CIL plans UK’s largest power semiconductor packaging plant
Custom Interconnect Ltd (CIL) plans to open its advanced semiconductor packaging facility for power devices in the UK next month.
The 15,000sq ft ISO7 Class 10,000 cleanroom is contained within the 46,000sq ft facility and will be ready by late May 2023, says an update from the company. It will have 50 staff of which 30 are engineers at the site in Andover.
CIL believes this facility, process equipment and staff will create the largest semiconductor packaging facility in the UK. This follows an upgrading of the plastic packaging line at Alter (UK) in Edinburgh.
By adding the wafer dicing capability to the facility, CIL will be able to process finished wafers to provide Dicing, Die attach, Wire bonding or power device copper clip attach, glob top, full plastic overmold or potting and back these processes up with inspection equipment that includes, X-Ray, CT-Scan, CSAM, VHX7000, and destructive and non-destructive testing using DAGE 4000 and DAGE PROSPECTOR test stations.
The company has segregated part of the cleanroom to add a separate wafer dicing area complete with DISCO DAD3361 dicing saw and all of the necessary ancillary equipment. This equipment is already installed, commissioned and currently running early engineering trials.
The wafer dicing equipment and all of CIL’s current micro-electronics and power semiconductor device packaging equipment will then start to transfer out of CIL’s existing facilities in Andover UK from late May 2023 onwards.
The equipment includes two DATACON 2200EVO automatic die bonders for power die placement using both silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) devices as well as two manual die bonders and five ASM 589 Automatic Al wedge bonders.
There is also a 2000W laser welding system for copper busbar welding and six 3D printers.
Alongside the semiconductor packaging plant, CIL has also upgraded its existing 24,000sq ft SMT PCBA equipment consisting of 5 SMT lines and associated 3D AOI, Flying probe test and IPC2 / 3 soldering at its CIL House facility also in Andover UK.
In the last 2 years, CIL has seen its turnover increase from £15M to £27M and headcount increase from 135 to 187 staff. Over the next 12 months, as well as bringing on line its advanced semiconductor packaging facility, it will also be adding new processes and equipment to its current PCBA service offering.
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
