News: Suppliers
20 November 2024
ASMPT’s AMICRA NANO die and flip-chip bonder targets co-packaged optics
ASMPT Ltd says that its new high-precision AMICRA NANO die and flip-chip bonder has been specially developed for the production of co-packaged optics where optical and electronic components are integrated in a common housing. With what is claimed to be exceptional process stability and a placement accuracy of ±0.2μm @ 3σ, the bonding system is equipped for the communication technology of the future.
For high-performance data centers and networks that require energy-efficient and high-performance data transmission with minimal latency, the electrical signal paths can be shortened by using co-packaged optics to tightly integrate chips and optical interfaces in a very small space, allowing the production of compact, miniaturized components.
“The complexity of semiconductors is constantly increasing and poses enormous challenges, especially with regard to bonding technology,” says Dr Johann Weinhändler, managing director of ASMPT AMICRA and responsible for ASMPT’s Semiconductor Solutions Division (ASMPT SEMI) in Europe (which supplies advanced packaging and semiconductor assembly solutions). “The chips have more and more inputs and outputs, but they must not get any larger. This means that ever finer structures have to be processed with high precision, and this is exactly why we have developed the AMICRA NANO.”
Stable connections with no solder or glue
The NANO die and flip-chip bonder is said to overcome these challenges by employing hybrid bonding technology that does not require any solder paste or glue. Instead, it creates stable mechanical and electrical connections with atomic diffusion.
Precision the prerequisite for further miniaturization
While hybrid bonding enables a high degree of miniaturization, it requires exceptional placement accuracy – in part, because the components no longer center themselves during the heat treatment. The AMICRA NANO places dies from wafers or waffle packs with an accuracy of ±0.2µm and bonding forces ranging from 0.1N to 20N, achieving a throughput of 200–400 components per hour. With specifications like these, the machine is aimed at the high-mix/low-volume market, for example for chip sets, small lots, prototypes, or feasibility studies for new processes.
The AMICRA NANO achieves its high precision with four high-resolution camera systems that monitor the process from die pickup to final alignment and inspection. Due to the machine’s unique design, it is possible to map both the element being placed and the substrate through the bond head at any time. The machine also has an infrared illumination system that penetrates the dies.
Highly flexible technology with ultra-clean process environment
The new machine can also handle direct and indirect hybrid bonding as well as various soldering and gluing processes. The AMICRA NANO offers three different heating options, including laser soldering and UV curing. Since many processes are highly sensitive to contaminants, the machine is equipped with a HEPA filtering and ionization system that ensures a high-purity operating environment.
Fast computers need fast communication
Hybrid bonding will soon be crucial wherever maximum performance is required in the smallest of spaces – for example, in high-performance and quantum computers, AI systems, IoT devices, or autonomous vehicles, says the firm. “In particular, converting electrical into optical signals and vice versa is becoming increasingly important, for which light-emitting and light-sensitive components must be placed with exceptional precision,” says Weinhändler. “Having this fast fiber-optic communication technology at your disposal is essential if you want to exploit the potential of future data centers to the fullest.”
AMICRA becomes part of ASM Pacific Technology as ASM AMICRA Microtechnologies
