RVSI wins fourth order for wafer inspection system

June 26--Robotic Vision Systems Inc. (RVSI; Canton, MA; www.rsvi.com) has received an order for a WS-2500 bumped wafer inspection system from an Asian semiconductor memory manufacturer. The semiconductor company plans to use the system for two- and three-dimensional defect inspection of semiconductor wafers. The system represents RVSI's fourth WS-series system order in the past 45 days.

Frank L. Jacovino, general manager of wafer level products at RVSI's semiconductor equipment group (Hauppauge, NY), says, "We are pleased that the customer ordering this system also had an explicit requirement for 2-D defect inspection in addition to accurate height metrology."

Rather than traditional wire bonds, the new generation of integrated circuits uses microscopic-sized solder or gold "bumps" that are directly deposited on the wafer for electrical connections. The wafer inspection system improves yield management of bumped wafers and flip-chip die, providing a method to maximize yields and profitability by inspecting bump parameters at high production rates. System capabilities include inspection of pre-reflow and post-reflow solder bumps and multi-process gold bumps.