AML launch their new FAB12 Fully Automated Cassette to Cassette Aligner Wafer Bonder at Semicon West July 13-15, San Francisco, USA

Due to popular demand - FAB12 brings all the unique benefits of previous AML in-situ aligner wafer bonders to high throughput processing for pilot lines and volume manufacture

In-situ alignment – simultaneous heating, pumping and alignment, gives high throughput on a single bond chamber – no cluster tool required - smaller footprint.

Brooks FX Front End Module & Reliance ATR Robot for Reliable Wafer Handling. Compatible with LPM, SMIF, FOUP & Atmospheric Cassettes

AML ANNOUNCES ITS MOST SIGNIFICANT DEAL IN THE COMPANY’S HISTORY

Aligned Wafer Bonder Enables Mobile Phone Manufacturers to realise exciting new function

Applied Microengineering Ltd (AML), innovative suppliers of wafer bonding machines and bonding services, has announced that its in-situ Aligned Wafer Bonding (AWB) machines are today firmly at the leading edge of global product innovation, with 2009 sales successes with a market leading mobile phone component manufacturer, commercial organisations and renowned academic institutions.

The most significant AWB sale in AML’s history has been placed by a market-leading organisation in Taiwan, to deliver high-volume production wafer level packaging technology utilised by the global mobile phone market. “The company previously tried a machine from one of our competitors, but it was failing to meet the stringent specifications and throughput that were required,” explains CEO of AML, Rob Santilli. “We demonstrated that our AWB’s could combine the highest levels of alignment accuracy and high throughput, 8” wafer level, adhesive bonding for this high-volume production requirement, so crucial to this market. The new function provided by this technology is mind blowing and everyone with a mobile phone will want it! ”

Today, we have a unique capability in this area and an advantage others cannot compete with in the large and growing market application of high accuracy, adhesive bonding, with both thermal and the first ever aligned, UV cure option system planned for this July, with even faster throughput.”

To reinforce this ‘strength to strength’ story, AML have also had success with Endress & Hauser, a leading supplier of measuring instruments and automation solutions, based in Germany, another organisation that has chosen AML over other machines available on the market, purchasing a custom-made AWB which even included a specially designed blue chassis to parallel the company’s corporate image. Santilli continues: “AML was able to build a production machine that satisfied the customer’s specific needs, we are very happy to give the customer what they want – arrogant we are not, a word we often hear customers describe our competitors! If a customer wanted a machine painted pink with purple spots, we would do it!”

For commercial organisations the AML in-situ concept is now widely accepted as the way to unblock the wafer bonding jam, or production bottleneck and improve throughput. Furthermore, world leading academic institutions, The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, (the third Fraunhofer to go with AML) Universities of Helsinki in Finland, Changsha in China and Sydney in Australia have all invested in AWB machines from AML in 2009 to improve the quality of their research and development facilities.

Santilli comments on the reasons for AML’s early success in 2009: AML has had to live in the limelight of heavy hype from its two competitors, who both dismissed AML’s in-situ platform, but we listened to our customers and they told us they liked this solution and we stuck with it. In the past if we lost sales it was because the other two were much better known because of their voracious appetite for advertising spend and the relentless boring mantras “we are the biggest and best”, and not because their machines were any better. We heard from many an engineer “we prefer your system but the purchasing department are more familiar with your competitors”. The tide has changed, engineers can be swayed by hype but are ultimately not stupid and AML is now fast becoming the natural choice for development and Production.

The one area we did lack that our competitors could point to was the absence of automated wafer handling but AML has now even removed this barrier with the release of its new fully automated machines utilising Brooks robots later this year.

Designed and manufactured in the UK by AML, AWB machines deliver the lowest cost per bond of any machine available in the market. With the capability for surface activation, precision alignment and wafer bonding all in a single chamber and within a controlled environment, this reduces wafer handling and clean room footprint, while providing a smooth transfer of technology to volume production.

The innovative wafer clamping and contacting mechanisms for the AWB prevent any wafer movement during the alignment and bonding process ensuring guaranteed alignment accuracy. Where material properties allow, the alignment can be performed at high temperature hence removing thermal expansion effects that can otherwise degrade the alignment accuracy.  In addition the in-situ system enables true independent control of the upper and lower wafer temperatures which can be exploited to enable better and more specific control during aligned bonding – e.g. when there is a need to activate a getter on one wafer whilst maintaining a lower temperature to protect sensitive structures on the other wafer”. The separation of the wafers during pump down and heating stages results in the best machine for vacuum encapsulation and surface conditioning.

The AWB delivers one micron accuracy, a temperature of up to 560˚C, and fast bonding cycle times. The alignment, activation (via unique RAD system) and bonding are performed in-situ in a high vacuum chamber. The wafers are loaded cold and heated in the process chamber. This arrangement has an advantage over other bonders where alignment is carried out outside the bonder as the user can make adjustments to the aligned wafers at any point before finally committing to making the bond.

An AWB can be purchased off the shelf, or as a custom built machine from agents and distributors in China, Hong Kong, USA, India, Israel, Europe, Canada, Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. AWB technology from AML can also be utilised as a service at its new state-of-the-art multi-million pound BONDCENTRE facility situated on the UK’s premiere science park in Harwell, Oxfordshire.

AML LAUNCHES MULTI-MILLION POUND BONDCENTRE

For immediate release: 12/02/09

The world’s only State-Of-The-Art Commercial Wafer Bonding Service launches new advanced bonded substrate business

Applied Microengineering Ltd (AML), world leaders in wafer bonding machines and bonding services, has announced the launch of its multi-million pound BONDCENTRE and new advanced bonded substrate business. The state-of-the-art facility, now complete, is situated on the UK’s premiere science park in Harwell, Oxfordshire.  

The new BONDCENTRE, a UK centre of excellence, enables AML to make its 20 years experience in wafer bonding available to start-up’s, large corporate and government R&D labs, manufacturing businesses and academic institutions. It delivers these national and international organisations the ability to speed up technology, process and product development, as well as providing a smooth transfer of technology to volume production for improved time to market.

CEO of AML, Rob Santilli explains: “BONDCENTRE services are increasingly in demand for innovative new market applications, including MEMS, microelectronics, life sciences, optics, compound semiconductors, wafer level packaging, 3D integration and advanced bonded substrates.”

 Equipped with AML’s unique Aligned Wafer Bonder machines and staffed by the UK’s most talented experts in commercial wafer bonding techniques, the BONDCENTRE is currently the only commercial facility in the world to provide wafer bonding and associated services for 2", 3", 4", 6" and 8" wafers, in a class 10 clean room environment. Outsourcing to BONDCENTRE makes economic sense, reducing timescales and negating investment in equipment, facilities and know-how. 

Completing the launch of the BONDCENTRE is AML’s new advanced bonded substrate business initially available for substrates including Silicon-Glass, Silicon<100>-Silicon<111> and Silicon-Quartz. Wafers can be pre-machined (holes and channels) and supplied with conducting via arrays before bonding, for use in wafer level packaging and 3D integration.

Santilli adds: “A core strength of the BONDCENTRE is the ability not only to offer bonding but also related services such as powder blasting, screen printing, CMP, electroplating metrology and inspection all under one roof. In the past, our customers may have had wafers CMP’d in the USA, drilled in Japan, screen printed with glass frit in Germany and bonded in the UK. At BONDCENTRE we can do this all in one location ensuring their product innovations can be brought to market faster.”

UNIQUE RADICAL BONDING CAPABILITY KILLS COMPETITION!

In two recent contract wins, AML (Applied Microengineering Ltd) has advanced its position as a key supplier to the international micro- and nano-technology community.

First AML won a highly competitive, European tender to supply their unique Aligner Wafer Bonder system to The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials (IWMH Halle, Germany). IWMH has a worldwide reputation for its expertise in wafer bonding and so the decision to buy an AML AWB-04 wafer bonder is hugely prestigious. Dr Jörg Bagdahn of the Fraunhofer Institute said, “AML provided the best combination of performance, flexibility and price for our research and development activities. We look forward to developing a mutually beneficial relationship.”

In another win, Semefab (Scotland) have placed an order for the AWB-08 system for their expanded MEMS fab 2 foundry. It will be used for both volume manufacture and SemeMEMS development projects, using a wide range of bonding processes on 4” and 6” wafers, with a simple route to migrate to 8” wafers when required. Ian McNaught of Semefab Scotland says, “The combination of performance, process flexibility and price, as well as the excellent technical and process support offered by the AML BONDCENTRE were deciding factors in choosing AML. I am confident that AML shall be a strong collaborative partner and that this will further strengthen the UK nanotechnology network.”

 Both systems include the revolutionary, new RAD Technology (Radical Activation - short listed for an award this year) which enables high quality, low temperature direct bonding processes to be carried out within the bond chamber. Lower temperatures give greater design freedom and have been a prime requirement for many in the MEMS, IC, III-V and optical industries.

 AML’s unique system, designed and manufactured in-house, activates, aligns and bonds in a single chamber. This delivers several benefits: increased accuracy, reliability and speed, with obvious cost advantages. With incredible flexibility, it is also ideally suited to getter activation and vacuum encapsulation as well as Nano-emboss & imprint.

Rob Santilli (MD of AML), “These sales demonstrate that AML Wafer Bonders are at home in both a production environment as well as research. We put a significant proportion of our investment into R&D and this pays off in the machines we produce and the processes we can offer. Combine this with AML’s new BONDCENTRE services; from a routine commercial bonding service, to process development, technology transfer and training and over 20 years experience in MEMS, we have an unbeatable, world class capability.”

AML has seen a sharp increase in sales since expanding its unique BONDCENTRE facility in Harwell, UK. Recognised by the UK government as a centre of excellence, the BONDCENTRE has received funding from the Department of Trade and Industry for the last two years, enabling the company to make its expertise available internationally.  

The Wafer Bonding technique is increasingly in demand for new applications: current areas of interest include MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), microelectronics, life sciences, optics and compound semiconductors, device packaging and advanced engineering substrates.

Integrated Sensing Systems(ISSYS) Selects the AML Wafer Bonder  from OAI for Production