Jason Chang, chairman of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. has formally received the SEMI award at the 2015 SEMICON Taiwan Leadership Gala Dinner held in Taipei, Taiwan. The SEMI award recognizes Jason’s significant achievements in the development and commercialization of copper wire in the IC assembly process. This year, SEMICON also celebrates its 20th anniversary in Taiwan and Jason had the honor of receiving his award from President Ma Ying-jeou, who was the guest-of-honor at the event.
In early 2005, anticipating a steep increase in gold price, Jason embarked on a bold move to encourage the use of copper wire bonding as an alternative to gold wire bonding. When the price of gold soared in 2007 and to all-time highs in 2011 and 2012, ASE was able to offer a proven and viable alternative to customers. The transition from gold to copper, however, was not without challenge. Customers were initially skeptical about the thermal and electrical performance of copper versus gold and whether cost savings would ultimately be worthwhile. The ASE engineering team went through years of laborious studies, evaluations, and qualification lots, and with each successful production run, customers become increasingly confident with the process. By 2011, ASE was shipping more than four billion chips using copper wire bonding processes.
“It is a huge honor to receive the SEMI Award and be recognized amongst so many of our peers,” said Jason Chang. “In a dynamic industry where change and advancement is our lifeline, it is ASE’s mission to innovate and integrate the latest technologies, the newest materials, and the most advanced production methods to enable the success of our customers’ IC designs.”
The SEMI Award was established in 1979 to recognize outstanding technical achievement and meritorious contribution in the areas of Semiconductor Materials, Wafer Fabrication, Assembly and Packaging, Process Control, Test and Inspection, Robotics and Automation, Quality Enhancement, and Process Integration. The award is the highest honor conferred by SEMI. It is open to individuals or teams from industry or academia whose specific accomplishments have broad commercial impact and widespread technical significance for the entire semiconductor industry.