SAN JOSE, Calif. — Ziptronix, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tessera Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRA) (“Tessera” or the “Company”) and the leader in low temperature wafer bonding technology, today announced it has entered into a development agreement with Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID (“Fraunhofer”). The companies will work together to integrate Ziptronix Direct Bond Interconnect (DBI®) technology into Fraunhofer’s state-of-the-art 300mm wafer production line and demonstrate DBI as the industry’s finest pitch, thinnest and lowest total cost-of-ownership 3D integration solution.
Increasingly, the industry is looking toward 2.5D and 3D IC solutions as the most cost effective and efficient means of delivering the next generation of high performance computing and consumer electronic products. However, conventional approaches rely heavily on thru silicon vias (TSVs), micro-bumping and underfill, which can limit interconnect density, performance, form factor and cost-effectiveness. Ziptronix DBI technology can address these limitations and accelerate the adoption of game-changing 2.5D and 3D IC architectures.
“Although great progress has been made, the industry continues to face challenges associated with the manufacturability, scalability and cost of current 2.5D and 3D IC solutions. Ziptronix’s DBI technology is an enabling platform that can readily address many of these challenges,” said Juergen Wolf, Head of Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID. “We at Fraunhofer are very excited to work with Ziptronix to demonstrate the benefits of DBI technology to our customers on our 300mm wafer production line.”
“DBI is the industry’s highest density, highest performance, lowest profile and lowest cost-of-ownership 3D integration platform,” said Paul Enquist, Vice President of 3D R&D at Ziptronix. “It will revolutionize the world’s most challenging 3D IC structures and devices, and we look forward to working closely with Fraunhofer to demonstrate this enabling capability to customers around the world.”
“The acquisition of Ziptronix, and the subsequent integration of its team and technology into Tessera, has allowed us to significantly expand the 2.5D and 3D value that we bring to our customers, and the response has been incredibly positive,” said Craig Mitchell, President of Invensas. “This development agreement with Fraunhofer is an important step in the continuing development of the DBI technology as we grow our 2.5D and 3D product offerings.”
Safe Harbor Statement
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those projected, particularly with respect to the characteristics, benefits, and features of DBI and Ziptronix’s agreement with Fraunhofer. Material factors that may cause results to differ from the statements made include the plans or operations relating to the Company’s businesses; market or industry conditions; changes in patent laws, regulation or enforcement, or other factors that might affect the Company’s ability to protect or realize the value of its intellectual property; the expiration of license agreements and the cessation of related royalty income; the failure, inability or refusal of licensees to pay royalties; initiation, delays, setbacks or losses relating to the Company’s intellectual property or intellectual property litigations, or invalidation or limitation of key patents; fluctuations in operating results due to the timing of new license agreements and royalties, or due to legal costs; the risk of a decline in demand for semiconductors and products utilizing FotoNation technologies; failure by the industry to use technologies covered by the Company’s patents; the expiration of the Company’s patents; the Company’s ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions of businesses; the risk of loss of, or decreases in production orders from, customers of acquired businesses; financial and regulatory risks associated with the international nature of the Company’s businesses; failure of the Company’s products to achieve technological feasibility or profitability; failure to successfully commercialize the Company’s products; changes in demand for the products of the Company’s customers; limited opportunities to license technologies due to high concentration in the markets for semiconductors and related products and smartphone imaging; and the impact of competing technologies on the demand for the Company’s technologies. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, include more information about factors that could affect the Company’s financial results. The Company assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release. Although this release may remain available on the Company’s website or elsewhere, its continued availability does not indicate that the Company is reaffirming or confirming any of the information contained herein.
About Ziptronix
A pioneer in the development of low temperature direct bond technology, Ziptronix offers patented technology for wafer or die level bonding. Its ZiBond® and DBI Hybrid Bonding™ technologies deliver the industry’s most scalable, manufacturable and lowest total cost-of-ownership solutions for 3D stacking. The company’s intellectual property has been licensed for a variety of semiconductor applications including backside-illuminated sensors, RF front ends, pico-projectors, memories and 3D integrated circuits. Founded in 2000 as a venture-backed spinoff of RTI International, Ziptronix is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tessera Technologies, Inc. The company holds more than 35 U.S. patents and more than 20 international patents, with more than 45 U.S. and international patent applications pending. For more information, visit http://www.ziptronix.com.
About Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID
Fraunhofer IZM is a worldwide renowned institute specializing in developing advanced packaging and system integration technologies and transferring research results to the industry. The center “All Silicon System Integration Dresden – ASSID” operates Fraunhofer IZM’s leading-edge, industry-compatible 200/300mm 3D wafer-level process line with modules for TSV formation, TSV post-processing, pre-assembly, wafer-level assembly, stack formation and related metrology tools. ASSID is focusing on process development, material and equipment evaluation as well as R&D services. Fraunhofer IZM-ASSID has established cooperation and joint development programs with industrial partners for undertaking material and equipment evaluation, process development as well as process and product integration.
About Tessera Technologies, Inc.
Tessera Technologies, Inc., including its Invensas, FotoNation and Ziptronix subsidiaries, licenses its technologies and intellectual property to customers for use in areas such as mobile computing and communications, memory and data storage, and 3DIC technologies, among others. Our technologies include semiconductor packaging and interconnect solutions, and products and solutions for mobile and computational imaging, including our FaceToolsTM, FacePowerTM, FotoSavvyTM, DigitalApertureTM, LifeFocusTM, face beautification, red-eye removal, High Dynamic Range, autofocus, panorama, and image stabilization intellectual property. For more information call 1.408.321.6000 or visit www.tessera.com.
Tessera, the Tessera logo, FotoNation, the FotoNation logo, Ziptronix, the Ziptronix logo, DBI, FaceSavvy, FaceTools, FacePower, DigitalAperture, and LifeFocus are trademarks or registered trademarks of affiliated companies of Tessera Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company, brand and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
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Tessera Technologies, Inc.
Robert Andersen, 408-321-6779
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
or
The Piacente Group | Investor Relations
Don Markley, 212-481-2050
Tessera@tpg-ir.com
or
Impress Labs
Henri Viès, 650-776-9289
henri@impresslabs.com
Source: Tessera Technologies, Inc.
