New machine creates paper-thin chips

Addressing the growing demand for IC cards such as smart cards, Tokyo Seimitsu Co. has developed a wafer-grinding machine capable of producing paper-thin semiconductors 30 microns thick.

The company demonstrated the chemical mechanical grinder recently at Semicon West 99, and said it plans to start marketing the equipment in October.

A semiconductor as thin as 30 microns acquires a bending flexibility, according to Tokyo Seimitsu. The company expects such a semiconductor to meet a large demand for IC card and IC tag applications, but also for new applications in which semiconductors are pasted on plastics or papers, for example.

Toshiba last month announced 130-micron-thick paper-thin package technology, which involved a grinding technology to make semiconductors 50 microns thick. While Toshiba intends to initially employ the technology internally, Tokyo Seimitsu plans to sell its grinding machine to semiconductor manufacturers. The company said it expects to sell 10 to 20 units of the CMG 200 in its first year.

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