For reasons that I will discuss in a post later this year, a common factor that is emerging in the area of copper-pillar microbump 2.5D and 3D joining, is the adoption of thermocompression (TC) bonding for flip-chip flux/microbump soldering. TC bonding is now being predominantly adopted instead of reflow. Some of you may have the same response as I got at iMAPS 2011 from one well-known expert in packaging technology. He looked askance at me when I mentioned TC bonding for flip-chip and retorted: “That’s for bonding wafers, not soldering flip-chips!”. Even good old Wikipedia (at time of writing) seems to have the same problem – basically that the industry usage of the term has moved into the packaging arena.
I spent a little time talking to people in the industry, and on Google, putting together a buyer’s guide for those of you looking at who-is-doing-what in TC bonding. This is just a prototype guide and necessarily incomplete – if I have missed your company out then I apologize, and will add it in: just give me all the details!
| Equipment Type | Company Name | URL | Bonding tools | What else they make |
| Die-bonders | ASM (PT) | http://www.asmpacific.com/asmpt /index.htm | Die bonders, flip-chip bonders | Various others |
| Die-bonders | BESi | http://besi.com/ | Die and flip-chip bonders (Datacon) | Meco (plating systems), Fico (molding / trimming), ESEC |
| Die-bonders | FineTech | http://www.finetech.de/ | Die bonders, flip-chip bonders (offline) | SMT/BGA rework, Laser bar-bonder, VCSEL, Photodiodes, Chip-on-glass, RFID |
| Die-bonders | Hybond | http://www.hybond.com/ | Eutectic die bonders (offline/manual) | Wirebonders / Peg and bar lead diode bonders |
| Die-bonders | Newport | http://www.newport.com/ | Die bonders | Optical and alignment instrumentation, spectrometers |
| Die-bonders | Palomar | http://palomartechnologies.com/ | Die bonders | Ballbonders, stud bumpers, manual die bonders |
| Die-bonders | Panasonic | http://www.panasonicfa.com/?id=MD-P200 | Die bonders | Wirebonders etc etc |
| Die-bonders | SET | http://www.set-sas.fr/en/ | Die bonders, flip-chip bonders | Large device bonders and nano-imprint |
| Die-bonders | Shibaura | http://www.shibaura.co.jp/e/products/ | Die bonders, flip-chip bonders | FEOL products (etching, stripping, coating, jetting) and BEOL |
| Die-bonders | Toray | http://www.toray-eng.com/sitemap/index.html#semicon | Die bonders, flip-chip bonders | [Semi]Inspection, exposure, encapsulation. COG / COF / FOG bonders |
| Die-bonders | Westbond | http://westbond.com/machines.htm | Die bonders (offline/manual) | Wirebonders |
| Wafer bonders | EV Group | http://www.evgroup.com/en | Wafer bonders | Lithography tools |
| Wafer bonders | Suss Microtech | http://www.suss.com/ | Wafer bonders | Mask aligners, nanoimprinters, photomasks, lithography tools |
Thanks to Brian Schmaltz of Namics kk for one extra addition to the list.
Cheers! Andy