EV Group and Datacon Announce Cooperation on Advanced-Chip-to-Wafer Technology - AC2W Technology.

SCHARDING, Austria & RADFELD, Austria -- EV Group, a leading supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment, and Datacon Technology AG, leading supplier of flip-chip and die bonding equipment, today announced a development agreement in the field of advanced-chip-to-wafer (AC2W) technology. The two companies also have agreed on joint strategic marketing and sales activities to promote the cooperation.

The unique technology combines Datacon's leading expertise in chip-bonding and key flip-chip bonding technologies with the unique wafer-level know-how from EV Group. It has been developed in a joint R&D project.

The EVG540C2W chip-to-wafer bonder permanently bonds a wafer with single devices, e.g., chips, under defined process conditions, after they have been fixed with a temporary fixing agent in a high-precision flip-chip bonder from Datacon. The technology used for the bonding process is called SOLID F2F, in which "SOLID" stands for solid liquid interdiffusion, a technology that uses a metal soldering process. F2F stands for face-to-face and describes the orientation of the two chips with their active side facing each other.

The new equipment platform has already been successfully installed at Infineon AG, a major semiconductor device manufacturer.

"The approach of bonding single chips to a wafer creates an optimum basis for a cost-effective and reliable packaging solution, which can now be realized by combining Datacon's high-end technology and our industry leading approach in wafer-bonding," said Dr. Peter Podesser, chief executive officer of EV Group.

AC2W technology offers high device density through stacked devices, short interconnects and higher functional density. It provides unique advantages for chip manufacturers as it enables the integration of various device technologies such as hybrid integration of IC and MEMS functionality.

"Our equipment allows a pre-bonding performance of up to 8500 chips per hour together with placement accuracy of 10 micrometer at three sigma deviation," said Helmut Rutterschmidt, president and director of the board at Datacon Technology AG. Our 8800 FC Quantum can handle top chips as thin as 50 micrometer and wafers up to 300 mm diameter. Datacon's leadership in advanced packaging technology, combined with EVG's wafer-to-wafer bonding experience results in a unique assembly line." Rutterschmidt continues: "The industry was waiting for an economical solution for chip-to-wafer bonding. Datacon and EVG are the first to serve their needs."

Advanced-chip-to-wafer-technology can generate packages that are an alternative to expensive embedded processes. It saves device manufacturers time and money by combining highest throughput and utilization of well established flip-chip and die attach processes with the permanent bonding process under well-controlled process parameters.

About Datacon

Datacon was founded in 1986 in Radfeld, Austria. Today Datacon consists of an international group of companies that develops and produces high-precision machines for leading microelectronics companies worldwide. In 1995 the company first introduced its future-oriented platform concept, and has since built on the modular, easily customized machine platform, resulting in today's 2200 apm and 2200 apm+ multi-chip Die Bonders, and the GAMMA dedicated single-chip die bonder. Utilizing expertise gained over nearly two decades, the company has also developed an all-new platform for dedicated flip chip assembly, the 8800 FC platform. Today, Datacon employs some 400 staff worldwide, including around 100 in research and development. For further information please visit www.datacon.at

Further information
Doris Ager
Worldwide Marketing Communications
Datacon Semiconductor Equipment GmbH,
Innstr. 16, A-6240 Radfeld, Austria,
Tel. [phone], Fax [phone]
[e-mail]

About EV Group

Founded in 1980, EV Group is a global supplier of wafer bonders, aligners, photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems for semiconductor, MEMS and emerging nanotechnology markets. EV Group holds the dominant share of the market for wafer bonding equipment (especially SOI bonding) and is a leader in lithography for advanced packaging and nanotechnology. The company's unique Triple I approach (Invent - Innovate - Implement) is supported by a vertical infrastructure, allowing EV Group to respond quickly to new technology development, apply the technology to manufacturing challenges and expedite volume production. Headquartered in Scharding, Austria, EV Group operates via a global customer support network, with subsidiaries in Tempe, Arizona; Albany, New York; Yokohama and Fukuoka, Japan; and Chung-Li, Taiwan. For more information, visit www.EVGroup.com.