ioTech and the EIC Accelerator: Laser Printing for Chip Packaging

Reophotonics, part of the ioTech group based in Modiin, Israel, makes machines that use Continuous Laser-Assisted Deposition (CLAD): a laser pulse transfers a precise dot of material from a coated foil onto a substrate, without nozzles that can clog, so pastes, conductive inks, metals and ceramics can be printed at high resolution. Its EIC Accelerator project, io600, "A cutting-edge digital dispensing system for next-gen electronics manufacturing", receives an EU contribution of €2,457,875 and runs from October 2024 to March 2027, according to CORDIS. It aims to turn the technology into an inline system for high-volume semiconductor packaging.

In the first year, the report describes the full machine design: a conveyor and vacuum chuck for 600 by 600 millimetre substrates, tip-and-tilt mechanisms and sensors to keep a larger foil parallel to the board, faster linear motors and a stiffer frame whose resonance rose from 45 to 75 hertz, a coating system with sub-micrometre gap sensing, and automated fiducial detection, according to CORDIS. ioTech unveiled the io600 at productronica 2025, claiming up to 7.2 million dots an hour, 50-micrometre resolution and ±10-micrometre accuracy, according to SMT Today.

Where ioTech Stands Now

ioTech promotes the io600 at trade shows as moving laser deposition "from lab to fab". It has not announced io600 sales, named customers or a funding round since the EIC award, and no EIC Fund investment has been announced. As a private Israeli group, its accounts are not public.

The Technology: Printing Without Nozzles

Chip packaging today relies on etching and plating, which are polluting, or on printing and dispensing methods that are hitting their resolution limits, the EIC report says. CLAD grew out of laser-induced forward transfer: a laser releases material from a thin coated foil onto the target, dot by dot, with no contact. ioTech claims large advantages over dispensing and screen printing in speed, space and cost; these are company figures.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The project runs to March 2027, so it is too early to judge it. The engineering of an inline, production-grade machine is documented and the product has been shown publicly. Validation at a semiconductor packaging customer, the step that would prove the throughput and resolution claims in production, is not yet reported.

1. Inline machine designDeliveredProject report.
2. Product launchUnveiledproductronica 2025.
3. Customer validationNot reportedNo named site.
4. SalesNot announcedNo orders public.

The Money

The award was blended finance; no EIC equity or other funding round has been announced. ioTech's financial position is not public.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The EIC report links the io600 to the EU Chips Act: a clean, compact deposition process could make it easier to reshore chip packaging to Europe and the US, the report says. That benefit depends on European packaging lines adopting the machine.

The Verdict

ioTech and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.