ST. FLORIAN, AUSTRIA, July 14, 2008 - EV Group, a leading
supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment for the advanced
semiconductor and packaging, MEMS, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and emerging
nanotechnology markets, today announced that it has filed a patent
infringement lawsuit in federal court of New York against the 3M Company
(“3M”). The complaint alleges that 3M has infringed upon a U.S. Patent
through the marketing and sale of the 3M Wafer Support System, which is
used in the production of silicon wafers. The complaint seeks damages to
compensate EVG for 3M’s wrongful infringement and an injunction against 3M
from all future infringement of the Patent.
DI Erich Thallner, president of EVG, notes, “EVG’s success depends on the
protection of our intellectual property. When a company infringes on our
rights, we have a responsibility to protect the tremendous investments
we’ve made in research and development on behalf of our customers,
suppliers and employees. To this end, we will vigorously protect our
arsenal of technology innovation from those who we feel are competing
unfairly through legal recourse, if necessary, as is the case here.”
Semiconductor wafer manufacturing typically involves hundreds of discrete
operations on the surface of a silicon wafer, which are performed over a
number of weeks. In order to minimize wafer breakage and damage, which can
easily occur during this lengthy manufacturing process, the base wafers are
typically 700- to 800-microns thick. Stacked die packages require
significantly reduced final wafer thickness in order not to create
unacceptably tall packages. The more dies that can be packaged in a stack,
the better. The device claimed in the patent enables silicon wafers to be
thinned to less than 50 microns with standard back grinding equipment,
which means that a greater number of dies can be stacked–providing greater
performance without an increase in height.
About EV Group
EV Group (EVG) is a world leader in wafer-processing solutions for
semiconductor, MEMS and nanotechnology applications. Through close
collaboration with its global customers, the company implements its
flexible manufacturing model to develop reliable, high-quality,
low-cost-of-ownership systems that are easily integrated into customers’
fab lines. Key products include wafer bonding, lithography/nanoimprint
lithography (NIL) and metrology equipment, as well as photoresist coaters,
cleaners and inspection systems.
In addition to its dominant share of the market for wafer bonders, EVG
holds a leading position in NIL and lithography for advanced packaging and
MEMS. Along these lines, the company co-founded the EMC-3D consortium in
2006 to create and help drive implementation of a cost-effective
through-silicon via (TSV) process for major ICs and MEMS/sensors. Other
target semiconductor-related markets include silicon-on-insulator (SOI),
compound semiconductor and silicon-based power-device solutions.
Founded in 1980, EVG is headquartered in St. Florian, Austria, and operates
via a global customer support network, with subsidiaries in Tempe, AZ;
Albany, NY; Yokohama and Fukuoka, Japan; Seoul, Korea and Chung-Li, Taiwan.
The company’s unique Triple i-approach (invent - innovate - implement) is
supported by a vertical integration, allowing EVG to respond quickly to new
technology developments, apply the technology to manufacturing challenges
and expedite device manufacturing in high volume.
Contacts:
EV Group
Tel: +43 7712 5311 0
E-mail: Marketing@EVGroup.com
Marie Labrie
Vice President
MCA, Inc.
Tel: +1-650-968-8900, ext. 119
E-mail: mlabrie@mcapr.com