ESPOO, Finland, 13th of April 2021 – Picosun Group has proved to significantly increase the production efficiency of its LED and OLED customers with the PICOSUN® P-300BV ALD system. Recent tests show that a reduced ALD process cycle time and an increased number of wafers deposited with the same film thickness resulted in almost 100% better throughput. A throughput of over 20 000 wafers per month can be reached with a wafer batch of 100 wafers*. At the same time, the process quality in terms of film thickness uniformity has remained on an excellent level (20000 WPM, About Picosun
Picosun provides the most advanced AGILE ALD® (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries. Picosun’s ALD solutions enable technological leap into the future, with turn-key production processes and unmatched, pioneering expertise in the field – dating back to the invention of the technology itself. Today, PICOSUN® ALD equipment are in daily manufacturing use in numerous leading industries around the world. Picosun is based in Finland, with subsidiaries in Germany, USA, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China mainland and Taiwan, offices in India and France, and a world-wide sales and support network. Visit www.picosun.com.

More information:
Juhana Kostamo¬
Vice President, Industrial Business Area, Picosun Group
Tel: +358 50 369 9565
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.picosun.com

• Read more about Picosun increases efficiency for LED and OLED production

YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.), a preferred supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor advanced packaging, life sciences and display markets, today announced that it will deliver another VertaCure™ XP, the latest version of its flagship VertaCure vacuum curing system, to Winstek Semiconductor Co., Ltd., one of the leading testing and bump houses in Taiwan. The system will be utilized for advanced packaging mass production processes such as copper pillar and WLP to support growth driven by 5G applications, cloud servers and data centers. Winstek received its first VertaCure XP in September of 2020; this repeat order is expected to be delivered in the 2nd quarter of 2021, in order to serve growing market demand.

“The VertaCure XP system’s enhanced capabilities make it especially well-suited for the demands of ‘Beyond Moore’ advanced packaging, and its ability to handle both 200 mm and 300 mm wafers is ideal for our WLCSP application,” said Cheng-Che Tsou, Director of Bumping Engineering at Winstek.

“This follow-on order validates the technology leadership and economic value associated with YES solutions,” said Alex Chow, Asia Sales President & General Manager at YES. “The VertaCure XP’s low vacuum curing environment reduces polyimide curing process time by more than 30%, and its outgassing performance has proven far superior to that of atmospheric ovens. This significant process time reduction in the PVD degas chamber improves both CoO and throughput, not only at the curing process step but also from a process integration prospective,” added Chow. “We greatly value our strong relationship with this strategic customer and look forward to supporting their capacity expansion efforts."

“We have shipped several VertaCure XP systems over the past year, with strong interest from relatively new customers such as Winstek as well as from longtime users of YES systems,” said Rezwan Lateef, President of YES. “We are pleased to have been able to demonstrate the VertaCure XP’s superior film performance and overall value during Winstek’s evaluation process. It has been very gratifying to see the growth of YES in Taiwan extending to this key customer.”

About YES
YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.) is a leading manufacturer of high-tech, cost-effective equipment for transforming surfaces, materials and interfaces. The company’s product lines include vacuum cure systems, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, and plasma etching tools used for precise surface modification and thin-film coating of semiconductor wafers, semiconductor and MEMS devices, biosensors and medical substrates. With YES, customers ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies can create and volume-produce products in a wide range of markets, including Advanced Packaging, MEMS, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Life Sciences. YES is headquartered in Fremont, California, with a growing presence globally. For more information, please visit https://yieldengineering.com.

About Winstek
One of Taiwan’s leading wafer bumping and testing providers, Winstek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. was founded in 2000 and has offered automated solder bumping since 2005. Applications include 200 mm and 300 mm WLCSP, 300 mm Cu pillar, and others. Winstek's customers range from major corporations to smaller innovators, with end-market products ranging from communications to computers to consumer products. For more information, please visit https://www.winstek.com.tw

• Read more about Winstek Places Second Order for YES VertaCure™ XP

YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.), a leading manufacturer of process equipment for semiconductor advanced packaging, life sciences and AR/VR applications, today announced that it has received a volume purchase order for the VertaCure™ XP from Taiwan-based OSAT Powertech Technology, Inc. The systems, which will be utilized for flip chip and wafer-level-packaging in high volume manufacturing, will be delivered in the first half of 2021 to address growing production demands.

“In addition to the throughput benefits, excellent particle performance and complete, reliable curing that PTI can expect to achieve by using the YES vacuum process, these VertaCure XP systems will allow PTI to develop new applications that broaden the range of solutions they can offer to their customers,” explained Alex Chow, Asia Sales President & General Manager at YES. “As advanced packaging technology requirements evolve, OSATs will continue to play an important role in the supply chain,” Chow continued. “This major win further confirms YES’s ability to deliver operational flexibility, technology leadership and highest economic value for customers.”

“We are excited to partner with PTI to provide the consumer electronic market with new technologies that make products smaller and smarter,” added Rezwan Lateef, President of YES. “As the advanced packaging market continues to expand, YES remains focused on being the preferred supplier of material modification and surface enhancement solutions.”

About YES
YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.) is a preferred supplier of high-tech, cost-effective equipment for transforming surfaces, materials and interfaces. The company’s product lines include vacuum cure systems, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, and plasma etching tools used for precise surface modification and thin-film coating of semiconductor wafers, semiconductor and MEMS devices, and biodevices. With YES, customers ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies can create and volume-produce products in a wide range of markets, including Advanced Packaging, MEMS, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Life Sciences. YES is headquartered in Fremont, California, with a growing global presence. For more information, please visit www.yieldengineering.com.

• Read more about YES Secures VertaCure™ XP Volume Purchase Order from Powertech Technology Inc.

ESPOO, Finland, 30th of March 2021 – Picosun Group reports strong growth and a positive operating profit from its fiscal year 1.1.2020-31.12.2020.

Fiscal year 2020 in short*
• Order intake grew by 48,4% and was €40,9M (€27,5M)
• Turnover grew by 38,6% and was €37,6M (€27,1M)
• Operating profit was €0,9M (€-0,3M), which is 2,5% (-1,1%) of the turnover

A bigger portion of the new order intake and turnover, compared to previous years, consisted of sales of machines meant for production in the industry and medical sector. The growth was especially strong in Asia and Europe. Service business represented 16% (12%) of 2020 order intake.

“Despite the COVID-19 challenges we were able to continue on our growth path as planned. The pandemic led to increased investments in the medical sector. Also, remote work and the increased interest in entertainment applications grew the demand of production machines in electronics and semiconductor industries”, states Jussi Rautee, CEO of Picosun Group.

New investments in medical industry

Picosun has been involved in product development for the medical sector for some time. Protecting for example medical implants with ALD from the corrosive environment of the human body, and vice versa, is of utmost importance considering the safety, correct operation, and lifetime of the implant.

The company established a new business area, PicoMedical, in response to the increased interest and needs of the medical and healthcare ALD segments. PicoMedical’s order intake in 2020 constituted 10% of the company’s new order intake.

”We in Picosun believe that ALD will disrupt the medical industry the same way it did in the semiconductor industry. Our aim is to be the forerunner in this development”, says Jussi Rautee.

Almost a fifth of company’s turnover to research and development

During 2020 Picosun Group continued investing in its R&D functions. The company invested 18% of its turnover to various research and development activities. During 2020 Picosun filed 16 new patent applications at the European Patent Office, and 34 patent applications in various countries were granted to Picosun.

The company brought a number of significant new products to the semiconductor market. PICOSUN® Sprinter, a high throughput ALD production module for 300 mm wafers, was launched late 2020. PICOSUN® Morpher product family, designed for 200 mm wafers, grew with Morpher P (PE-ALD). For easy, intuitive and user-friendly operations of the whole PICOSUN® ALD cluster, the company launched its unified control software PicoOS™.

“Our commitment to meet our customers’ needs proactively and ensuring their future success resulted in the development work and launches that took place in 2020. This is part of ongoing work that we are continuing this year. We are also further developing ways to be in contact with our customers. Last year we took into use the leading remote support tools, taking advantage of e.g. augmented reality, that allow safe and on-time service delivery no matter the physical location of the customer”, says Jussi Rautee.

*Numbers in the brackets are 2019 non-audited consolidated numbers based on management reports.

About Picosun
Picosun provides the most advanced AGILE ALD® (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries. Picosun’s ALD solutions enable technological leap into the future, with turn-key production processes and unmatched, pioneering expertise in the field – dating back to the invention of the technology itself. Today, PICOSUN® ALD equipment are in daily manufacturing use in numerous leading industries around the world. Picosun is based in Finland, with subsidiaries in Germany, USA, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China mainland and Taiwan, offices in India and France, and a world-wide sales and support network. Visit www.picosun.com.

More information:

Mr. Kustaa Poutiainen
Chairman of the Board
Tel: +358 400 424 506
Email: [email protected]

Mr. Jussi Rautee
CEO, Picosun Group
Tel: +358 50 345 4457
Email: [email protected]

• Read more about Picosun Group demonstrates strong growth in 2020

ClassOne Technology, global provider of advanced semiconductor plating tools, announced the sale of a second Solstice® S8 system to i3 Microsystems (i3M), a wholly-owned subsidiary of defense industry supplier i3 Electronics headquartered in Binghamton, NY. The eight-chambered Solstice S8 configuration includes ClassOne’s proprietary CopperMax™ chamber for advanced copper plating. The announcement was made jointly by ClassOne CEO, Byron Exarcos, and i3 VP/General Manager, Robert Nead.

"We brought in the first Solstice S8 to replace our wet benches and automate our plating processes,” said Nead. “And the tool’s high performance and flexibility have served us extremely well. With eight chambers, the Solstice is able to handle both plating and surface preparation processes. We’re now adding solvent strip and UBM etch capabilities to our first Solstice, and we are configuring our second Solstice to match. Bottom line, we've been very pleased with the Solstice and also with ClassOne's customer service, both of which are strongly supporting our ongoing growth.”

“A key feature of i3M’s Solstice S8 configuration is that it includes our proprietary CopperMax™ electroplating chamber,” said Exarcos. “This unique chamber is designed to deliver class-leading copper plating quality while at the same time reducing plating consumables costs. It gives users the ability to routinely achieve exceptional levels of copper plating feature quality and also cut copper chemistry additives costs by as much as 95%.

Solstice presently serves many of the world’s leading defense contractors and is emerging as the electroplating and wafer surface preparation system of choice for meeting the exacting requirements of the defense and aerospace industries.

The ClassOne Solstice S8 is an eight-chambered system for high-performance, fully-automated electroplating and surface preparation. The Solstice platform also includes the S4, which provides up to four processing chambers, and the LT, with up to three chambers. In addition to electroplating, the tool’s unique Plating-Plus™ capability also enables it to handle many surface preparation functions, including wafer cleaning, high-pressure metal lift-off, resist strip, UBM etch and more. This multi-processing flexibility serves to streamline process production and can reduce the number of different tools a user needs to purchase.

• Read more about Defense Industry Supplier i3 Microsystems Places Repeat Order for ClassOne’s Solstice Electroplating System

SANTA ROSA, Calif., – March 23, 2021 – PNI Sensor, the world’s foremost expert in precision location, motion tracking, and fusion of sensor systems into real-world applications, has announced new Dismounted Soldier Tracking (DST) technology that determines a soldier’s precise location, even when GPS is compromised or denied.

PNI has spent seven years of internal research and development perfecting the highest-accuracy, lowest-power sensor fusion algorithms for wearables and smartphones. DST is the result of this combined expertise. DST location technology stays accurate over time and through a wide range of conditions, so its data can be trusted to deliver precise results in mission-critical scenarios.

Ubiquitous Tracking - PNI’s advanced DST inertial tracking technology provides unparalleled accuracy and offers step-by-step tracking for soldiers, both indoors and outdoors.

Unmatched Direction of Motion - DST technology determines direction of motion independent of the soldier’s body pose or dynamic movement in any direction (forward, backward, sideways).

Self-contained - No additional infrastructure required and optimized for low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C). The DST module can be body worn.

“PNI has operated in the soldier-portable domain for more than thirty years and our compass technology is used in U.S. Army laser rangefinders, enhanced night vision goggles, and other mission critical applications that require high accuracy, consistency and reliability in the field,” said Robin Stoecker, vice president of sales and marketing at PNI Sensor. “We are committed to delivering world-class positioning, navigation and timing capabilities that enhance combat overmatch for modern warfighters.”

Evaluation Kit Availability
DST technology is made in the U.S.A, ITAR-free, and fully customizable to mission specifications. Engineering samples are available now. To purchase a DST evaluation kit, please contact PNI Sales or your regional PNI representative.
For product specifications and more information, visit Dismounted Soldier Tracking.

About PNI Sensor
With over 30 years of experience, PNI is the world’s foremost expert in precision location, motion tracking, and fusion of sensor systems into real-world applications. PNI’s sensors and algorithms serve as the cornerstone of successful IoT projects and other mission-critical applications where pinpoint location, accuracy, and low power consumption are essential. Building on decades of patented sensor and algorithm development, PNI offers the industry’s highest-performance geomagnetic sensor in its class, location and motion coprocessors, high-performance modules, sensor fusion algorithms, and complete sensor systems. To learn more, please visit www.pnicorp.com.

• Read more about PNI Sensor’s New Dismounted Soldier Tracking Technology Provides Precise Location in GPS-denied Environments

ESPOO, Finland, 22nd of March 2021 – During the past year, organizations worldwide have been forced to adapt to new ways of working and serving their customers due to the covid-19 pandemic and the related restrictions to travel and logistics. Picosun Group has significantly reinforced its local service units globally and established its PicoSupport™ Center.

PicoSupport™ Center provides on-site support and planned service items such as ALD system installations and preventive maintenance visits conducted by highly experienced, trained and certified field service engineers. It also takes care of customers’ Helpdesk and Emergency Service operations.

At the core of PicoSupport™ Center’s Helpdesk are state-of-the-art remote support tools taking advantage of augmented/mixed reality, live video, screensharing and remote connection applications. In accordance with Industry 4.0, these tools allow safe and on-time service delivery no matter the physical location or time zone of the customer. They also offer an endlessly upgradeable platform for further embedding of e.g. remote training and e-learning modules with full virtual reality environments.

Today, the remote support tools are already widely implemented in Picosun’s customer base. The remote applications are used for a number of services ranging from system inspections and troubleshooting to software upgrades, bug fixes and process optimizations.

“I’m very proud to say that we have been able to adapt to the changing environment by employing new ways of interaction to ensure continued customer satisfaction. The feedback on the new remote support applications has been very positive. Customers find them easy to use and have benefitted from them in terms of faster reaction times and lower costs compared to traditional on-site services,” says Timo Malinen, VP, Service Business Area of Picosun Group.

“As our customers’ trusted strategic ALD partner we are committed to top-notch and uninterrupted services, despite of the changes in the world we operate in. We are looking forward to further enhance and develop the ways with which we can ensure smooth and trouble-free operations together with our customers,” Malinen concludes.

About Picosun
Picosun provides the most advanced AGILE ALD® (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries. Picosun’s ALD solutions enable technological leap into the future, with turn-key production processes and unmatched, pioneering expertise in the field – dating back to the invention of the technology itself. Today, PICOSUN® ALD equipment are in daily manufacturing use in numerous leading industries around the world. Picosun is based in Finland, with subsidiaries in Germany, USA, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China mainland and Taiwan, offices in India and France, and a world-wide sales and support network. Visit www.picosun.com.

More information:
Timo Malinen
VP, Service Business Area, Picosun Group
Tel: +358 40 5011860
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.picosun.com

• Read more about Picosun trusts in augmented reality for refined customer support

Carlsbad, CA, USA – Nordson Electronics Solutions, a global leader in electronics manufacturing technologies, are pleased to announce they will showcase many new dispensing, conformal coating, selective soldering, and surface treatment products and technologies at two events: Productronica China (Hall E6 booth #6202) and SEMICON China (Hall N4, booth #4022), both held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, Shanghai, China, March 17 – 20, 2021.

Nordson Electronics Solutions product lines for printed circuit board assembly are on exhibit at Productronica China, including:
• Conformal Coating - ASYMTEK Panorama™ R-Line, featuring Select Coat® SL-940 and FX-940UV Inspection system. This line provides flexibility and convenience to manufacturers who are transitioning to an automated conformal coating process.
• Fluid Dispensing – Two ASYMTEK platforms and one new valve family are featured at this show. The new Forte™ MAX System demonstrates dual-jet dispensing with two IntelliJet® jet valves including real-time skew correction - ideal for multi-up, panelized or patterned parts. The award-winning Spectrum™ II dispensing system performs tilt jetting for dispensing accurately into hard-to-reach areas. Also featured is the new Vortik® Progressive Cavity Pump for two-component fluids, which utilizes the award-winning ARC™ Technology software for ensuring easy set-up and accurate mix ratios.
• Selective Soldering - The SELECT Integra® 508.3PD 2seg multi-station includes concurrent fluxing, preheating with dual fluxers and solder pots, and can solder two singulated boards in a parallel mode in-line with two segmented conveyors.
• Plasma Surface Treatment – The popular MARCH AP-1000 is a cost- and space-efficient vacuum plasma treatment machine for treating all types of parts and components. It is completely self-contained including pump, chamber, control electronics, and requires minimal floor space.

On exhibit for semiconductor packaging at SEMICON China 2021 is the ASYMTEK Vantage dispensing system and IntelliJet® Jetting system, demonstrating dispensing for the highest levels of precision and speed.

We look forward to seeing you in Shanghai at either event!

https://www.nordson.com/en/divisions/electronics-solutions
High-resolution image: https://ndsn.tech/4cd

About Nordson Electronics Solutions
Nordson Electronics Solutions offers products to customers for precision automated fluid dispensing, conformal coating, plasma surface treatment, and selective soldering. Consisting of complementary product lines – ASYMTEK, MARCH, and SELECT – we deliver to semiconductor packaging, printed circuit board assembly, and other precision assembly operations. Our passion is helping customers take their processes further faster, with best-in-class technologies, dedicated global sales and support teams, and unmatched consultative applications expertise.

About Nordson Corporation
Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ: NDSN) is one of the world’s leading producers of precision dispensing equipment that applies adhesives, sealants, coatings and other materials to a broad range of consumer and industrial products during manufacturing operations. The company also manufactures equipment used in the testing and inspection of electronic components as well as technology-based systems for curing and surface treatment processes. Headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, Nordson has direct operations and sales support offices in more than 30 countries.

• Read more about Nordson Electronics Solutions to Showcase Printed Circuit Board Assembly and Semiconductor Packaging Equipment at Productronica China and SEMICON China Tradeshows

FREMONT, Calif. – Mar 15, 2021 – YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.), a preferred provider of material modification and surface enhancement solutions for the semiconductor, life science and display markets, today announced that a leading memory manufacturer has ordered the YES VertaBond™ system for wafer-to-wafer and die-to-wafer bonding. The new system will be utilized in bringing next-generation HBM (high bandwidth memory) to market. It is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2021 to support the customer’s R&D activities and initial production demands.

“This order marks an important milestone for YES, as it is a validation of our efforts to serve the memory market. This new VertaBond system will enable our valued customer’s most advanced HBM development and pilot production,” said Alex Chow, Asia Sales President & General Manager at YES. “We are very pleased and look forward to working with them to meet their exciting technology roadmap.”

“YES has long been a leader in cutting-edge solutions for polyimide cure and wafer-to-wafer bonding applications utilizing novel vacuum technologies. We are pleased to introduce the VertaBond system for wafers and panels, which is based on this core competence, to customers with demanding 3D stacking and heterogenous integration applications in logic, memory and other critical areas,” said Dr. Zia Karim, Sr. VP and CTO at YES.

About VertaBond
VertaBond is YES’s new vacuum-based wafer-to-wafer and die-to-wafer bonding system. Its superior temperature uniformity and low vacuum environment work together to improve the properties of bonding interfaces and eliminate voids which can cause yield loss and performance degradation. Vacuum technology enables void-free bonding in less time, reduces thermal budget, and provides excellent bonding strength and particle performance.

About YES
YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.) is a leading manufacturer of high-tech, cost-effective equipment for transforming surfaces, materials and interfaces. The company’s product lines include vacuum cure ovens, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, and plasma etching tools used for precise surface modification and thin-film coating of semiconductor wafers, semiconductor and MEMS devices, and biodevices. With YES, customers ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies can create and volume-produce products in a wide range of markets, including Advanced Packaging, MEMS, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Life Sciences. YES is headquartered in Fremont, California, with a growing global presence. For more information, please visit www.yieldengineering.com.

VertaBond™ and the YES logo are trademarks of YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.).

• Read more about YES Receives VertaBond™ Purchase Order from a Tier 1 Memory Manufacturer