Microdrilling Systems and Services

The project is to research the market potential for laser micromachining of certain critical
parts required by the semiconductor industry. The market will be served by the supply of laser
micromachining systems and subcontract micromachining services in the Asia Pacific region.
The semiconductor industry is dependent on certain micromachined parts to manufacture
microprocessors and memory. At present most of these parts are machined mechanically.
However, the industry trend towards greater complexity and smaller feature sizes has pushed
certain semiconductor designs beyond current mechanical machining methods. Laser
micromachining is therefore starting to be used for leading edge chips. The demand for laser
micromachining is expected to grow rapidly as today’s leading edge chips become
tomorrow’s volume product.
Oxford Lasers has been successful in securing business with a number of companies in
Europe and the USA. This project will enable Oxford Lasers to establish the industry
requirements for laser micromachining in the Asia Pacific region and enable it to be ready to
satisfy this rapidly growing market. It will also enable Oxford Lasers to understand the
particular requirements of this market which appears to be different to other regions. As the
Asia Pacific region dominates the market for semiconductors it is an extremely important
potential market.