EV Group (EVG), a leading
supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology
and semiconductor markets, today announced that Morocco-based wafer-level camera
manufacturer Nemotek Technologie has placed a repeat order for EVG's bonding
and UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) systems - the EVG520IS and IQ
Aligner. Nemotek will use these systems to address its production demands for
CMOS image sensors and waferlevel optics that will be deployed in wafer-level
cameras for mobile applications. This order marks a significant win for EVG
as it paves the way for a long-term partnership with Nemotek-and further
bolsters EVG's dominant position as the preferred bonding and UV-NIL equipment
provider for waferlevel camera applications.
As the size of the camera in mobile phones can be a limiting factor in mobile
handset designs, there is an increasing demand for smaller camera modules that
can still address the call for higher resolution and cost effectiveness. This
has shifted manufacturing of both the CMOS image sensor and the micro-optics
stack to the wafer-level, which in turn has created new manufacturing challenges.
Manufacturing these devices at the wafer level requires precision alignment
and effective bonding in multiple layers of the optical stack in order to reach
maximum device performance. Known for its ability to align wafers with extremely
high accuracy, EVG's IQ Aligner is the only industry-proven, high-volume
manufacturing solution for wafer lens molding and stacking available today.
“Demand continues to rise for wafer-level cameras, and we are ramping
up our production capabilities in order to meet our customers' needs,”
said Jacky Perdrigeat, chief executive officer of Nemotek Technologie. “To
support our production expansion efforts, we selected EV Group's wafer
bonding and
UV-NIL systems not only for their high-volume capabilities, but also for their
support of our preferred wafer-level technology process. The quality of the
technical results and the repeatability that we have witnessed in using the
existing EVG systems in our state-of-the-art cleanroom also weighed heavily
in our selection process.”
Paul Lindner, executive technology director of EV Group, noted, “This
opportunity to further support Nemotek's capacity needs is testament to
the strength of our wafer-level solutions portfolio, which features field-proven,
high-volume capabilities. It also validates our success in parlaying our long-time
expertise in the manufacture of CMOS image sensors to handle the shift to wafer-level
production for the overall optics market. We value the confidence Nemotek has
placed in our wafer bonding, UV-NIL lens molding and aligned UV bonding technologies
for their wafer-level camera applications, and look forward to opportunities
to not only expand our relationship, but also forge collaborative ties in support
of Nemotek's growth.”
The EVG systems augment Nemotek's class 10 cleanroom, which already houses
several EVG tools, including an EVG6200 bond aligner, a fully automated IQ Aligner
UV-NIL system, an EVG520IS wafer bonder, and an EVG40NT metrology system. The
two new tools will be installed in phases with the twobond chamber EVG520IS
for CMOS image sensor manufacturing, to be completed this month. The second
IQ Aligner UV-NIL system for micro-lens molding, bond alignment and UV bonding
of micro-optics stacks will be installed later this year.
The wafer-level camera equipment market represents another high-growth segment
in which EVG has successfully established its technology process and expertise.
Its dominant position in this market contributed to EVG's financial success
in 2009, when the company continued to see an increase in both
order intake and revenue despite the global economic recession.