SCHÄRDING and RADFELD, Austria -- EV Group, a supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment, and Datacon Technology AG, a flip-chip and die bonding equipment supplier, announced a development, sales and marketing agreement for advanced-chip-to-wafer (AC2W) technology.

AC2W technology offers high device density through stacked devices, short interconnects and higher functional density. It enables the integration of various device technologies such as hybrid integration of IC and MEMS functionality.

The EVG540C2W chip-to-wafer bonder permanently bonds a wafer with single devices under defined process conditions, after they have been fixed with a temporary fixing agent in a high-precision flip-chip bonder from Datacon. The technology used for the bonding process is called face-to-face solid liquid interdiffusion, a technology that uses a metal soldering process.

"Our equipment allows a pre-bonding performance of up to 8500 chips per hour together with placement accuracy of 10µm@3s", said Helmut Rutterschmidt, president of Datacon Technology AG. "[We] can handle top chips as thin as 50 µm and wafers up to 300 mm diameter."

Developed in a joint R&D project, the new equipment platform has been successfully installed at Infineon AG, a major semiconductor device manufacturer.

The plant has 2,400 sq. meters of floor space and will build enhanced cantilever probe cards. It can also handle probe wire diameters from 75 to 250 microns and very fine pitch probing.

The factory will follow K&S' "copy exact" manufacturing model.

Production on after-sales support center for repair and rebuild services in its final stages, the company said.

SINGAPORE, Oct. 14 -- Flextronics said today its takeover of a pair of Nortel Networks' manufacturing plants would be delayed.

The two Canadian facilities are expected to be transfered in February and May 2005, respectively. Previously, Flextronics was to take charge of the plants in November 2004 and February 2005.

The deal is expected to add $2.5 billion of revenues for Flextronics.

In a statement Flextronics' officials said the deal would go through as otherwise planned.

Research Triangle Park, NC, Oct. 13 -- MCNC Research & Development Institute (MCNC-RDI), a North Carolina-based nonprofit research organization, and the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) will partner to conduct research related to technological advancements in flexible displays for U.S. Army mobile electronics applications. 

The $1.5 million award, spanning three years, establishes the Center of Excellence for Battlefield Capability Enhancements to develop technologies for environmentally stable flexible displays. 

N.C. A&T and MCNC-RDI propose to develop a hybrid light-emitting device (HLED) for mobile electronics and vehicle-based communications and weapons systems required by Future Force Warrior (FFW), the U.S. Army's initiative to develop and demonstrate revolutionary support systems for soldiers.