Hanwha Precision Machinery and SK Hynix Succeed in Domestic Production of Semiconductor Equipment 'Die Bonder'

Successful Development of the World's Best Performance Die Bonder in 1 Year and 6 Months
World's First Correction Technology and High-Speed Pickup Device Applied

Die bonder image jointly developed by Hanwha Precision Machinery and SK Hynix
[Photo by Hanwha Precision Machinery]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Hanwha Precision Machinery announced on the 21st that it has succeeded in the localization of the ‘Die Bonder,’ a core semiconductor post-process equipment, in collaboration with SK Hynix, and recently received the ‘IR52 Jang Young-sil Award.’

The Die Bonder is one of the most challenging core machines in the semiconductor post-process packaging stage, precisely bonding the semiconductor (die) and printed circuit board (PCB) with heat and pressure. Previously, about 90% of Die Bonders were imported from Japan.

This localization has been positively evaluated by the industry as it responds to the enhancement of domestic semiconductor competitiveness following the government’s announcement last year of measures to strengthen the materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) industry competitiveness.

Hanwha Precision Machinery explained that it applied a world-first developed correction technology to this Die Bonder, improving material replacement time and maintaining a high-precision assembly accuracy of 4.2㎛ (micrometers, one-millionth of a meter) through individual control of four multi-heads and gantry. As a result, productivity increased more than 2.5 times compared to major overseas competitors.

Additionally, by applying the world’s first Air Lift type pickup device developed by SK Hynix, it was able to pick up semiconductor dies with a thickness of 25㎛ at high speed while reducing the stress applied to the product to about 30% of the previous level, improving the defect rate of finished semiconductor products.

Young-ho Cho, Executive Director and Head of Sales and Marketing at Hanwha Precision Machinery, stated, “With additional orders for mass production of Die Bonders, we expect expansion of domestic workforce hiring and stable production volume secured for domestic small and medium-sized partner companies, leading to the advancement of foundational technology. We will further devote ourselves to the localization of semiconductor equipment and win-win collaboration to contribute to enhancing the value and competitiveness of domestic semiconductor customers.”

Young-beom Lee, Team Leader of PKG Equipment Development at SK Hynix, said, “In a situation where the semiconductor industry feels a crisis due to Japanese export regulations, we are pleased to have succeeded in localizing the world’s best-performing Die Bonder within a short period of one year and six months through close cooperation between the two companies.”