Teledyne FLIR Korea (Branch Manager Lee Hae-dong) announced on the 16th that its FLIR A315 thermal camera has been adopted in advanced LAB (laser-assisted bonding) equipment manufactured by Protec, a semiconductor packaging equipment manufacturer. The FLIR A315 is utilized as a precision temperature measurement solution for the laser used as a heat source in Protec's LAB equipment.

LAB equipment is characterized by using lasers as heat sources required for bonding operations on dies that have completed circuit formation. It is evaluated as next-generation technology that significantly improves manufacturing productivity and reliability compared to conventional reflow soldering technology, while also addressing the drawbacks of the reflow method.

Unlike the conventional reflow method, which requires heating the entire oven chamber to 300°C using hot air, LAB irradiates lasers only on the necessary area, enabling target temperature to be reached in seconds or even milliseconds, and reducing thermal stress.

Additionally, since multiple products can be processed simultaneously on a panel basis, the hourly production volume (UPH) can be significantly increased.

On the other hand, to implement LAB equipment, thermal and temperature measurement instrumentation technology that can accurately measure laser temperature and verify overall thermal distribution must be supported.

Im Seok-ji, Section Chief of Protec Systems Business Division III CS Team, stated, "We tested various temperature measurement technologies including contact-type temperature kits using temperature sensors and single-focus infrared thermometers, and ultimately selected the FLIR A315 thermal camera," and added, "This thermal camera provides accurate and consistent temperature measurement performance, full-frame support at 60Hz, and reasonable cost competitiveness—meeting all the requirements for a temperature measurement solution for our LAB mass production models."

He continued, "As semiconductor packaging technology evolves from traditional methods like lead frames to CSP (chip scale package) or flip chip methods that reduce packaging size to chip dimensions or enable higher processing speeds, demand for LAB equipment is expected to increase further, and thermal cameras like the FLIR A315 are essential to ensure the reliability and productivity of LAB equipment."

The FLIR A315 is a compact and economical thermal camera fully controllable via PC, and because it supports industry-standard technology, it enables plug-and-play connectivity with third-party machine vision software such as NI (National Instruments), Cognex, Matrox, MVtec, and Stemmer Imaging.

Equipped with a 320x240 (76,800) pixel microbolometer, it can measure temperatures from 0 to 500°C (up to 2,000°C with optional features), and can detect small temperature differences (approximately 50mK) even from long distances. The FLIR A315 streams full-frame 16-bit images at 60Hz along with signal, temperature linearity, and radiometric data.

Lee Hae-dong, Branch Manager of Teledyne FLIR Korea, stated, "We are pleased that the adoption of the FLIR A315 in Protec's LAB equipment allows FLIR's thermal camera technology to contribute to advancements in semiconductor packaging technology," and said, "Going forward, FLIR will continue to support more customers in driving continuous innovation through FLIR thermal imaging technology."