Zygo Buys Solvision

Zygo Corp. said it has entered the semiconductor back-end inspection market by acquiring Canada-based Solvision Inc., a manufacturer of visual inspection equipment for the microelectronics industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Based in Boucherville, Quebec, Solvision was founded by former IBM foundry managers and scientists with experience in microelectronics manufacturing. Included in the sale to Zygo is shares of its Singapore subsidiary.

Zygo, which has its headquarters in Middlefield, is a supplier of optical metrology instruments, precision optics, and electro-optical design and manufacturing services to semiconductor capital equipment and industrial markets.

With the acquisition, Zygo said it enters the market for in-line inspection of flip-chip substrates and packaged integrated circuits (ICs). Included in the sale is the patented fast Moiré interferometer (FMI) technology for rapid 3-D inspection.

Continued development of the FMI head and flip-chip substrate equipment will occur in Montreal, Zygo said. The ICs packaging inspection product line will continue to be developed and manufactured in Singapore.

"Zygo embarked on a strategy to continue its growth by moving to in-line process control applications. This is a continuation of that strategy which expands our semiconductor presence beyond the wafer," said Jim Northup, president of Zygo's Metrology Solutions Div. "Zygo's strength in high-precision metrology, coupled with the high-speed vision capabilities we have just acquired, positions us very well to serve the full semiconductor market. We are pleased to enter the packaging market with advanced patented technology and the key talent provided by this acquisition."

Zygo said it expects the deal to be accretive in fiscal 2009.

For more information, visit: www.zygo.com