Kulicke & Soffa Launches AccuPlusTM Hub Blades

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) (“K&S” or the “Company”) today announced the formal launch of its new AccuPlus Hub Blades Product Line. The New AccuPlus Blades offer a customizable solution for discrete wafer dicing with improved efficiency and a lower cost of ownership.

As a general trend in the discrete wafer market, wafers have continued to get thinner, while the overall die size remains small. Dicing technologies face the additional challenge of die movement and/or blade loading, which can eventually cause costly die chipping and cracks which adversely impact customers’ efficiency and productivity when handling and processing wafers.

Nelson Wong, Vice President and Business Unit Executive, said, “This is an exciting new launch for us that builds on Kulicke & Soffa’s rich history of delivering R&D advances that help customers improve the semiconductor manufacturing and handling process, while also lowering overall costs whenever possible. Profitability is a focus for all of our customers and helping them avoid costly die chipping and cracks allows them to improve their operational efficiency, reduce expenses and improve the overall end product quality. By optimizing key blade elements such as diamond grit size, diamond concentration, and nickel bond hardness, in conjunction with the newly introduced features, K&S AccuPlus blades deliver superior cut quality, blade life and cost of ownership improvement to the discrete wafer dicing market segment.”

Highlighted Features:

• Customizable solution for thin, small die & backside coated discrete wafers for quality, precision and cost of ownership improvement by delivering superior product quality and value added features
• Shortened pre-cut process for lower cost of ownership
• Two series of special nickel bond hardness
• Multi-levels of diamond concentration
• Special hub material and design enables high spindle frequency with less vibration

There are two series of special nickel bond hardness under the AccuPlus Blades Line. The Discrete Series’ bond hardness is designed for enabling high cutting speed to increase production throughout and blade life, while the Ultra Series’ bond hardness is optimized for high loading applications such as metalized saw street and backside coated wafers.

Diamond concentration is a critical factor for blade cutting power. Lower concentrations provide greater resistance to blade loading, and higher concentrations enable higher feed rates and longer blade life. K&S AccuPlus hub blades are available in multiple different diamond concentrations to achieve the desired equilibrium among loading, blade life and throughput.

Metalized saw street and thin wafer dicing requires higher spindle RPM to maintain blade cutting speed and obtaining desired cutting quality. However, higher spindle RPM may induce unnecessary blade vibration and harmonic noise. K&S AccuPlus hub blades are equipped with stronger materials and a special hub design to minimize blade vibration and noise caused by high spindle speed.

The AccuPlus Hub Blades will debut at the Semicon China show at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from March 20-22, 2012.

About Kulicke & Soffa

Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. As a pioneer in this industry, K&S has provided customers with market leading packaging solutions for decades. In recent years, K&S has expanded its product offerings through strategic acquisitions, adding die and wedge bonders and a broader range of expendable tools to its core ball bonding products. Combined with its extensive expertise in process technology, K&S is well positioned to help customers meet the challenges of assembling the next-generation semiconductor and LED devices. ( www.kns.com)

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