Newport Corporation invests in Nexx Systems
As part of the transaction, Newport will become the preferred provider to Nexx of certain components and subsystems, such as wafer handling robots and load ports. Newport and Nexx will also engage in collaborative development, integration, and marketing of their flip chip processing solutions.
"Nexx provides very innovative and cost-effective platforms focused on several of the process steps in flip-chip packaging, including wafer metallization, electroplating, photoresist deposition and stripping, and related technologies," said Robert Deuster, president and CEO of Newport. "Nexx is an excellent complementary fit with Micro Robotics Systems, Inc. (MRSI), which we acquired in February of 2002."
MRSI is a leading provider of high-precision, fully automated die attach, bonding, and underfill systems for flip-chip and wafer-level semiconductor packaging applications. Nexx complements Newport s strong product offering for these applications, which are among the fastest growing areas of semiconductor manufacturing. This growth results from the very strong adoption rates of handheld devices such as wireless PDAs, laptops, and cellular phones, which increasingly incorporate system-on-a-chip package designs.
Nexx chairman and CEO Richard Post added, "We are very pleased to partner with Newport and are confident this relationship will further our goal of becoming the leading process equipment company for flip chip and advanced packaging technology."
