Albert Soffa of K&S dead at 84
Nicolas Mokhoff
EE Times
(04/11/2005 1:02 PM EDT)
MANHASSET, NY — Albert Soffa, co-founder of semiconductor tool vendor Kulicke & Soffa Industries died Sunday, April 10. He was 84.
Soffa formed a partnership with Frederick W. Kulicke, Jr. in 1951, which eventually became Kulicke & Soffa Industries (Willow Grove, PA). The company developed the first wire and die bonder for Bell Labs that could make transistors.
Soffa guided became president of Kulicke & Soffa Industries in 1962, and chairman of the board in 1967. Under his leadership, the company grew to become the market share leader in automatic wire bonding equipment.
In 1985, Albert Soffa earned the SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute) award for his contributions to the advancement of wire bonding technology.
"Kulicke & Soffa's success is based on technology leadership," said Kulicke & Soffa Chairman & CEO Scott Kulicke. Through his innovation with my father, they introduced the first manual and automatic wire bonders, which opened the doors to the manufacture of more advanced IC technology."
When he retired from the company in 1986 and the board in 1992, Soffa remained active in professional, educational and philanthropic organizations. He created "technology incubators" in Israel, and established Israeli-based Ma-Ayan Technology Ventures to assist entrepreneurs with innovative and economically feasible ideas to prepare an industrial prototype and professional business plan.
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