Home Win: Challenging The Traditional Semiconductor Manufacturing Model

Across Europe, many of us have grown accustomed to a model where semiconductor products, subassemblies and components are sourced from the Far East almost by default. The rationale has always been clear: significantly lower labor and manufacturing costs made offshore supply the most commercially viable option. Yet, while this approach has long been convenient, it has never been without compromise, and today those compromises are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

With geopolitical tensions escalating across in many regions throughout the world, most recently and notably within the Middle East, the fragility of global supply chains is being exposed. Critical component sources could be disrupted entirely, while established trade routes risk becoming slower, more costly, or in some cases unusable. Against this backdrop, the idea of domestic capability is no longer aspirational – it is becoming essential.

Governments have already taken steps to address these types of challenges. Recent years have seen the United States commit $52.7 billion through the CHIPS and Science Act to support semiconductor research, manufacturing and workforce development. In parallel, within the EU, the European Chips Act was introduced to tackle semiconductor shortages while reinforcing Europe’s position as a technology leader. Backed by more than €43 billion in combined public and private investment, it aims to strengthen resilience and ensure faster responses to future disruptions.

Whilst the UK sits outside the scope of the European program, Nordson customer Custom Interconnect Ltd. (CIL) has chosen not to wait for external support, instead investing heavily in building domestic capability.

Drawing on nearly four decades of electronics manufacturing experience, CIL has recently developed a 64,000 sq ft facility, known as BP2. This site represents the largest semiconductor packaging operation in the UK, combining high-volume PCBA production with a 15,000 sq ft ISO 7 cleanroom dedicated to semiconductor assembly. It sits alongside the company’s long-established CIL House facility, forming a complementary and highly integrated manufacturing environment.

Fig. 1: CIL’s 64,000 sq ft BP2 facility is the largest semiconductor packaging operation in the UK, combining high-volume PCBA production with an ISO 7 cleanroom dedicated to semiconductor.

Notably, CIL has the only UK-based system for wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCSP) and flip-chip solder bumping for 2.5D heterogeneous integration. The company is also working on other 3D heterogeneous projects with solder joints of around 12 µm.

Within the cleanroom, a dedicated zone – complete with specialist lighting – supports wafer dicing operations, including sawing, mounting and water treatment processes. A key feature of the BP2 site is its ability to operate in two directions, linking PCB assembly and semiconductor packaging in a seamless workflow.

In one process route, Chip on Board (COB) assemblies pass through surface‑mount technology (SMT) production, where components are placed and verified using in‑line 3D optical inspection. Across eight SMT lines, the combined placement capability totals approximately 1,000,000 SMT placements per day. The assemblies then transition to semiconductor assembly, where bare die are attached using either conductive or non‑conductive epoxies, followed by wire bonding.

CIL utilizes a range of wire bonding methods, including gold ball, aluminum wedge and gold wedge techniques for RF applications. It is not uncommon for multiple bonding methods to be used within a single assembly, depending on the die involved. Wire counts can vary dramatically – from a single connection to as many as 1,000 per device – with total output reaching around 1.5 million wire bonds each week. Once complete, assemblies may be fully encapsulated, partially protected, or left exposed, depending on application requirements, before inspection and dispatch.

The process can also operate in reverse. Wafers are first diced into individual die, which are either packaged for delivery or assembled onto leadframes. These then pass through die attach, wire bonding and plastic overmolding stages to form custom QFN packages. The finished devices can subsequently be integrated into PCB assemblies within the same facility. In this model, some customers provide the wafer, while other companies complete the entire packaging and assembly process domestically.

The facility supports wafers up to 300mm in diameter and accommodates a wide range of materials, including silicon, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, glass and ceramics. As a result, CIL’s capabilities now extend well beyond traditional PCB assembly into full semiconductor manufacturing.

Production at BP2 is complemented by the capabilities at CIL House, where rapid prototyping and additional SMT lines handle lower-volume and more complex builds. Together, the two sites enable a continuous pathway from early-stage development through to sustained high-volume production.

Importantly, the company’s role is not limited to manufacturing. It is also deeply involved in development and innovation. As lead partner on the GaNSIC project – part of UKRI’s ‘Driving the Electric Revolution’ initiative – they worked alongside CSA Catapult to develop improved methods for applying silver sinter materials to wide band-gap semiconductors such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride. These materials are increasingly critical in high-power applications, particularly within electric vehicle systems, where efficient thermal management is essential.

Fig. 2: Together, the Quadra 5 X ray and Gen7 SAM acoustic microscope enable CIL to execute its high precision silver sintering die attach process for WBG semiconductor assemblies.

Additional collaborations with organizations such as BMW, through the Advanced Propulsion Centre, and Jaguar Land Rover have focused on advancing next-generation EV technologies. Alongside these funded programs, CIL continues to expand its work on commercially driven wide band-gap semiconductor projects.

They have also contributed to the OranGaN project, supported by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Working with partners including INEX Microtechnology, Viper RF and CSA Catapult, this initiative developed manufacturing and packaging solutions for 5G technologies. In particular, it focused on monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), with the company responsible for delivering QFN packaging processes capable of supporting devices operating at frequencies up to 40GHz.

CIL’s customer base spans sectors such as electric vehicles and medical devices – industries where performance, reliability and traceability are critical. While volumes may not match those seen in consumer electronics, they are far from insignificant. A single double-sided production line at BP2 is already placing around six million components per month, achieving first-pass yields in excess of 99.4%. Notably, five million of these components are 0201 passives, underlining the complexity of the assemblies.

For medical applications in particular, traceability requirements are stringent. The company records detailed data for every assembly, including component origin, inspection results and material batch information, all tracked via a comprehensive barcode-based system.

So what underpins this competitiveness?

A major factor is automation. Where traditional European manufacturing lines once relied on large numbers of operators, CIL has reduced this dramatically – running fully automated lines with just two operators. This shift not only lowers labor costs but also increases output significantly, with production rising from hundreds of manually assembled units per week to several thousand through automation.

Reliability is equally critical. With downtime potentially costing tens of thousands of pounds per day, rapid support from equipment suppliers is essential. High-quality machinery reduces the likelihood of failure, but when issues do arise, response times must be measured in hours rather than weeks. Training also plays a key role, ensuring operators can maximize the performance of increasingly sophisticated systems.

Another important element is supplier strategy. By working with a smaller number of highly capable partners, CIL has simplified its supply chain while gaining better integration across its production processes. This allows for more effective optimization, for example, using inspection data to fine-tune manufacturing parameters such as reflow conditions.

For inspection, CIL employs a Nordson MXI Quadra 5 X‑ray system with CT scan capability, a Nordson AMI Gen7 SAM acoustic microscope, and a Nordson MXI Quadra 7 Pro X‑ray system. The combination of the Quadra 5 X‑ray and the SAM acoustic microscope provides an integrated inspection capability that uniquely enables CIL to reliably execute its high‑precision silver‑sintering die‑attach process for WBG semiconductor assemblies. The SAM’s high‑resolution acoustic imaging perfectly complements the detailed X‑ray imaging performance of the Quadra 5.

Fig. 3: CIL’s Quadra 7 Pro delivers exceptional image clarity and reduced noise levels, elevating the inspection experience to highest levels of accuracy and efficiency.

For fully automated glob top processes – including dam & fill glob top and BGA/flip‑chip underfill – CIL utilizes four Nordson ASYMTEK S2‑920 automatic fluid dispense systems.

What emerges from this is a broader shift in perspective, which challenges the assumption that semiconductor manufacturing must be offshored. As has been evidenced by numerous forward-thinking companies: with the right combination of automation, expertise and investment, it is increasingly possible to deliver high-quality, complex assemblies at scale within the UK itself.