EV Group Installs Fusion Wafer Bonding Systems at Two Leading CMOS Image Sensor Manufacturing Facilities in Asia

SEMICON Europa 2009 -- EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today announced that it has completed the installation of two automated fusion bonding systems for 300-mm wafers at a leading semiconductor foundry and at a major consumer electronics manufacturer. The GEMINI® FB automated production fusion bonding systems will be employed for the production of backside illuminated CMOS image sensors ranging from ultra-compact wafer-level cameras for mobile phones to larger form factor high-end image sensors. These fusion bonding systems were selected based on their ability to meet key customer requirements for low cost of ownership (CoO), high throughput and high alignment accuracy.

Paul Lindner, EVG's executive technology director, noted, "We are thrilled to have received follow-up orders for our GEMINI FB fusion bonding system from two very important customers, who are leading the charge in advanced, backside illuminated CMOS image sensor development and manufacturing. EVG is the company that pioneered optically aligned low-temperature fusion bonding, and these system installations further cement our leadership position in the wafer-level camera production equipment field."

EVG's GEMINI FB is a field-proven production fusion bonding system for automated and integrated wafer loading, alignment, bonding and unloading of bonded wafers up to 300 mm. The flexible cluster design of the GEMINI FB allows the integration of pre-bonding process modules specific to fusion bonding such as cleaning, low-temperature plasma activation modules, as well as an infrared inspection module for post-bond inspection. At the heart of the GEMINI FB platform is EVG's SmartView® technology--a proprietary, universal bond alignment system for face-to-face, backside, infrared and transparent alignment of wafers up to 300 mm with different thicknesses and materials including non-IR-transparent substrates. Offering unmatched, sub-micron alignment accuracy, SmartView is a key element of the GEMINI FB for achieving the extreme accuracy requirements for multiple wafer stacking for leading-edge 3D-integration applications.

Wafer Bonding Solutions for 3D Integration

With more than 100 automated wafer bonding systems installed worldwide, EVG's GEMINI automated production bonding systems are designed for the lowest total CoO and quickest return on investment. In addition to leading-edge products, the company delivers superior process expertise through its state-of-the-art application labs in Austria, the U.S. and Japan. EVG collaborates with its growing global customer base in the wafer-level camera field from initial development to final integration at the customers' manufacturing facility. In addition to its dominant position in CMOS image sensor wafer processing equipment, EVG is a leading solutions provider for complementary process steps for the fabrication of micro lenses, thin-wafer handling and highly uniform coating of deep-etched trenches.