SAN JOSE, Calif.,- Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (TAIEX: 2311, NYSE: ASX and Deca Technologies, a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY), today announced the signing of an agreement whereby ASE will invest $60 million in Deca and will license Deca’s M-Series™ Fan-out Wafer-Level Packaging (FOWLP) technologies and processes. As part of the agreement, ASE and Deca will jointly develop the M-Series fan-out manufacturing process and will expand production of chip-scale packages using this technology. The technology is required for the reduced size and power consumption needed for portable Internet of Things (IoT) applications and smartphones. Deca’s version of it uses autoline technology developed by SunPower to decrease cost and manufacturing cycle time.
“At Cypress we have experienced the efficiency of Deca’s M-Series technology with our own chips and brought its benefits to our customers,” said T.J. Rodgers, Chairman of the Board at Deca Technologies and president and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. “With this investment from ASE, Deca now has strong validation of M-Series as a technology that will bring fan-out wafer-level packaging to mass production. This deal is a significant proof point for Deca and for Cypress’s ongoing strategy of investing in startups as part of our Emerging Technologies Division.”
The ability to put more functionality on ever-shrinking semiconductors, also known as Moore’s Law, is causing an unintended consequence in the semiconductor packaging industry, where chips using advanced silicon technologies are so small that all of the input and output balls cannot fit on the surface of the chip using conventional wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCSP) technology. Deca’s M-Series addresses this challenge with a FOWLP approach, where very small silicon chips are embedded into a larger plastic chip, and the CSP balls are redistributed onto both the native silicon chip and the expanded plastic chip. M-Series enables industry-leading manufacturability for FOWLP using Deca’s proprietary Adaptive Patterning™ technology, which tracks the alignment of each silicon IC in the redistributed plastic package. ASE has found M-Series to be a viable and effective high-volume manufacturing FOWLP solution.
“With the increasing demands to improve performance and reduce package size from the smartphone market and the emerging demand for IoT, the industry has been looking for a FOWLP technology with true manufacturability,” said Chris Seams, CEO of Deca Technologies. “Deca is excited to have ASE select our patented M-Series technology to meet this challenge. By leveraging ASE’s large customer base and world-class manufacturing expertise, we can bring FOWLP processing to high-volume reality.”
Deca’s fan-out wafer level packaging technologies will add to ASE’s advanced packaging portfolio, providing customers with a more diverse selection of offerings that are best suited for their IC designs. “Today’s announcement is a major milestone in ASE’s FOWLP roadmap and demonstrates ASE’s continued pursuit in industry leadership to build a complete manufacturing eco-system with key partners,” said Dr. Tien Wu, COO, ASE Group. “The incorporating of Deca’s M-Series and Adaptive Patterning technologies and manufacturing process will enable ASE to offer customers a proven FOWLP solution that is cost-effective due to the efficiency of large-panel-based processing.”
The proposed investment by ASE is subject to the various regulatory approvals or consents including but not limited to the approvals of the Taiwan government.
About ASE Group
The ASE Group is the world’s largest provider of independent semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly, test, materials and design manufacturing. As a global leader geared towards meeting the industry’s ever growing needs for faster, smaller and higher performance chips, the Group develops and offers a wide portfolio of technology and solutions including IC test program design, front-end engineering test, wafer probe, wafer bump, substrate design and supply, wafer level package, flip chip, system-in-package, final test and electronic manufacturing services through Universal Scientific Industrial Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries, members of the ASE Group. The Group generated sales revenues of US$8.64 billion in 2015 and employs over 65,000 people worldwide. For more information about the ASE Group, visit www.aseglobal.com.
About Deca Technologies
Founded in 2009 and launched in November 2011, Deca Technologies is an electronic interconnect solutions provider offering wafer-level packaging (WLP) services to the semiconductor industry. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and with global capabilities, Deca is a majority-owned and fully independent subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY). Deca’s mission is to deliver an exceptional customer experience through its proprietary and transformative interconnect technology. Integrating its solar and semiconductor background, Deca leverages unique equipment, processes and operational methods to break down traditional barriers in the continued adoption and growth of next-generation wafer-level electronic interconnect. For more information, please visit www.decatechnologies.com.
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Cypress, the Cypress logo are registered trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. Deca Technologies, the Deca logo are registered trademarks and M-Series and Adaptive Patterning are trademarks of Deca Technologies. All other trademarks are property of their owners.
Deca Contacts:
Garry Pycroft,
VP Sales & Marketing
408-306-0840
garry.pycroft@decatechnologies.com
Press contact:
Lora Martinez
Impress Labs
303-941-6110
lora@impresslabs.com
Cypress PR Contact:
Samer Bahou
408-232-4552
samer.bahou@cypress.com
ASE Contacts:
Patricia MacLeod
patricia.macleod@aseus.com
Jennifer Yuen
jennifer.yuen@aseus.com
