Enjoying the materials innovation success it has realized with its first DEK Galaxy system, Cary, North Carolina-based LORD Corporation recently expanded its development capacity with the addition of a second Galaxy equipped with DEK’s new Wafer Transport Solution.

"Our first Galaxy has proven to be an integral part of our wafer-applied underfill (WAU) materials program," explains Candice Brannen, LORD Corporation Senior Scientist. "In fact, the excellent material uniformity we’ve been able to achieve – even with remarkably thin coatings - led to some new development projects and increased use of the Galaxy, which necessitated the installation of a second system."

In addition to its progress with WAUs and other advanced materials, LORD is also furthering development of its conductive ink and adhesive product lines for applications which require exceptional precision, accuracy and stability. The company expects that the capability afforded by the Galaxy with Wafer Transport Solution may facilitate opportunities for the use of these materials in emerging, high-growth market segments.

DEK's Wafer Transport Solution, which is an option on its Galaxy, Europa and Horizon 01iX platforms, offers strong support and high levels of stability required for today's thinner, larger wafer dimensions. Central to this technology solution is DEK's precision wafer pallet, which has been expertly engineered to securely accommodate wafers as thin as 75 microns and as large as 300mm in diameter. Movement of the pallet into and out of the print platform is achieved through a newly designed DEK heavy-duty rail system, featuring precision servo motor actuation for exceptional control of speed, acceleration and positioning. The precision wafer pallet delivers superb flatness of the wafer to less than 10 microns within the critical process area, while the robust rail technology provides for stable movement control to facilitate excellent throughput and UPH. When these features are combined with the repeatability and precision of the Galaxy, which boasts alignment accuracy of 2Cpk@+/- 12.5um and wafer backside coating capability of 2 Cp @+/- 12.5um with a total thickness variation (TTV) of 8um, the results are outstanding and the applications flexibility infinite.

"Not only has DEK's platform and screen technology allowed us to achieve extremely uniform, ultra-thin deposits, but the superior process support we've received from the DEK applications and solutions engineering teams has been invaluable," concludes Brannen. "Investing in a second Galaxy with the Wafer Transport Solution and maintaining our strong ties to DEK was an obvious choice for LORD and one we are confident will enable the progress of our innovation roadmap."