Founded in 1944 in Portland, Oregon, USA, Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI) initially produced high-precision resistance measurement instruments. Now, over 60 years later, ESI employs approximately 700 people in locations around the globe, is publicly traded and is one of the world's leading suppliers of photonic systems for microengineering production applications.
ESI’s high-technology manufacturing equipment portfolio is currently aligned with these three market segments:
Semiconductors
ESI is pushing boundaries with semiconductor link processing. With state-of-the-art laser positioning, ESI's world-class production systems use precise laser energy to boost yields in the production of next-generation devices for DRAM, SRAM, embedded memory and other laser-fuse applications. The result: an increase in yield of all repairable devices from as low as 10% prior to repair, to greater than 99.5% after repair, with costs below one-half of one percent of overall die costs.
In addition, ESI also offers tools that tune analog-mixed signal circuits to improve yields by tightening the electrical specifications of thin-film on silicon (TFOS) transistors. Furthermore, ESI’s vision tools provide alignment and inspection components to identify defects in production, verify correct alignment and placement of parts, and identify wafer serial numbers to track items through the manufacturing process.
In July of 2007, ESI acquired New Wave Research (NWR), gaining access to the light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing and liquid crystal display (LCD) production markets. NWR’s LED tools include systems that scribe sapphire wafers used in the production of high-bright (HB) blue LEDs. HBLEDs are an energy-efficient, reliable alternative to conventional incandescent or fluorescent light sources. Applications for HBLEDs include residential and commercial lighting, as well as instrumentation and signage. NWR’s LCD solutions build a key original equipment manufacturer (OEM) component used to repair LCD panels either during production, or on an individual basis. Repairing shorts in LCD displays increases yields and provides a strong return on investment to manufacturers.
In July of 2008, ESI gained access into the Wafer Singulation market with the launch of its picosecond laser-based solution. Trends in the consumer electronics market have driven the semiconductor industry to supply three-dimensional (3D) stacked packages for greater performance and form factor needs. 3D stacked packages typically contain memory, logic and other complex semiconductor devices which have been reduced in thickness to 100 microns or less. These thinner semiconductor devices are becoming increasingly difficult to effectively singulate with conventional dicing and scribing technologies. ESI’s laser singulation solution was specifically designed to address all of these issues.
Interconnect/Micromachining
ESI’s interconnect solutions target applications requiring the highest accuracy and the smallest achievable via dimensions. The demand for ever-smaller microvias in IC packaging and flex circuits is driving increased adoption of ESI’s systems. ESI’s solutions are comprised of high accuracy, high-productivity systems that lower overall cost-of-ownership while enabling increased device density by virtue of their smaller pad design.
ESI’s comprehensive portfolio of interconnect solutions also serves the micromachining and laser ablation markets. ESI’s tools can be used in the micro drilling, cutting, etching and scribing of various materials, as well as solid-sampling of materials for spectroscopy. These applications are employed in various manufacturing processes, as well as the forensics, petroleum exploration, and mining fields.
Passive Components
Exceptional performance is defined by industry leaders as enabling higher customer product yield, achieving better throughput and ensuring tool reliability. ESI’s electronic component solutions deliver these performance requirements to today’s manufacturers of high-volume miniature multi-layer ceramic components (MLCCs). These components are used in volume in nearly all types of electronic circuitry. ESI’s electronic component solutions encompass automated test, termination, and visual inspection equipment for the manufacturing of MLCCs and other passive components, including arrays, inductors and varistors.