VEECO’S AP300 to support aggressive advanced packaging expansion
Veeco Instruments has announced that the world’s largest outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) provider has purchased multiple Veeco AP300 lithography systems. Complementing the OSAT’s previously installed Veeco tools, the AP300 was selected based on its industry-leading uptime and performance with lower total cost of ownership (CoO). This purchase is illustrative of continued strong market demand for Veeco’s lithography systems, given the tools’ ability to handle next-generation advanced packaging process needs including copper (Cu) pillar, wafer-level packaging (WLP), fan-out WLP (FOWLP) and 3D integrated circuit developments.
The AP300 lithography stepper’s winning combination of overlay, resolution, sidewall profile performance and broadband flexibility enables highly automated, cost-effective manufacturing valued by foundries and OSATs for applications such as fan-in WLP, FOWLP, through-silicon via, silicon interposer solder and Cu pillar bumping. Given the strong market growth expected in mobile, IoT and artificial intelligence (AI) applications, OSATs seek to ensure they are competitively positioned to drive customer acquisition and retention. According to Yole, the equipment and materials market for FOWLP alone will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43 percent to reach $694 million by 2021.
“Increased mobility, IoT, AI and deep learning are seeing strong growth in step with global megatrends, all of which are enabled by technologies like 3D integration and advanced packaging,” noted Peter Porshnev, Ph.D., senior vice president and general manager of Veeco’s Ultratech business unit. “As we grow our customer base, Veeco’s experienced team of technologists continues to work closely with OSATs and foundries to deliver industry-leading innovations that directly address their performance, yield and CoO challenges.”