Korean laser company AP Systems establishes new AVP equipment division

Recently, AP Systems, a well-known laser manufacturer in South Korea, established a new AVP equipment division for the advanced packaging field. This business unit will focus on laser equipment required for advanced packaging processes of high bandwidth memory (HBM).

AP Systems is a subsidiary of APS Group, mainly focused on the fields of display and semiconductor laser processing equipment. It focuses on developing equipment that is compatible with process technology transformation and meets new challenges in the increasingly important advanced packaging field in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

In fact, the decision to establish the AVP Equipment Division was made as early as the third quarter of 2024, but the company only strengthened its workforce and established an organizational structure this year. The division will be led by Hyun joon Song.

Utilizing laser technology to enter the advanced packaging market
It is understood that the AVP business unit is mainly dedicated to the commercialization of two new semiconductor devices, laser bonding and laser cutting. At present, AP Systems has completed the development of laser debonding machines and laser cutting machines, but commercialization remains a challenge.

Therefore, AP Systems has established a new business unit aimed at responding to the growing demand in the advanced packaging market and focusing on the commercialization process of laser debonding machines and laser cutting machines.

Previously, the company's laser technology development was mainly focused on the Display Equipment Division. However, given that laser bonding machines and laser cutting machines are core attributes of semiconductor equipment, the company believes it is necessary to clearly distinguish these two business areas to ensure precise resource allocation and efficient execution of market strategies.

Laser debonding machines and laser cutting machines are mainly used as equipment for semiconductor post-processing (packaging testing).

In recent years, a series of measures taken by AP Systems indicate a profound insight and forward-looking layout into the potential demand for advanced packaging of high bandwidth memory (HBM).

HBM high bandwidth memory is a high-performance semiconductor memory based on 3D stack technology. With the development of AI big model technology, higher requirements have been put forward for data processing speed, storage capacity, and energy efficiency. Compared to traditional DRAM, HBM has four advantages: high bandwidth, high capacity, low power consumption, and small size. It has become a key component in the AI era and is widely integrated into AI acceleration cards (such as GPUs and TPUs). Its value continues to rise, and its position is equally important as GPU/TPU.

HBM is composed of multiple DRAM vertically stacked, and its performance usually improves as the number of stacks increases. However, this also requires each layer of wafer to achieve thinning within a limited height, thereby increasing the risk of chip warping during manufacturing and packaging processes. To prevent this risk, it is necessary to use adhesive to attach the carrier wafer as a support on the main wafer, and remove it using laser equipment in subsequent stages.

At present, the industry mostly adopts mechanical exfoliation method, which uses blades to remove thinner wafers. However, when using blades to remove thinner wafers, it has reached the limit of breaking and damaging chips. With the continuous increase in the number of HBM stacks, the industry believes that laser technology will become a feasible alternative solution.

However, AP Systems has revealed that industry customers have not yet adopted laser technology for mass production, so commercialization will take some time, but market demand is bound to increase in the future.

The decision to establish a new business unit was made by AP Systems in the third quarter of 2024, so we may be able to find the reasons for this layout from its financial report for the third quarter of last year.

As of the third quarter of last year, AP Systems' display devices accounted for approximately 90% of sales (approximately 317.2 billion Korean won), while semiconductors only accounted for 8% (approximately 28.1 billion Korean won).

Among them, 100% of the sales revenue of the semiconductor business comes from the fast heat treatment equipment (RTP) used in NAND flash memory and D-RAM processes. AP Systems believes that in the future, with the growth of sales of semiconductor laser equipment, the company will reduce its dependence on sales of display processing equipment and achieve diversified development of its semiconductor business.

The reason why AP Systems is trying to conquer the field of semiconductor laser equipment is that it has already mastered the core laser application technology in the field of display devices. For example, AP Systems sells laser annealing equipment (ELA) required for low-temperature silicon crystallization processes, which can improve the resolution of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels.

In the field of semiconductor equipment, AP Systems currently focuses on the sales of RTP equipment, which achieves surface planarization and loss reduction by rapidly applying high temperatures of over 400 degrees and rapidly cooling semiconductor wafers. If AP Systems successfully commercializes laser bonding and laser cutting technology, its business scope will not only expand to the field of semiconductor laser equipment, but also enter the advanced packaging market, which is of great significance.

In this regard, the efforts of APS Group, the parent company of AP Systems, go beyond that.

In 2022, APS Group made its first investment in Blue Tile Lab, which focuses on semiconductor backend process visual inspection and laser light source development, and added another investment in 2024. In 2024, APS Group also acquired wafer cutting equipment company SR.
Blue Tile Lab focuses on the research and development of picosecond to femtosecond level lasers, aiming to achieve technological innovation in light source technology in the fields of semiconductors, secondary batteries, and display technology. Increasing investment in Blue Tile Lab can be seen as a strategic synergy for AP Systems' layout in the advanced packaging market. At present, Blue Tile Lab and SR are both companies driven to go public by the APS plan, aiming to integrate their core technologies into their subsidiary AP Systems and accelerate their development.

Source: OFweek