ICOS Vision Systems and IMEC collaborate on packaging metrology

JULY 28--ICOS Vision Systems (Leuven, Belgium; www.ICOS.be), a supplier of inspection solutions for the semiconductor industry, and IMEC (Leuven, Belgium; www.imec.be), an independent research center for nanoelectronics and nanotechnology, have agreed to work together under a two-year joint exploration and development program in the field of inspection and metrology for three-dimensional (3-D) packaging. ICOS supplies equipment for the final visual control of chips before they are used in various applications, such as PCs, cars, or portable phones. ICOS' systems perform 2-D and 3-D metrology and inspection as part of the final visual-quality-control step in the manufacture of chips, wafers, flexible tapes for flat-panel displays, sockets, substrates, and solar cells. ICOS also offers inspection modules for integration in other equipment.

According to market analysts, the market for 3-D packaging will grow rapidly over the next years, driven by the quest for smaller and higher performance integrated circuits (ICs).

Research will be performed at the IMEC laboratories, and ICOS will provide technology and equipment for inspection and metrology. The joint research program will concentrate on the development and optimization of several 3-D packaging processes for ICs, including wafer-level packaging, flip chip, systems-in-a-package, and microelectromechanical systems, and on the optimization of the 3-D metrology methods for these applications. The program will be closely connected to IMEC's industrial affiliation program (IIAP) on 3-D stacked ICs. The IIAP brings together the researchers of IMEC and of suppliers of ICs to jointly develop the technologies of future products.