In February 2021 it was announced that Signapore based Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC) - designers / manufacturers of semiconductor, LED and electronic assembly equipment had acquired Uniqarta Inc. With facilities in MA and in North Dakota, Uniqarta had bee commercializing chip assembly technology designed to transform conventional semiconductor wafers into ultra-thin, flexible ICs assembled on flexible substrates - a process that is enabling flexible electronics with form factors previously possible. The Uniqarta system is capable handling of chips that are 10 times thinner or 10 times smaller and place them at a rate that is 1000 times faster. This capability enables electronics manufacturers to build flexible electronics or other next-generation products such as micro-LED displays or solid-state lighting. The firm uses a non-contact laser chip placement method that eliminates mechanical motion and today's constraints on chip thickness, size, and placement rate - effectively giving electronics manufacturers the means to build next-generation products such as flexible electronics, wearables, micro-LED displays and solid-state lighting.
