Onto Innovation Launches U.S. Applications Center of Excellence Focused on Panel-Level Packaging

07/10/2023

Customers to receive early access to cutting-edge capabilities allowing for reduced development time and process optimized yield

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE: ONTO) today announced the launch of an Applications Center of Excellence, a combined tool demonstrator, photo resist qualification, process integration and research and development (R&D) facility focused on panel-level packaging (PLP), a key facilitator of the emerging chiplet market. The chiplet package market is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 103% over the next three years, according to TechSearch International.

A first-of-its-kind facility dedicated to panel-level packaging, the Applications Center of Excellence is located within Onto Innovation’s Wilmington headquarters and will offer the company’s PLP customers hands-on experience with Onto’s hardware and software solutions, including the Firefly® sub-micron panel defect inspection system, large exposure field JetStep® X500 lithography system and Discover® family of software. Customers will also have access to systems and processes offered by partnering OEMs and materials providers. With access to these combined resources, customers, collaborators and Onto team members will partner to explore and refine advanced PLP processes.

“Our customers want to accelerate their technology roadmaps, and we will assist them by leveraging our experience and access to next-generation processes and equipment, from both Onto and our partners. This collaborative approach to process development will help our customers accelerate roadmaps and we expect this will result in shortened time to yield when in production,” says Michael Plisinski, chief executive officer of Onto Innovation.

With several significant industry inflection points on the horizon, such as glass substrate and increasingly tighter line/space requirements, the Applications Center of Excellence is ideally suited for advanced packaging process development for PLP, advanced IC substrates (AICS) and wafer-level packaging.

“The R&D phase is more important now than ever, especially when it concerns PLP. By facilitating connections between Onto, our customers and our collaborators, we will use this critical time to craft turnkey solutions for build-up films, redistribution layers, photoresists, copper clad laminate substrates and glass substrates,” says Plisinski. “With the application of Onto’s smart factory-enabling Yield Optimizer software, we can intelligently bridge the gaps between fabrication and advanced packaging processes, accelerating time to market for key process steps that bring heterogeneously integrated chips, and chiplets to life.”

The Applications Center of Excellence further strengthens Onto’s ability to capitalize on the rapid growth and technical complexities of the chiplet market driven by high-performance computing, GPU/CPU for AI and AR/VR, autonomous driving, and edge computing.

Interested customers and potential partner organizations should visit Onto Innovation during SEMICON® West at booth 629 or reach out to their local sales and support team to learn how to initiate collaboration at the Onto Applications Center of Excellence.

About Onto Innovation Inc.

Onto Innovation is a leader in process control, combining global scale with an expanded portfolio of leading-edge technologies that include: Un-patterned wafer quality; 3D metrology spanning chip features from nanometer scale transistors to large die interconnects; macro defect inspection of wafers and packages; metal interconnect composition; factory analytics; and lithography for advanced semiconductor packaging. Our breadth of offerings across the entire semiconductor value chain combined with our connected thinking approach results in a unique perspective to help solve our customers’ most difficult yield, device performance, quality, and reliability issues. Onto Innovation strives to optimize customers’ critical path of progress by making them smarter, faster and more efficient. With headquarters and manufacturing in the U.S., Onto Innovation supports customers with a worldwide sales and service organization. Additional information can be found at www.ontoinnovation.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) which include statements relating to Onto Innovation’s business momentum and future growth; the benefit to customers and the capabilities of Onto Innovation’s products and customer service; Onto Innovation’s ability to both deliver products and services consistent with our customers’ demands and expectations and strengthen its market position, Onto Innovation’s beliefs about market opportunities as well as other matters that are not purely historical data. Onto Innovation wishes to take advantage of the “safe harbor” provided for by the Act and cautions that actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of various factors, including risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Onto Innovation’s control. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the Company’s ability to leverage its resources to improve its position in its core markets; its ability to weather difficult economic environments; its ability to open new market opportunities and target high-margin markets; the strength/weakness of the back-end and/or front-end semiconductor market segments; fluctuations in customer capital spending; the Company’s ability to effectively manage its supply chain and adequately source components from suppliers to meet customer demand; the effects of political, economic, legal, and regulatory changes or conflicts on the Company's global operations; its ability to adequately protect its intellectual property rights and maintain data security; the effects of natural disasters or public health emergencies, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, on the global economy and on the Company’s customers, suppliers, employees, and business; its ability to effectively maneuver global trade issues and changes in trade and export license policies; the Company’s ability to maintain relationships with its customers and manage appropriate levels of inventory to meet customer demands; and the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and technologies. Additional information and considerations regarding the risks faced by Onto Innovation are available in Onto Innovation’s Form 10-K report for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As the forward-looking statements are based on Onto Innovation’s current expectations, the Company cannot guarantee any related future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Onto Innovation does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Source: Onto Innovation Inc.
ONTO-IC

Investor Relations:
Michael Sheaffer, +1 978.253.6273
mike.sheaffer@ontoInnovation.com

Source: Onto Innovation Inc.