ST. FLORIAN, Austria, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- EV Group (EVG), a leading supplier of wafer-bonding and lithography equipment for the advanced semiconductor and packaging, MEMS, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and emerging nanotechnology markets, today announced it has received a major multi-million-euro order from STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) for its 300-mm bonding, alignment and photoresist processing tools.  EVG's fully automated tools are successfully installed at ST's 300-mm through-silicon-via (TSV) pilot line in Crolles, France and used in the manufacture of CMOS imaging sensors (CIS).

           
        Industry experts have anticipated that the first products that feature TSV technology are expected to hit the market in 2008 and will include flash memory and image sensors, similar to what ST is developing with the help of EVG's 300-mm solutions.  The production of these devices by a high-volume manufacturer (HVM) like ST marks a significant validation milestone for this technology, which is still in its infancy.  TSV adoption, however, continues to rapidly gain traction, given its demonstrated advantages that include higher performance, increased functionality, a smaller footprint and lower power consumption.  Recognizing the potential early on, EVG has been a champion of bringing this technology to market commercialization.  Key to this effort, the company is a founding member of the EMC-3D international consortium, which is chartered with developing the 3D market infrastructure by demonstrating a cost-effective, manufacturable, stackable TSV interconnection technology. 

                
        According to Gareth Bignell, Program Manager, 300mm Equipment Selection, STMicroelectronics, "ST is committed to accelerating the manu