for(geeks)
Computers

• 2 min read

VNIIEF wins 992.85 million ruble chip equipment contract

Russia’s VNIIEF will spend 992.85 million rubles on domestic wafer bonding, debonding, and cleaning equipment by October 2029.

Image: iXBT

Russia’s VNIIEF Federal Nuclear Center, a Rosatom organization known for developing the first Soviet atomic and hydrogen bombs, has received 992.85 million rubles to build domestic equipment for semiconductor manufacturing.

According to CNews, VNIIEF was the only bidder in the competition and won the contract for a development project code-named “Dentist.” The agreement was signed on July 6, 2026, with completion scheduled for October 30, 2029.

The project covers two types of equipment used in advanced semiconductor production:

Recommended reading

Yeston gives RTX 5060 an RTX 5070 makeover

  • A temporary bonding system for silicon wafers up to 200 mm in diameter.
  • A debonding and cleaning system for separating wafers after processing and removing adhesive residue.

Both systems must support wafers measuring 100, 150, and 200 mm in diameter.

Domestic components and semiconductor processing

Temporary wafer bonding is used in microelectronics to support complex chip manufacturing. During one production stage, a silicon wafer is temporarily attached to a carrier wafer, allowing it to be safely thinned, processed, and transported. Once the process is complete, the wafers are separated and the remaining adhesive is removed by the debonding system.

A central requirement is maximum production localization. The technical specification calls for the equipment to use Russian-made components, including:

  • Controllers based on domestic processors
  • Control boards with Russian microcontrollers and FPGAs
  • Vacuum systems
  • Automated wafer loading and unloading mechanisms
  • Software
Tomas Berg

Computing Editor

Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.

via iXBT

/ Keep reading