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(November 11, 2010) — SUSS MicroTec, equipment and process supplier for the semiconductor industry and related markets, and Fraunhofer for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST launched SELECT, a technology for bond aligners and mask aligners that selectively activates parts of wafer surfaces through plasma.

Local surface treatment prior to wafer bonding replaces standard process steps and reduces the overall cost per wafer. Selective plasma activation can be applied to a variety of MEMS, optical and solar applications using direct wafer bonding or surface modification for the creation of micro mirror arrays, micro valves, sensors or micro fluidic channels. The SELECT toolkit is an upgrade option of SUSS MicroTec’s MA/BA8 Gen3.

The patent pending technology of Fraunhofer IST is based on atmospheric pressure plasma selectively modifying the molecular level surface. Conventional surface treatment of complete wafers without selection can damage the functionality of micro components or electronics. With selective treatment it is possible to protect those sensitive areas by activating only specific parts of the wafer. Selective plasma activation is used with planar wafers as well as with topography wafers where plasma activation is provided either in the cavities or on the elevated structures.

"While selective plasma treatment in wafer bonding applications significantly reduces the post-bond anneal temperature from 1000°C down to 200°C, it also protects sensitive devices. The technology therefore increases the process window for direct bonding," said Prof. Dr. Günter Bräuer, the director of the Fraunhofer IST. "With SUSS MicroTec’s SELECT toolkit applied in both direct bonding as well as other wafer processing applications, a ground-breaking new approach seems possible for device processing in the semiconductor industry."

"Treatment of selected parts of wafers reduces the costs of producing a device through streamlining processes and increasing throughput at the same time," explained Frank Averdung, President and CEO of SUSS MicroTec AG.

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