EV Group wins Austria's top innovation prize for chip-stacking laser tech
What's the deal? Austrian semiconductor-equipment maker EV GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (EVG) has won the 2026 National Innovation Award for its IR LayerRelease technology, which uses infrared lasers to transfer ultra-thin silicon layers between wafers. State Secretary Elisabeth Zehetner presented the prize at a ceremony in Vienna on November 4.
What's the product? IR LayerRelease releases and transfers nanometre-thin silicon layers, circuits included, without thermally stressing delicate structures. The infrared laser works at a wavelength that passes through silicon, removing the heat damage and glass carriers that earlier methods required.
Why it matters: The technology targets 3D integration and chip stacking — the methods that pack more computing power onto less area. EVG says this enables more powerful, energy-efficient chips for AI and high-performance computing.
Why now? The AI boom has sharply raised the stakes in advanced packaging, where stacked chips power high-bandwidth memory for data centres. EVG competes in wafer bonding against larger rivals including Tokyo ElectronDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Applied Materials, Besi, and SUSS MicroTecDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
By the numbers: EVG, based in St. Florian am Inn, employs roughly 1,800 people worldwide, nearly 1,400 of them in Austria. It is the first company to win the award three times, after earlier wins in 2004 and 2017.
In their words: "We are very proud to have won the state prize for the third time," said Bernd Thallner, EVG's optical and systems engineering director and project lead (translated from German). "The award is a wonderful recognition of the work we do every day in technology and product development."
The ecosystem: The award is organised by Austria Wirtschaftsservice on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy and Tourism, and was presented for the 46th time. Five other companies were nominated, including Carinthia's AnexiaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Styria's AT&S. Economic Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer said the government's industrial strategy targets key technologies such as semiconductors.
The signal: A national prize is strong endorsement, not proof of commercial adoption. But it marks Austria's role in a fiercely competitive semiconductor-equipment field — and reflects how 3D integration has become central to the AI compute race.
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