Unisem Wales, a part of Unisem Berhad (Unisem), has introduced a new service model at its assembly and test factory in Wales. This new focus on quick-turn IC assembly prototyping and production volume final test will enable Unisem Wales to more effectively meet the needs of the European semiconductor industry with a focus on fabless companies and those with products in the development phase.

Unisem Wales’s quick-turn package assembly services include prototyping of various BGA and QFN style packages with turn times as quick as one day. These packages include advanced configurations such as multi-chip packages, or MCMs, and soon will be expanded to include flip-chip prototyping. Additionally, Unisem Wales is quickly becoming a MEMs center with several major Unisem customers’ MEMs products in the development stage.

Full production test services continue to be a large part Unisem Wales’s business with the latest test equipment for digital, mixed signal, RF and system-on-chip devices. The most recent addition to the Unisem Wales test floor is a new Teradyne Flex system. “These cost-efficient multisite production testers are perfect for our customers with power management, RF, microwave, automotive, audio and video devices” said Andy Perry, general manager of Unisem Wales. This recent addition of a second Teradyne Flex system is part of Unisem’s continued investment in Wales which also added new wire bonders and an additional wafer saw in 2008.

“Companies are watching costs now more than ever and Unisem Wales provides the perfect solution for our customers in Europe and Israel with reduced turn times and logistics costs when compared to factories in Asia” said Andy Hawkins, Unisem’s vice president of business development for Europe. “With its new focus, our Wales factory has become a great solution for the region’s device manufacturers for assembly and test development as well as full production testing of their products” continued Hawkins.