IC INTERCONNECT ANNOUNCES NEW BACK-END CAPABILITIES

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - September 19, 2005 - IC Interconnect (ICI), a wafer bumping service company, announces its wafer test, laser marking, die singulation, and tape and reel capabilities, available as standard service offerings. These back-end services round out IC Interconnect's ability to offer a full turn-key solution as an integral part of the wafer bumping process. The equipment set gives ICI installed capacity to process approximately 2 million bumped die per week, making it an ideal arrangement for small to moderate volume processing of 100 to 500 wafers/week.

"Traditionally IC Interconnect has limited itself to the bumping niche. That meant after ICI bumped the wafers they were subsequently routed to other subcontractors for various additional operations. This created a significant challenge for our customers in terms of logistics, shipping costs, time delays and subcontractor qualification and management," explains Tony Gaines, ICI's regional sales manager. "Now all of these capabilities are in the same location and managed with the same ISO/TS quality system as our bumping operation - saving time, cost and worry for our customers."

IC Interconnect's additional services can help customers achieve these goals. A new automated optical inspection (AOI) system enables ICI to inspect wafers for bump height, yield and circuit defects as an independent service or as an integrated part of a customized process flow. Combining this data with an electronic wafer map allows for full wafer characterization.

In another new process, IC Interconnect uses a 532nm Nd:YAG laser to mark 100mm to 200mm diameter wafers. Wafers can be laser marked on the backside of each die with orientation marks, part numbers and traceable codes, in a variety of SEMI standard fonts. Although it is not necessary, an optical character reader (OCR) system combined with previously generated wafer maps can be used to mark only known good die.

Wafers are then diced and placed into pocketed carrier tape. IC Interconnect's tape-and-reel equipment uses AOI systems to inspect all die for chip out, laser mark, and solder bump presence prior to placement into the carrier tape pockets, ensuring the highest quality levels are maintained.

"By adding backend capabilities to our low cost electroless Ni UBM, leaded and lead-free alloy selections and quality system, ICI has distinguished itself as the one of the few suppliers in the world with this breadth of service," says Mark Maline, manufacturing engineer for IC Interconnect.