SIDT subsidiary, Diamond Tech One, signs major technology development agreement with Aehr Test Systems; Diamond Tech One project will apply innovative compliant bumping technology to wafer level burn-in applications.

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 1996--Diamond Tech One Inc. (DTO), a subsidiary of SI Diamond Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:SIDT) has signed a joint technology development agreement with Aehr Test Systems (Mt. View, Calif.) valued at $750,000.

Under the terms of the agreement, DTO will work with Aehr Test to build advanced substrates to be used in wafer level test and burn-in equipment. The substrates will incorporate DTO's proprietary compliant bumping technology.

"DTO provides advanced technologies and service for electronic packaging and assembly that support the next generation of microelectronic products," according to Dr. Howard K. Schmidt, chairman and CEO of SIDT. "Working with a recognized global leader like Aehr Test in the application and refinement of these technologies will provide an excellent opportunity to accelerate the commercial application of DTO's processes."

"As the leader in burn-in and test systems, Aehr Test is developing a wafer burn-in system to decrease the cost of burn-in and test for packaged ICs and to enable the production of high quality multi-chip modules," according to Rhea Posedel, president of Aehr Test. "DTO's compliant bump technology shows great promise for being the interconnect between the wafer under test and the burn-in and test system."

Wafer bumping refers to the process for forming the microscopic bumps on the surface of chips and substrates that serve as the interconnection method instead of the traditional wire bonding method of attaching chips. The deposited bumps provide a platform by which the integrated circuits can be directly attached to circuit boards or other substrates.

One challenge to the reliability of current bumping processes comes when bumped electronic circuits are exposed to changes in environmental conditions that cause the bumps to shrink or expand. These changes can weaken the quality of the interconnection and lead to reliability problems in the devices.

DTO's compliant bumping process deposits a flexible polymer on the substrate, and coats in a thin layer of conductive metal coating (generally gold), producing a highly reliable, manufacturable, and reworkable connection. The compliant bump tolerates non planarity of contact surfaces (i.e. uneven or irregular surfaces) and other environmental effects that often lead to failure.

Working with Aehr Test, DTO will develop processes to optimize the use of compliant bumping in a manner that meets Aehr Test's demanding requirements for a new generation of wafer-level burn-in and test equipment. Burn-in and test are the processes performed by IC manufacturers which identify ICs which do not meet specification or are likely to fail early in their useful life.

Today these tests are performed after the ICs are packaged. Aehr Test is developing a wafer-level burn-in and test system which will allow this burn-in and testing process to occur before packaging, while the die are still in wafer form. This will decrease the cost of manufacturing packaged ICs and allow production of lower-cost and higher-reliability Known-Good Die, a critical requirement for multi-chip modules.

Aehr Test Systems is the world-wide leader in burn-in and test technology, and supplies equipment to leading semiconductor manufacturers and test labs. Aehr Test designs and manufacturers MTX parallel functional testers, MAX and ATX dynamic and output monitored burn-in systems, DiePak Known-Good Die solutions for bare die burn-in and test, and burn-in automation.

For more information about Aehr Test's product lines, contact Aehr Test Systems at: Phone: [phone] or Fax: [phone].

About SIDT

Houston-based SI Diamond is engaged in the development and commercialization of specialized products based on advanced materials, including diamond and ceramics. Diamond Tech One Inc., provides advanced microelectronic packaging and assembly for the semiconductor and display industries.

SIDT's other operating subsidiaries include: SIDT Coatings Inc., a provider of coating equipment for the optical and electronic industries; and Northlight Displays Inc., which is developing and commercializing advanced display products; SIDT also includes the SIDT Sponsored Programs Division, which pursues new technology development and opportunities for government funding.

The company's common stock trades in the Nasdaq under the symbol SIDT and on the Pacific and Boston exchanges under the symbol SDI.

CONTACT: SI Diamond Technology Inc., Houston

Trey Fecteau, 713/529-9040