EV Group

EV Group (EVG) is a supplier of wafer processing solutions for the semiconductor, MEMS and nanotechnology industry. Key products include manual and fully automated lithography systems, wafer bonders and metrology equipment which can be used both for R&D and high volume production. The equipment is manufactured at the company’s headquarters located in St. Florian am Inn (Austria). But EV Group is not only an equipment supplier, the company also offers process support and development.

History

The company, originally known under the name of Electronic Visions Co., was founded by Erich Thallner (now EVG’s president) and Aya Maria Thallner in 1980. EVG operates via a global sales and customer support network with subsidiaries in the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China and employs approximately 750 employees worldwide. In 2012, EV Group doubled its cleanroom space for process development and pilot production services at its corporate headquarters in Austria. On top of that, the company increased the size of its application labs, added new R&D facilities, and opened a new customer and employee training center. Earlier this year, the addition of an ultra-modern manufacturing facility doubling the production floor space marked the completion of the first phase of EVG's long term expansion plans. In 2013, EVG completes next expansion phase of corporate headquarters, opening an ultra-modern office building with representative entrance and reception area. Further, the EVG company kindergarten has begun admissions. EVG Executive Directors have been awarded the prize "Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014" by the audit and consulting firm EY.

In 1985, EVG developed the first double-side mask aligner with bottom side microscopes for the commercialization of MEMS products (microelectromechanical systems). In 1990, EVG introduced the process concept of separation between wafer alignment and bonding, which has since become a worldwide industry standard. The introduction of the first production wafer bonding system for volume MEMS production in 1992 laid the foundation for the company’s wafer bonder business. In 1994, EVG installed the first SOI Production Bonders for volume production of high-quality SOI (Silicon on insulator) wafers. In 1999, EVG developed the patented SmartView wafer alignment system, which incorporates a revolutionary face-to-face alignment technology for Wafer-level Packaging technologies and 3D interconnects. As early as 2001, EVG developed the first temporary bonding and debonding systems as a key enabling technology for 3D integration with TSV (through-silicon via) technology. The world's first fully automated production wafer bonding system for 300 mm wafers was launched by EVG in 2002, paving the way for the commercialization of 3D integration. EVG’s next-generation UV-NIL Step & Repeat (NIL = Nanoimprint lithography) system, first installed in 2009, supports a new approach in wafer-level optics / micro-lens mastering. Also in 2009, EVG launched the first fully automated production fusion bonding system with optical alignment for back-side illuminated CMOS image sensors and 3D-IC. In 2010, EVG introduced the industry´s first fully automated wafer bonding system for high brightness LED manufacturing. The introduction of the industry´s first Wafer Bonding System for 450 mm SOI semiconductor wafers as well the launch of new XT Frame equipment platform to boost High-Volume Manufacturing performance were the highlights of 2011. In 2012, EVG introduced the first XT Frame based automated temporary wafer bonding and debonding systems, as well as a new, modular resist processing platform for high-volume coating/development applications that integrating spin coating and developing with EVG’s proprietary spray coating technology. The EVG720 system leverages an innovative UV-NIL technology and EVG's material expertise to enable mass manufacturing of micro- and nanoscale structures in 2013. In 2014, EVG unveiled its photoresist processing system for logic and memory high-volume manufacturing and a new generation of the Fusion Wafer Bonding platform, which combines several performance breakthroughs to move the semiconductor industry closer to the goal of high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of 3D-ICs with through-silicon vias (TSVs). Further, EVG launched a high-vacuum wafer bonding system, which enables electrically conductive and oxide-free covalent bonds at room temperature.

Markets

EVG meets the varied demands of diverse markets. The company holds the dominant share of the market for wafer bonding equipment (especially SOI bonding) and is a leader in lithography for advanced packaging and nanotechnology.

• Advanced Packaging, 3D Interconnect: Wafer level packaging employs specific alignment and wafer bonding techniques as an enabling solution for stacking of wafers and three-dimensional integration of devices.
• MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems): Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through microfabrication technology.
• SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) and Engineered Substrates: SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) is a semiconductor technology, which enables a full isolation of each electronic component on an integrated circuit by using a buried oxide layer.
• Compound Semiconductor and Silicon based Power Devices: Microelectronic applications fabricated out of compound semiconductors as well as silicon-based power devices basically require dedicated manufacturing technologies offered by EVG.
• Nanotechnology: Nanotechnology refers to a field of applied science and technology whose theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular scale, generally 100 nanometers or smaller, and the fabrication of devices or materials that lie within that size range.

Solutions

EV Group offers a complete portfolio of wafer-level manufacturing solutions for various micro- and nanotechnology applications and products, addressing established as well as emerging markets. Selected manufacturing solutions are:

• 3D IC
• CMOS Image Sensors
• High Brightness LEDs
• Logic/Memory
• MEMS devices
• Microfluidics
• SAW devices
• SOI wafers
• Wafer Level Optics
• Photovoltaics

Memberships

• MEMS Industry Group
• Austrian Society for Microsystemtechnology
• Optical Society of America
• SEMI
• MANCEF
• EPIC European Photonics Industry Consortium

External links

EV Group
Von Trapp, Francoise: EV Group: "Triple I" at Work; www.semineedle.com

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