s patented technology.
The ZiBond technology changes how image sensors receive light, improving rendering, as well as power consumption, in consumer applications, said Donabedian.
The market for image sensing products is expected to exceed $16 billion cumulative over the next four years, Ziptronix reports.
Last year, Ziptronix accused Omnivision and TSMC of violating its proprietary low-temp oxide bonding patents.
Ziptronix Inc. develops low-temperature oxide bonding technology for advanced semiconductor applications. URL: http://www.ziptronix.com