EV Group intros industry's first fully automated wafer bonding system for HB-LED manufacturing

ST. FLORIAN, AUSTRIA: EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, has introduced the EVG560HBL wafer bonder -- the industry's first fully automated wafer bonding system for high-brightness light emitting diode (HB-LED) manufacturing.

The system features a new design for multi-substrate bonding and is capable of throughput rates of an unprecedented 160 bonds per hour. Based on the successful EVG500 wafer bonding series, the EVG560HBL is optimized to meet the unique requirements of HB-LED manufacturers with the advanced automation capabilities that they will need to increase their production capacity and yields.

The HB-LED market continues to grow at a rapid pace due to the rising number of applications that can take advantage of the lower energy consumption and myriad other benefits of LED devices.

According to market research firm Strategies Unlimited (Mountain View, Calif.), the HB-LED market will grow from $8.2 billion in 2010 to $20.2 billion by 2014, driven mainly by the market for LCD display backlights and lighting applications.

To meet this increased demand, HB-LED manufacturers must quickly ramp up to higher production capacity, as well as optimize their manufacturing processes to ensure the highest yields -- both of which drive the need for automated manufacturing solutions.

This is especially critical for the wafer bonding process, which is needed to transfer the active LED layer from epitaxial substrates onto carrier wafers with thermal properties better suited for HB-LED devices.

With a dominant position in the wafer bonder market and having served the HB-LED industry for many years, EVG is uniquely positioned to leverage its expertise to bring the first dedicated automated wafer bonding solution to this industry.

"Through continuous investment and innovation in equipment manufacturing and process engineering expertise, EVG is bringing start-of-the-art processing solutions for high-volume manufacturing applications to our customers," stated Paul Lindner, executive technology director, EV Group.

"Leveraging our 30 years of experience in developing wafer bonding solutions for advanced micro-electronics manufacturing, the EVG560HBL is the latest result in our ongoing efforts aimed at helping HB-LED manufacturers develop more efficient, cost-effective and higher yielding devices to meet the demands of their customers."
EVG560HBL System Features

The EVG560HBL is a multi-substrate wafer bonder that offers a number of advanced capabilities to enable high-volume HB-LED manufacturing, including:

* High-force capability, in-situ low-force wedge compensation and proprietary compliant layer technologies -- all to ensure bond uniformity across the entire wafer, which is essential for high-quality, multi-substrate bonding.
* Integrated pre-processing modules for low-temperature metal wafer bonding, which enables higher throughput and provides less thermal stress on the wafer stack, which in turn increases yield.
* Warped/bowed wafer handling capability for maneuvering thin and fragile substrates, which minimizes tool downtime and eliminates wafer breakage issues.
* Unique bond chamber design, which enables customers to change out substrate sizes in less than 30 minutes, increasing tool flexibility and lifetime while enabling easy maintenance and maximized tool uptime.
* Cassette-to-cassette operation.
* Mechanical wafer-to-wafer alignment.
* SECS II/GEM interface.
* Wafer ID tracking for advanced process control.

The EVG560HBL is available for purchase immediately.