Viscom AG Acquires MX Product Family for Inspection of Semiconductor Products from Phoseon Technology Inc.

Viscom acquires assets and ongoing business for Semiconductor inspection applications including MEMS and unpatterned Silicon Wafer inspection.

Hannover, Germany and Hillsboro (PRWEB) August 25, 2007 -- Viscom AG, a leading company in inspection technology for the electronics industry, and Phoseon Technology Inc., the pioneer of Semiconductor Light Matrix (SLM) technology for solid state lighting, today announce an agreement for Viscom to acquire the MX family of IR inspection systems from Phoseon Technology. The MX product family is a series of highly capable semiconductor inspection systems that incorporate infrared (IR) semiconductor light sources. These sources provide highly efficient infrared output in a narrow spectral band that is optimized for many semiconductor applications where inspection through silicon is required - such as MEMS seal inspection, through-silicon wafer bond imaging and inspection, as well as SOI and flip chip die bond inspection or even Photovoltaic products. Viscom gets exclusive access to this technology in the field of near IR light sources for inspection applications.

"This is a big step to incorporate Viscom's business in semiconductor inspection by utilizing the unique MX technology," said Volker Pape, board member and co-founder of Viscom AG. "As European market leader for automatic optical and X-ray inspection systems with a global presence and over 20 years experience in inspection for electronics production, Viscom brings exactly the knowledge and experience to integrate this Phoseon developed technology into new inspection systems." This acquisition opens entirely new market, customer, and growth areas within a booming sector to Viscom. Moreover, Viscom maintains the infra-structure of a worldwide service and sales network, as is essential to expand the benefits of Phoseon's unique Si-Thru technology.

"This agreement makes excellent sense for both companies," according to Bill Cortelyou, CEO of Phoseon Technology. "Phoseon can now focus on its core competency in SLM solid state lighting technology, while Viscom can leverage its current strong market position and worldwide infrastructure in electronics inspection systems into the semiconductor industry."

As a result of the agreement Viscom and Phoseon will work together to make the customer transition as efficient as possible. Viscom will take over the activities of Phoseon in this segment and develop and enhance them as part of its longer term strategy for growth into the area of semiconductor inspection. Viscom and Phoseon have also agreed to closely co-operate in the development of the IR light system technology for inspection applications.

About Viscom AG
Viscom AG is a world leader in automated inspection systems primarily for the electronics industry. The Group operates through three main divisions: i) Optical and X-ray Technical Series Systems: Optical inspection system consists of the components such as illumination, camera, computer and software. It also produces Microfocus x-ray tubes. ii) Optical Special Test Systems: Customer Specific Solutions of optical inspection systems for industrial uses such as fair task, assembly inspection and Special Soldering Control are the activities of this division. iii) X-ray Technical Special Test Systems: Special test systems are developed and produced in single pieces or small series which are aligned as per the customer. These are used in laboratory and in complex product verification. Viscom is based in Hannover, Germany and has operations in Europe, America and Asia.

About Phoseon Technology Inc.
Phoseon Technology is the pioneer of Semiconductor Light Matrix (SLM) technology that enables the production of high intensity industrial light sources. The company manufactures high intensity light sources and equipment that use SLM technology to enable faster, cleaner, and more efficient industrial processes that include UV curing of photopolymers in adhesives, inks, and coatings as well as for applications in semiconductor inspection and lithography. Founded in 2002, Phoseon is a venture-funded, privately-held corporation headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon. For more information on the full range of Phoseon's SLM based UV light system products visit www.phoseon.com.

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