- Creation of Integrated Polishing and Room-temperature Bonding System Aims at Advancement and Expansion of Foundry Business - TOKYO, Sept 8, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Co., Ltd., a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has concluded an agreement with D-process Inc. (Yamato, Kanagawa) to collaborate in bonding services performed using MHI's independently developed room-temperature wafer bonding machines. The collaborative arrangement is aimed at putting in place an integrated service structure for polishing - including D-process's chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) - and room-temperature bonding as a way of advancing and expanding the company's semiconductor foundry operations. The collaborative agreement calls for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool to perform bonding, using its own room-temperature bonding machines, of wafers that have undergone CMP and/or other surface smoothing processes at D-process on consignment from customers. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool has offered room-temperature bonding services since 2014, including orders received from D-process. Going forward, further expansion can now be anticipated in the bonding foundry business. Room-temperature bonding is a bonding method that activates wafer surfaces by irradiating an ion or atom beam in a vacuum. Because, in contrast to conventional bonding, no heat is applied, room-temperature bonding is suited to bonding of materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) as well as the manufacture of MEMS(1), which require very precise finishing, and biodevices, which cannot be heated. Room-temperature bonding can be performed on a wide range of materials, including silicones, oxide dielectrics, glass, compound semiconductors, metals and ceramics. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool, by providing services through D-process, which has outstanding technology in wafer polishing, looks to market the benefits of room-temperature bonding technology to the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company will also strive to raise the level of bonding processes by engaging in close information exchanges with D-process, as a way of expanding sales of its room-temperature bonding machines. Meanwhile D-process, which primarily deals in CMP services and is seeking to expand and improve its bonding services segment, will aggressively develop a customer base for room-temperature bonding. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool is a pioneer in room-temperature wafer bonding machines. By teaming up with D-process, the company will be ideally positioned to accelerate the widespread adoption of room-temperature bonding both at home and abroad. (1) MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) are micro-size devices, such as sensors and actuators, produced by micro-processing technology. These devices are used in automobiles, cellphones, digital cameras, ink-jet printer heads, etc. About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. ("MHI"; TSE:7011), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading heavy machinery manufacturers. MHI's diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems. For more information, please visit the MHI website at www.mhi.co.jp.