Valencia, Spain, and Hauterive, Switzerland (October 19, 2022) – UPVfab, the microfabrication facility at the Universitat Politècnica de València, incorporates a new tool for hydrofluoric acid Vapor Phase Etching (VPE) by idonus sàrl. The acquisition was funded by the regional government Generalitat Valenciana through project GVA/IDIFEDER/2020/028 “Technology Pole UPVfab” as part of a strategy to equip the facility for micro-fabrication in the technical disciplines of photonics, electronics, and chemical engineering.
The idonus VPE enables stiction-free release of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) structures fabricated with silicon on insulator SOI wafers whereby controlled etching of the silicon dioxide layer is performed. Christian Spoerl, Managing Director of idonus is delighted to share his excitement about another installation: “VPE was our first product launched back in 2004. We have sold over 130 units now installed all around the globe. This tool can work with individual chips and up to 150mm wafers.”
Dr. Gloria Micó, Facility Manager for UPVfab shared “the HF VPE150 by idonus complements perfectly our wet and dry etching equipment, we envision applications further beyond than MEMS, such as hybrid integration, where neat etching of sacrificial layers is key”. With more and more companies requiring custom semiconductor processing, from proof-of-concept to small series manufacturing, UPVfab established a resident company program in 2021. “The goal is to engage half dozen companies in 2023, that can co-develop their process flows and run them in the facility, alongside with our own research and development activities” said Prof. Pascual Muñoz, Director for UPVfab.
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 idonus sàrl
idonus is specialized in the development and fabrication of special equipment for the MEMS and watchmaking industries. Product portfolio includes UV-LED exposure systems for photolithography, IR microscope for wafer inspection, VPE and other devices. The company is situated in the heart of the Swiss Watch Valley, where precision micromachining meets a growing cluster of companies working in micro- and nanotechnology. Its headquarters are embedded in the Innoparc in Hauterive, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
For more information, contact:
UPVfab
Dr. Gloria Micó
Facility Manager, UPVfab Microfabrication Facility,
Universitat Politècnica de València
+34.963.879.760 – gloria.mico@upv.es
https://www.fab.upv.es/
idonus sàrl
Christian Spoerl
Managing Director
+41 32 724 44 40
christian.spoerl@idonus.com
https://www.idonus.com/