St. Florian, Austria -- EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today announced that it has shipped two wafer bonding systems to the University of Michigan's Lurie Nanofabrication Facility (LNF)—a leading center for MEMS and microsystems research and an integral member of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), which is supported by the National Science Foundation. With a wafer bonder and aligner already installed at the facility, these new systems will increase the level of the university's overall MEMS research efforts by providing high-force wafer bonding capabilities. This order marks a strategic win for EVG as it poises the company for a long-term relationship with another major university with a strong MEMS research focus—and further expands EVG's overall presence in the university R&D arena.

Selected for their repeatability, reliability and technical support network, the bonding systems—an EVG 520IS and an EVG510—are undergoing installation at the customer site with completion targeted for Q1 this year. The wafer bonders will be used for a wide-range of MEMS-related research in fields such as biomedical, environmental, and optoelectronics. Both systems offer unique high-force bonding capabilities that would enable metal-to-metal bonding and specifically allow triple stack anodic bonding, for instance. The flexibility in force, as well as bonding form (e.g., anodic, eutectic, polymer, thermo-compression, and direct) that the systems offer will expand the research facility's processing capabilities.

"As a member of NNIN, we are always looking for the most advanced technical processing capabilities— not only for our own research efforts, but also in the interest of other research groups dedicated to advancing MEMS technology," said Professor Ken Wise of the University of Michigan and Director of the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility. "Following thorough evaluation of a number of wafer bonding systems, we selected EVG's bonding solutions for their superior technology capabilities. The combination of EVG's demo results, strong support network and the affordability of their system were all critical to our decision."

Steven Dwyer, Vice President and General Manager of EV Group North America, noted, "University of Michigan's Lurie Nanofabrication Facility is a stellar university research organization and we are thrilled that our systems were selected over the competition. The LNF has demonstrated the utmost confidence in our technology and technical support capabilities, which is testament to the strength of our solutions as well as our customer support team. We look forward to a long-term collaborative partnership with the LNF."