Kulicke & Soffa and Amkor Technology Announce Letter Of Intent for 200 Wire Bonders
SOURCE: Amkor Technology, Inc.
Monday February 25, 5:03 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
Advanced Machines Will Support Amkor's Ramp to Next Technology Node
WILLOW GROVE, Pa. & CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2002--Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: KLIC - news) and Amkor Technology (Nasdaq: AMKR - news) announced that Amkor has issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) indicating its intention to purchase 200 K&S Maxum(TM) ball bonders to help support its ramp to ultra fine pitch wire bond technology. The first shipments are scheduled for April of this year.
This is the first major initiative for the new K&S ball bonder platform, which is designed to enable IC manufacturers to continue driving down pad pitch and increasing wire bonding productivity and yield. Amkor will use the machines to manufacture advanced ultra fine pitch ball grid array (BGA) packages at its Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan, and China assembly facilities.
``Amkor is preparing for the industry upturn by developing leading edge capability for the various package designs our customers will require,'' said Amkor President John Boruch. ``Our investments in MicroLeadframe(TM), System-in-Package, MEMS, Vision and Chip Scale packaging are all bearing fruit as customers and OEMs increasingly adopt solutions using these package technologies. The K&S Maxum(TM) bonders will enable additional feature size reduction, further enhancing our leadership in packaging technology.''
Added K&S Chairman and CEO Scott Kulicke, ``We are pleased that Amkor has selected our new ball bonder to meet its next-generation interconnect requirements. We believe the Maxum(TM) will help the company increase its leadership position in advanced packaging technology.''
The Maxum(TM) combines several design improvements that allow IC manufacturers to keep pace with the decreasing size and increasing complexity of next-generation IC packages. It is the first machine to offer 45 micron pad pitch mass production capability, and its 65 msec wire cycle time results in 20% more productivity than the K&S 8028 PPS, the fastest machine currently on the market. A variety of looping processes, including standard, worked and BGA loops, along with premium looping options, allow for the longer wire lengths and lower profiles required by many types of advanced packages.
About Amkor Technology: Amkor Technology, Inc. is the world's largest provider of contract microelectronics manufacturing solutions. The company offers semiconductor companies and electronics OEMs a complete set of microelectronic design and manufacturing services, including deep submicron wafer fabrication; wafer probe; IC packaging design and assembly; multi-chip module design and assembly; and final testing. More information is available from the company's SEC filings and on Amkor's web site: www.amkor.com
About Kulicke & Soffa: Kulicke & Soffa is the world's leading supplier of semiconductor interconnect equipment, materials and technology. Chip and wire solutions combine wafer dicing, die bonding and wire bonding equipment with saw blades, die collets, wire and capillaries. Flip chip solutions include wafer bumping technology, die placement equipment and UltraVia high density substrates. Chip scale and wafer level packaging solutions include Ultra CSP technology. Test interconnect solutions include standard and vertical probe cards, ATE interface assemblies and ATE boards for wafer testing, and test sockets and contactors for all types of packages. Kulicke & Soffa's web site address is www.kns.com. |
