Fogale Nanotech announce launch of Unity
In April this year Fogale Nanotech announced that it has acquired Altatech, a technology supplier involved in the development of wafer inspection and material deposition tools for semiconductor manufacturing. This acquisition allowed Fogale Nanotech to provide inspection and metrology tools to address high throughput 2D, 3D and full wafer inspection for 3D IC TSV, advanced packaging, MEMS, LED and substrate applications.
The recent SEMICON West saw the launch of UnitySC, which is the result of Fogale's acquisition of Altatech.
According to Gilles Fresquet, CEO, and Tim Anderson, Business Development Director, the new name is derived from the core competency of the combined companies, which is based on the unified yield equation, relying on parametric and D-zero data to provide a total solution for advanced process control and yield prediction. Acquiring all the assets of Altatech from Soitec added defect inspection and metrology using AOI and 3D imaging to Fogale's already robust capabilities in microscopy temporal-mode interferometry and spectrometry, for inspection "all-the-way-around-and-through" advanced packages, explained Anderson.
The full portfolio, which included process control, metrology, defect detection for 3D TSVs, and micro bumps, now includes edge inspection, defect detection, and full wafer 3D metrology for the advanced wafer level packages, particularly fan-out-wafer-level (FOWLP) packaging. The latest technical advancement in the works is phase-shift deflectometry, noted Fresquet, developed for slip-line detection for wafer thinning and substrates. With nanometre sensitivity to the topography on the wafer surface, Unity is able to highlight slip lines on the top and backside of a wafer in a few seconds.
This is only the beginning for Unity, says Fresquet, as growth will continue through acquisitions and technical innovations to further extend our market leadership in process control solutions.
