Kulicke and Soffa

Kulicke and Soffa (K&S) is a Singapore-headquartered semiconductor packaging equipment company founded in 1951 that manufactures wire bonding, die bonding, and advanced packaging equipment used in the final assembly stages of semiconductor manufacturing. Wire bonding remains the dominant die-to-substrate interconnection method globally, and K&S is the largest supplier of both ball bonders (which create wedge-to-ball bonds using gold, copper, or silver wire) and wedge bonders (for power semiconductor and RF device packaging). For semiconductor packaging research at universities and government labs, K&S wire bonders are the standard training and research tools, enabling study of bondability, intermetallic formation, reliability under thermal cycling, and the effects of new wire alloys and surface metallizations. K&S advanced packaging equipment, including their APAMA thermosonic flip chip bonders and photonic assembly systems, addresses the growing demand for chip-to-chip and chip-to-wafer bonding in heterogeneous integration research. Their photonic wire bonding capabilities connect semiconductor lasers and photonic integrated circuits with polymer waveguides, an enabling technology for researchers developing silicon photonic devices and quantum photonic circuits. K&S die attach systems deposit conductive and non-conductive adhesives for power device and optical sensor packaging research. Their investment in laser-based bonding and the development of direct copper bonding tools positions them for the transition to advanced packaging paradigms being studied in academic and government research programs worldwide.