EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today announced that it has achieved strong revenue growth and expanded its headcount for the first half of 2013. The company attributes this success to continuing demand for its flexible process solutions designed to address high-volume manufacturing (HVM) needs across multiple markets–including 3D-ICs, MEMS, power devices and compound semiconductors. EVG’s latest technology innovations that address these and other markets will be showcased this week at SEMICON West 2013 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco. In addition to unveiling a series of new solutions, EVG also reports that it continues to expand its wafer processing services and process development consultation capabilities worldwide as part of the company’s long-term growth strategy.
"2013 has been a strong year for EV Group as we continue to invest in new technologies and capabilities to support our customers’ ability to ramp next-generation devices to volume production quickly and cost-effectively at high yields," said Dave Kirsch, vice president and general manager of EV Group North America. "This requires not only leading-edge process equipment but also world-class global support and process development services. EVG’s local teams work hand in hand with our corporate headquarters to provide increased flexibility and capability for our customers. That includes our ability to offer small-scale and pilot-production services at our global applications labs, which is a key differentiator for us and a key value proposition for customers."
Expanding sales growth and global customer support operations
During the first half of 2013, EVG achieved approximately 10 percent growth in sales and more than 10 percent increase in employees. To support its customers’ roadmaps, EVG continues to invest aggressively in research and development–approximately 20 percent of sales–in several key efforts, including 450-mm tool development. Among these efforts, EVG has invested in new state-of-the art cleanrooms and application labs with in-house process demo capability on fully automated systems at its corporate headquarters in Austria, as well as its regional headquarters in Japan and North America.
VLSIresearch recently recognized EVG’s customer service and support, ranking it at one of the 10 Best Focused Suppliers in Chip Making Equipment. EVG was also ranked in first place in the "Other Silicon Wafer Fab Equipment" category for the company’s wafer bonding solutions.
Leadership in wafer bonding
Already a leading supplier of HVM wafer bonding solutions, EVG recently unveiled several new platform developments in both fusion bonding and temporary bonding/debonding applications. Yesterday, EVG unveiled the latest version of its EVG 40NT automated measurement system, which features improved specifications to achieve the highest wafer-to-wafer alignment accuracies needed for the production of next-generation 3-D integrated image sensors and stacked memory devices. The EVG40NT is seamlessly integrated with EVG’s GEMINI FB automated production fusion bonding system to enable a closed-loop control system that facilitates customers’ ramp to volume production across multiple markets and applications. Last week, EVG also introduced its LowTemp debonding platform, which features three high-volume-production room-temperature debonding process types and is supported by a supply chain of seven qualified adhesive suppliers to enable greater manufacturing flexibility.
Expertise in lithography and resist processing
Building upon the company’s expertise in lithography, EVG also recently unveiled the EVG120 automated resist processing system, which integrates spin/spray coating and wet processing to provide a highly flexible system that maximizes productivity and cost of ownership. The EVG120 is ideally suited for a wide variety of markets and applications, including high-topography coating and spray coating for MEMS, thick-film resists and bumping for advanced packaging. It is also suited for passivation, dielectrics and thick-film processing for compound semiconductor devices.
Rounding out EVG’s latest developments in wafer surface preparation, the company also recently announced the CoatsClean wafer cleaning solution, which combines process, equipment and formulation technology to deliver an innovative, low-cost-of-ownership approach to single-wafer photoresist and residue removal. Co-developed with Dynaloy, CoatsClean is designed to address thick films and difficult-to-remove material layers for the 3D-IC/through-silicon via (TSV), advanced packaging, MEMS and compound semiconductor markets.
Presentations at SEMICON West 2013
Attendees interested in learning more about the company and its latest developments are invited to visit EVG’s booth #819 in the Moscone South Hall at SEMICON West as well as attend the company’s presentations during the show’s technical program. Markus Wimplinger, corporate technology development and IP director of EVG, will present "High Resolution In-line Metrology Module for High-Volume Temporary Bonding Applications at the SEMATECH Workshop on 3D Interconnect Metrology on Wednesday, July 10 from 11:20 – 11:40 a.m. at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco. In addition, Dr. Thorsten Matthias, business development director at EV Group, will present "From Sensor Fusion to System Fusion" at the TechXPOT session "MEMS and Sensor Packaging for the Internet of Things" on Thursday, July 11 from 12:10 – 12:30 p.m. in the Moscone North Hall.