March 1, 2012 – PRNewswire — Wafer processing equipment supplier EV Group (EVG) shipped an EVG301 semi-automated single-wafer cleaning system to Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Kogyo Daigaku, Tokyo Tech), for research on advanced optical communication ICs in Tokyo Tech’s Arai-Nishiyama Lab.
The EVG 301 will remove particles from the surfaces of pre-bonded III-V compound semiconductor and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers as they are fabricated into optical ICs. The EVG301 performs wafer cleaning for various wafer bonding processes. Its one cleaning station uses standard deionized (DI)-water rinse as well as megasonic, brush and diluted chemicals as additional cleaning options. It offers manual loading and pre-alignment.
Tokyo Tech’s Arai-Nishiyama lab is developing compound semiconductor-based optical transceiver components on silicon. This meets the integration requirements for optical routers and wave division multiplexing (WDM) transceivers in the increasingly interconnected world.
Also read: Integrating III-V on silicon for future transistor applications by Intel
To create optical circuits on silicon substrates, the wafer bond quality must be high, or the luminescence will deteriorate, said Dr. Nobuhiko Nishiyama, associate professor at Arai-Nishiyama Lab. The team will remove small particles that can create voids on the wafer bonding interface via the EVG301 megasonic wafer cleaning system.
Tokyo Institute of Technology is the largest national university of science and technology in Japan with a 130-year history.
EV Group (EVG) makes wafer-processing products for semiconductor, MEMS and nanotechnology applications. Its products include wafer bonders, lithography/nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and metrology equipment, as well as photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems. More information is available at www.EVGroup.com.