Semiconductor Industry Advances with PC-Based Control and EtherCAT Innovations

Beckhoff Automation highlighted its PC-based control solutions for the semiconductor industry, addressing automation needs from wafer processing to chip packaging. This central control concept utilizes an open architecture and real-time environment, offering design flexibility. The modular platform and scalable industrial PCs optimize resource use, aiming to streamline production processes in semiconductor fabrication plants.

A significant advancement in semiconductor manufacturing comes from Fonontech, a Dutch start-up based in Eindhoven. Their Impulse Printing™ technology enables fast, non-contact 3D printing of wafers and printed circuit boards using conductive ink in the micrometer range. This process overcomes limitations of conventional lithography-based methods, which struggle to produce reliable bonding structures economically as electronic components shrink. The technology uses silicon printing plates with micron-sized etched structures that absorb ink, applied to substrates via a high, short current pulse that evaporates ink solvent, transferring it to the circuit board. This contactless process can print thousands of lines in less than 1 millisecond and operates effectively at distances over 60 cm, though with reduced accuracy at such ranges.

Fonontech’s print head, covering 128 x 128 mm, supports common inks and can process 300 mm wafers...