About
Microelectronics Assembly Technologies (MAT) was established in early 2006 for the purpose of developing a new modular packaging for semiconductors. MAT’s technology allows a host of barriers (thermal, power, size, and reliability) to be overcome while increasing performance. In MAT’s new technology, all components are directly attached to a flexible film instead of a rigid printed circuit board, and are enclosed by integral heat spreading surfaces. The Integrated Circuits (ICs) are protected inside MAT’s packaging, which is uniquely suitable for bare memory devices. ICs can go from Wafers to Modules, bypassing intermediate packaging steps and associated costs.
Industry standard memory module technology began in 1984 through the efforts of one of MAT’s founders, Jim Clayton, who invented the original SIMM. Since then, the industry has made incremental changes to suit the needs of a growing array of applications. With the introduction of high-performance server computers demanding physical size reduction and higher computing density, there is now an established need for more advanced modular technologies to keep up with future performance trends. Such form factors aim at simultaneously reducing module volume while enabling improved thermal dissipation.
Zak Fathi, PhD
Member, Technical Advisory board
Zak Fathi has 23 years of business and technology development experience in Advanced Materials for Semiconductor, Industrial, and Biomedical Applications. Zak has over 120 patents and patent applications. One patent with Hewlett-Packard enabled the largest Ink Jet Cartridge product launch, resulting in $20 billion yearly revenue for HP. Zak Fathi started his professional career as a Field Application Engineer (FAE) and subsequently assumed various roles in R&D, Product Design, Technical Marketing, Intellectual Property Management, and Business Development. Zak managed a National Electronic Manufacturers Initiative for FCs (Flip Chip) Assembly for 2 years. He was V.P. of Business Development and CTO at Lambda Technologies Inc., a capital equipment manufacturer for the semiconductor industry. Zak developed high-energy storage materials while VP of business development and CTO at CleanVolt Energy. He developed X-ray curable adhesives at Immunolight, LLC. Zak received various honors, including the R&D 100 Award and the Semiconductor Vision Award for products developed while at Lambda, and academic presidential recognition while at the University of Florida, where he received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. He published over 40 technical papers and was an invited speaker, panelist, and chair at technical meetings including NEPCON, NSF, MRS, IMPI, and ACERAS.
Jim Clayton
Sr. Vice President & Chief Technology Officer
Jim Clayton has 50+ years of technology development experience in the semiconductor market. Jim is widely recognized as the inventor of the SIMM and DIMM pluggable memory modules and their mating sockets, which he developed while employed at Wang Laboratories in the mid-80’s. His SIMM and DIMM intellectual property started a $30 billion a year industry. Jim has 31 patents and patent applications and has served in senior management roles in start-up semiconductor companies. Most recently, he is the President and CEO of Polymer Assembly Technologies, Inc., a company he founded in 2003. Jim developed novel RFID assembly technologies, edge card connectors for PCMCIA, Wafer Level Packaging, Flip Chip assembly methods for optical, radiation, bio-medical sensors, and optical/polymer-MEMS. Jim devised techniques for high-density interconnects using low applied forces onto low-temp curing, silver-filled (non-leaded) conductive epoxies that are applied using a proprietary stencil printing technique. This technology offers a low-cost alternative to indium (Hybridization) bump bonding.
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