Microelectronics—semiconductor front-end Microelectronics—advanced packaging and interconnects Materials Processing The term "front-end" refers to the production of semiconductor devices which occurs prior to packaging. As semiconductor device geometries decrease in size, devices become increasingly susceptible to smaller defects during each phase of the manufacturing process and these defects can negatively impact yield. One of the semiconductor industry's responses to the increasing vulnerability of semiconductor devices to smaller defects has been to use defect detection and inspection techniques that are closely linked to the manufacturing process. Detecting the presence of defects is only the first step in preventing their recurrence. After detection, defects must be examined in order to identify their size, shape and the process step in which the defect occurred. This examination is called defect classification. Identification of the sources of defects in the lengthy and complex semiconductor manufacturing process has become essential for maintaining high yield production. Semiconductor manufacturing has become an around-the-clock operation and it is important for products used for inspection, measurement and testing to be reliable and to have long lifetimes. Our Azure, Paladin, Excimer, Ion and OPSL lasers are used to detect and characterize defects in semiconductor chips. After a wafer is patterned, there are then a host of other processes, referred to as back-end processing, which finally result in a packaged encapsulated silicon chip. Ultimately, these chips are then assembled into finished products. The advent of high-speed logic and high-memory content devices has caused chip manufacturers to look for alternative technologies to improve performance and lower process costs. This search includes new types of materials, such as low-k and thinner silicon. Our AVIA, Rapid, Monaco and Matrix lasers provide economical methods of cutting and scribing these wafers while delivering higher yields than traditional mechanical methods. There are similar trends in chip packaging and PCB manufacturing requiring more compact packaging and denser interconnects. In many cases, lasers present enabling technologies. For instance, lasers are now the only economically practical method for drilling blind microvias in chip substrates and in both rigid and flexible PCBs. These microvias are tiny interconnects that are essential for enabling high-density circuitry commonly used in smart phones, tablets and advanced computing systems. Our DIAMOND CO$_{2}$ and AVIA diode pumped solid state ("DPSS") lasers are the leading lasers in this application. The ability of these lasers to operate at very high repetition rates translates into faster drilling speeds and increased throughput in microvia processing applications. In addition, multi-layer circuit boards require more flexible production methods than conventional printing technologies can offer, which has led to widespread adoption of laser direct imaging ("LDI"). Our Paladin laser is used for this application. We also offer market-leading solutions for laser marking of wafers and ICs, such as our PowerLine laser sub-systems. We primarily support four markets in the materials processing industry: (1) automotive, (2) machine tool, (3) medical device and (4) consumer goods, as well a number of smaller markets. It is the most diverse of all the segments we serve and a large cross section of our products are used in this segment. Our sales in this segment include components, laser sources, laser diagnostic equipment and complete laser systems. At a high level, the drivers for laser deployment within the materials processing segment are faster processing with higher yields, processing of new and novel materials, more environmentally friendly processes and higher precision. With the broadest product portfolio in the laser industry, we offer solutions for almost any application on any material to our customers. The most common applications include cutting, welding, joining, drilling, perforating, scribing, engraving and marking. Lasers are used in a number of applications in the automotive industry, from fine processing of high precision parts to marking, as well as cutting of metals and welding large components such as gear boxes and car bodies, for customers including OEMs and their suppliers. We serve this industry with a number of our products including ultrafast, DPSS, CO$_{2}$, diode and fiber lasers as well as systems in the areas of marking, scribing, cutting and welding. We serve the machine tool market with components, laser sources and systems in applications including cutting, welding, marking and additive manufacturing. We offer fiber lasers with different performance points in terms of power levels and beam profiles to address specific applications, including single mode lasers and advanced beam shaping options, e.g. the ARM advanced high power fiber laser where the beam parameters can be optimized to deliver higher quality welds which translate into higher customer yields. As a fully vertically integrated fiber and laser diode supplier, we are able to produce all key components in-house. Other products include our full line up of CO2 lasers, DPSS and ultrafast lasers. Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is another growing market where lasers have seen rapid growth. We serve this market with our Laser Creator product that is a selective laser melting (SLM) system for 3D printing of metal parts as well as a portfolio of systems. 8