The origins of Surftape®
1987 - TWENTY YEARS OF SURFTAPE - 2007
Tempo Electronics commenced the manufacture of Surftape in 1987, in response to orders placed by Delco Electronics, Kokomo. Material produced was made to Delco’s specifications and comprised the first volume manufacture of carrier tapes designed for packing and handling of singulated IC wafer die. In 1988, Tempo received orders from several Divisions of the Robert Bosch Corp. for the same form of bare die carrier tape. High volume production for Bosch of this material continues to present day.
The president of Tempo, Charles Gutentag, then came up with the idea of a split rail of tape to ease removal of die from the tape. Prior to this, die were removed from the solid band of tape using a cluster of needles. However, these needles were fragile and when one broke, blobs of adhesive from the tape were transferred to the back of the die. The split rail Surftape allowed a blunt pin or lift platform to used which provided easy release of the die without damage or transfer of adhesive.
The solid band Surftape, known as Type I and II, has been manufactured continuously over the last 20 years, but this has been largely superseded by the worldwide take-up of the split-rail Surftape.
During the last 20 years, Charles Gutentag has been actively involved in the development of standard for tape & reel, serving on USA National standards committees as well as international though the IEC. This backs up his tireless quest for efficient and high speed methods for handling Bare Die and other small electronic and mechanical components which will see the release of new Surftape products in 2007.
The president of Tempo, Charles Gutentag, then came up with the idea of a split rail of tape to ease removal of die from the tape. Prior to this, die were removed from the solid band of tape using a cluster of needles. However, these needles were fragile and when one broke, blobs of adhesive from the tape were transferred to the back of the die. The split rail Surftape allowed a blunt pin or lift platform to used which provided easy release of the die without damage or transfer of adhesive.
The solid band Surftape, known as Type I and II, has been manufactured continuously over the last 20 years, but this has been largely superseded by the worldwide take-
During the last 20 years, Charles Gutentag has been actively involved in the development of standard for tape & reel, serving on USA National standards committees as well as international though the IEC. This backs up his tireless quest for efficient and high speed methods for handling Bare Die and other small electronic and mechanical components which will see the release of new Surftape products in 2007.