Kulicke & Soffa takes it step by step in back-end litho

How will things in the upcoming market for back-end lithography work out? Will we see consolidation? What are the chances for Kulicke & Soffa, the back-end equipment specialist that bought the Dutch litho startup Liteq, shortly after it acquired Philips spinout Assembléon in late 2014?

To discuss all this, Bits&Chips sat down with Tong Liang Cheam, vice president of corporate strategy at K&S. Cheam was also instrumental in the acquisition of Assembléon at the end of 2014. Seven years later, the takeover of the pick-and-place company resulted in the formidable market success of the Pixalux and Luminex equipment for the placement of mini and micro LEDs in the display market. Both machines are developed by the R&D team in Eindhoven.