NEWS For Immediate Release Company Contacts: Media: Henri Van Parys 215-784-6818 Analysts: Jim Chiafery 215-784-6436
Cypress Semiconductor Selects K&S Ball Bonders To Achieve New Fine Pitch Threshold
Willow Grove, PA, February 19, 1998-Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) announced that Cypress Semiconductor Philippines, Inc., has ordered Model 8020 gold ball bonders for its production facility in Cavite City, Javalera, Philippines. K&S will begin shipping the order, valued at more than $1 million, during the current quarter.
According to Jack Belani, vice president of packaging for Cypress Semiconductor, the K&S automatic wire bonders were selected because of their fine pad pitch production capability.
"Of the bonders we evaluated, the K&S 8020 demonstrated the best fine pitch capability and throughput," Belani said.
"Cypress is the first company to use our new generation ball bonder platform to push the fine pitch threshold down to 76 microns in production," said Dave Leonhardt, K&S vice president of strategic marketing. "At Cypress, we demonstrated the 8020's ability to provide a robust, fine pitch manufacturing process. We will continue to work closely with the company to refine bonding tools, materials, equipment and manufacturing practices, which should enable further pitch reductions over the coming months."
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE: CY) is an international supplier of high-performance integrated circuits with worldwide headquarters in San Jose, California. The company provides a broad range of products for leading computer, networking, and telecommunications companies worldwide. The company's product line includes static RAMs, high-speed PROMs, and specialty memories; programmable logic devices (PLDs); data communications products; and timing devices and USB microcontrollers. The company has a site on the World Wide Web at www.cypress.com.
Kulicke & Soffa is the world's largest supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment. The company serves the integrated circuit assembly market with a product line that includes wire bonding, die bonding, wafer dicing and factory automation equipment, as well as packaging materials, including bonding wire, capillaries, wedges, die collets and saw blades, and has sales and service facilities worldwide. The company's web site address is www.kns.com.
Note: Pad pitch refers to the distance between the pads on an integrated circuit to which wires are bonded during semiconductor assembly. The finer the pitch, the closer these pads are to each other and the more challenging the wire bonding process becomes. |