Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC), a designer and manufacturer of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment, has joined A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME)’s Chip-on-Wafer Consortium II, together with other major industry players. Through this collaboration, K&S is confident that with the combined experience and knowledge, the consortium will extend the capabilities of Chip-on-Wafer (CoW) assembly with low-temperature copper-to-copper bonding for 2.5D and 3D IC integration.
Deepak Sood, Kulicke & Soffa’s Vice President of Global Engineering, said, “As the features and functionalities of ICs increase, growing demand for reduced pitch and higher I/O count are driving the need for innovative solutions. Addressing the fundamental challenges to enable the next generation of fine-pitch 2.5D and 3D devices, at high throughputs, will create meaningful production value.”
Low temperature copper-to-copper bonding is a key enabler to fine-pitch Chip-on-Wafer bonding (<10um copper pillar pitch). Often, the higher I/O, fine-pitch layout poses inherent challenges for existing production techniques. Through developments focused on reducing bonding temperature and force requirements, the consortium is driving solutions for yield improvements, cost reductions and ultimately broad market adoption.
“We are pleased to welcome K&S as a member in the Chip-on-Wafer Consortium II. We have worked with K&S for close to two years and achieved encouraging results in the development of advanced packaging technology. Our collaboration with valuable industry players such as K&S is an example of how IME’s research capabilities can drive innovation and help semiconductor companies capture new growth opportunities in the electronics market. We look forward to our continued collaboration and helping it to develop new products on flip chip bonding that will meet emerging market requirements on 2.5D and 3D IC packaging,” said Prof. Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director of IME.
Related news: A*STAR’S IME launches Chip-On-Wafer Consortium II and Cost Effective Interposer Consortium