Massively parallel pick-and-place of large arrays of III-V semiconductors bring new heterogeneous integration capabilities for silicon photonics
Valencia, Spain, and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (May 11, 2022) – UPVfab, the microfabrication facility at the Universitat Politècnica de València, has acquired a Micro Transfer Printing (MTP) system supplied by X Display Company (XDC). The new equipment was funded by the regional government Generalitat Valenciana through project GVA/IDIFEDER/2020/028 “UPVfab Technology Pole” as part of a strategy to equip the facility for micro-fabrication in the technical disciplines of photonics, electronics, and chemical engineering.
“This Micro Transfer Printing system is part of UPVfab’s strategy to establish process flows for hybrid photonic integration,” said Dr. Gloria Micó, Facility Manager for UPVfab. “All trends in research and market evidence the importance of hybrid photonic integration, and UPVfab aims to become one of the regional hubs for combining silicon photonics and III-V semiconductors through this novel heterogenous integration process.”
X Display Company (XDC) supplies Micro Transfer Printing systems that support printing to substrates from lab-scale up to Gen 4.5 panels (1500mm x 830mm), licenses intellectual property for manufacturing microLED displays and sells MicrolC™ and PixelEngine™ components. “This UPVfab installation is the first XDC MTP system in Spain,” said Justin Brown, XDC’s VP of Operations. “XDC’s is proud to equip UPVfab and their resident companies with an MTP system that will help them develop groundbreaking new research and products.”
X-Celeprint licenses Micro Transfer Printing intellectual property for non-display applications, including compound semiconductor heterogeneous integration for photonics, wireless communications, power management and sensor three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs). “MTP technology readily adds disruptive capabilities to geographically-dispersed hubs focused on R&D and high-mix, low-volume production of advanced 3D ICs and workforce development,” said Kyle Benkendorfer, X-Celeprint’s CEO. MTP systems are installed at X-FAB, Micross Components, Tyndall National Institute, Teledyne, the Naval Research Laboratory, the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and the University of Ghent / imec, in addition to several undisclosed leading manufacturers.
UPVfab has established strong links with industry by orchestrating and launching a resident company program in 2021, under which VLC Photonic (a Hitachi High Tech Group company) established activity in the cleanroom. “Having access to an MTP system allows for rapid prototyping with state-of-the-art equipment,” explained Dr. David Domenech, CTO for VLC Photonics. UPVfab’s resident company program expects to add two more companies in 2022.
“The program ambition is not only targeted to industrial research and product/service development, but for companies to establish their demo sites in our facility as well,” said Prof. Pascual Muñoz, Director for UPVfab. “Our infrastructure upgrade and deployment plans are to bring in tools and qualified personnel to support industrial R&D, prototyping, and small series manufacturing.”
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About UPVfab
UPVfab is the micro-fabrication R&D and pilot line facility at Universitat Politècnica de València. The facility comprises 500m2 cleanrooms ISO-7 (class 10.000) and positions to serve with automation tools for backend processing of semiconductor wafers.
About X Display Company
X Display Company (XDC), a Cork, Ireland and RTP, North Carolina-based technology developer, licenses intellectual property for manufacturing MicroLED displays, sells MicrolC™ and PixelEngine™ components and Micro Transfer Printing equipment that will power next-generation displays. XDC is poised to capture share in the display market, delivering solutions that will make peoples’ lives better.
About X-Celeprint, Limited.
X-Celeprint licenses MTP technology, which consists of more than 300 worldwide patents and 189 pending applications, and supports semiconductor manufacturers in adopting MTP technology. X-Celeprint is co-located with Micross, which has a Trusted/ITAR-compliant 200mm wafer fab with extensive heterogeneous capabilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland. Both facilities have MTP systems in their R&D advanced packaging lines for supporting customers with rapid prototyping. X-Celeprint has research partnerships with academic centers, including the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the University of Ghent / imec.
