Category Archives: Materials and Equipment

October 4, 2011 — Tamar Technology, precision metrology tool supplier, shipped its first fully automated WaferScan system to a major semiconductor fab. The system performs through silicon via (TSV) etch depth, deep trench depth, wafer thickness, photo-resist thickness, and hole diameter metrology.

The system includes Tamar Technology’s proprietary Wafer Thickness Sensor (WTS) to measure TSV depth and deep narrow trenches on single or bonded wafers. WaferScan uses a proprietary Visible Thickness Sensor (VTS) to measure photo resist, thick film, and various polymers’ thickness. It can measure at the surface and bottom of etched features, monitoring thickness variation and material presence. An integrated video microscope enables automated alignment and vision-based measurements, such as hole diameter.

The metrology tool uses optical and non-destructive methods, measuring "any TSV or trench regardless of the diameter or depth," noted David Grant, president of Tamar Technology.

The system can be configured with multiple sensors depending on measurement requirements. Programmed recipes and factory host integration via SECS/GEM allow fully automated operation. Process excursions are monitored in near real time.

For more information, contact Russ Dudley, Tamar

October 3, 2011 — Boston College researchers have discovered two early-stage phases of carbon nanotube (CNT) growth during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). A disorderly tangle of tube growth ultimately turns into orderly rows of the nanoscopic tubes.

Using a thin catalyst layer growing CNTs via PECVD, Zhifeng Ren, a Professor of Physics; and researcher Hengzhi Wang discovered two previously overlooked stages of CNT growth. In the first stage, budding tubes appear randomly entangled. Then, the tubes are partially aligned. In the final stage, tubes are in full alignment.

PECVD grows CNTs by accumulating carbon atoms onto a catalyst particle. The catalyst thickness controls these growth phases, explained Wang. "Each stage," Wang said, "has its own merit [and] purpose."

Ren and Wang say that in the process of achieving the third stage of nanotube growth, the two earlier phases of growth have gone overlooked as each stage is etched away by the next application of plasma. Further masking these early-stage carbon nanotubes is the fact that they are not present when a thick catalyst is used, according to their findings.

The first stage tubes, produced in 0-4 minutes, are described as a tangle of random large- and small-diameter carbon nanotubes. The second stage tubes, created in 4-10 minutes, are generally smaller in diameter, but taller and only partially aligned.

Wang says that while these nanotubes are not in neat, orderly rows, they do have the advantage of offer a larger volumetric density and create a larger surface area, which could be an important development in the use of carbon nanotubes in heat transfer in thermal management. A potential application could involve in applying a thin coating of carbon nanotubes to an integrated circuit in order to draw away heat and efficiently cool the device.

After ten minutes of plasma etching, the early stage nanotubes have been washed away and the third stage tubes begin to emerge in tall, ordered rows upon the substrate. At this stage, the tubes themselves are shielded by makeshift "helmets" of catalyst particles, which effectively protect them during the last part of the growth process. Eventually, these last bits of catalyst are etched away as well.

Results are published in the latest edition of the journal Nanotechnology.

Learn more about Boston College at http://www.bc.edu/.

IMAPS 2011 preview


October 3, 2011

October 3, 2011 — IMAPS 2011, the 44th International Symposium on Microelectronics, will take place October 9-13 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. Ahead of the show, here are some of the highlights for attendees.

Take in the exhibits. Exhibit hall passes are free to all IMAPS 2011 attendees. This includes the exhibitor booths and welcome reception, as well as the keynote presentations and the Global Business Council Marketing Forum. Keynotes will be presented by Liam Madden, corporate VP, Xilinx Inc. and Dr. Ning-Cheng Lee, VP, technology, Indium Corporation.

New professional development courses this year cover counterfeit electronics, advanced packaging, and how to design and analyze an experiment.

The nearly 200 papers at IMAPS 2011 will be divided into 6 tracks:

  • 3D Packaging
  • Modeling/Reliability
  • Next Gen. Materials
  • Assembly & Packaging
  • Advanced Technologies
  • Focus Track: Adv. Packaging & System-Integration.

This year, the GBC forum is titled "Tomorrow’s Supply Chain: Overcoming Environmental & Societal Challenges." In the forum, IBM will look at how packaging is changing the data center, Medtronic will look at the impact of rework, and Hewlett-Packard (HP) will examine the electronics industry’s social and environmental roles.

Learn more before the show by visiting www.imaps2011.org.

IMAPS 2011 news:

Palomar Technologies to discuss pulsed heat eutectic solder and chain wire bonding for HB-LEDs

ALLVIA to present latest data for silicon interposers and embedded capacitors

 

Subscribe to Solid State Technology/Advanced Packaging.

Follow Advanced Packaging on Twitter.com by clicking www.twitter.com/advpackaging. Or join our Facebook group

September 30, 2011 – Semiconductor equipment spending in 2011 looks to be slightly weaker than anticipated, and is looking a lot softer in 2012 across the board, according to Gartner’s new semiconductor capex forecasts.

Compared with the firm’s June 15 outlooks, investments are looking a bit softer in 2011, now at about a 9% clip overall to $61.83B, instead of 12%. Within that, capital equipment is seen around 7% (vs. 10% previously), as wafer-fab equipment (WFE) investments are slightly more busy than on the backend which is seen roughly flat or down slightly.

The big changes are in 2012, where Gartner sees nearly a -17% decline in total spending to $51.53B (vs. what had been seen as just a -3% slip), with even bigger dropoffs "across the board" (nearly -20% in some cases) Foundries are still spending on their 28nm ramp, but slowing spending on everything above that (90nm through 45nm), and in some cases reusing those older-node tools to help prop up capacity utilization, notes Gartner managing VP Klaus Rinnen in a statement. Another factor: media tablet production has been a little weak (Apple is rumored to be throttling back on its iPad output), softening the NAND market which had been partly offsetting a woeful year for DRAM.

Gartner sees the current slowdown extending into 1H12, by which point supplies and demand should be better balanced, PC demand should rebound, and (hopefully) macroeconomic factors stabilize enough to spur consumer purchasing confidence — and thus DRAM makers and foundries will have to start spending again. 2013 should be a better growth year; Gartner now sees 18% for total semiconductor capital spending, more than double its previous 9% outlook. That upswing is seen to extend into 2014, where Gartner now sees slight 2% growth vs. a -15% decline; 2015 would then be the next true "down" year for industry spending at -5.1% (vs. a previously-expected 14% rise).

By specific equipment segment, here’s what Gartner is forecasting:

WFE: 9.2% in 2011, -19.6% in 2012. Slowing revenue started in 2Q11 and accelerating through 2H11, pressured by slowing device sales and inventory liquidation. Leading-edge equipment areas doing best are immersion litho, etch, deposition (segments involved in double patterning), and "critical leading-edge logic processes." Demand for 200mm equipment will continue to be strong for analog and discrete devices needed for mobile devices’ power and energy management functions.

Packaging/assembly: -1.4% in 2011, -17.5% in 2012. Orders have softened "more aggressively than previously expected" as supplies are worked down to be "in line with expectations," Gartner says. Among backend process capex purchases, hot areas continue to be 3D packaging and Cu wire bonding, though "at a reduced pace." Most major tool segments will see slightly negative sales in 2011, but advanced tooling will outperform the broader market. For 2012, advanced packaging segments shouldn’t fall as badly as traditional tooling segments.

Automated test: 0.4% in 2011, -18.1% in 2012. Growth will be essentially flat this year, but driven by SoC demand and advanced RF. Look for a pullback in memory ATE due to soft DRAM capex, though NAND test should be stronger than the general memory test market. For 2012 Gartner sees "a significant decline in tester sales," though with memory systems "hold[ing] up reasonably well" as DRAM capex returns.

Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending forecast, in US $B. (Source: Gartner)

September 28, 2011 — Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have failed to meet commercial expectations set a decade ago, and another carbon nano material, graphene, is being considered a viable candidate in the same applications: computers, displays, photovoltaics (PV), and flexible electronics. CNT and graphene transistors may be available commercially starting in 2015, according IDTechEx’s report, "Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene for Electronics Applications 2011-2021".

Printed and potentially printed electronics represent the biggest available market for these transistors: the value of devices incorporating CNT and/or graphene will top $44 billion in 2021.

Graphene materials have become commercially available in a short time, prompting application development and processing advances, notes Cathleen Thiele, technology analyst, IDTechEx. Graphene is a fraction of the weight and cost of CNTs, and could supplant it, as well as indium tin oxide (ITO) in some applications. Graphene has no band gap, and therefore must be modified (stacking layers of graphene in certain patterns, for example) to act as an electronic switch.

OLED and flexible PV cells will make up a $25 billion market in 2021, says Thiele, and some of these products will use graphene combined with other flexible, transparent electronic components

Graphene-based transistors are demonstrating high performance and lower cost, thanks to new graphene production methods. Graphene transistors are a potential successor to certain silicon components; an electron can move faster through graphene than through silicon. Tetrahertz computing is a possible application.

CNTs are still a strong research area, Thiele notes. They can be used in transistors and conductive layers in touch screens, and as a replacement for iTO. The cost of CNTs is dropping from prohibitively high levels seen a few years ago. Chemical companies are ramping manufacturing capacity. Carbon nanotubes face challenges related to separation and consistent growth. Electronics applications require CNTs of the same size, as size affects CNT properties.

For more information on “Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene for Electronics Applications 2011-2021,” contact: Raoul Escobar-Franco at [email protected], +1 617 577 7890 (USA), or visit www.IDTechEx.com/nano.

Printable CNT inks and graphene-based inks are beginning to hit the printed electronics market. IDTechEx will host the Printed Electronics & Photovoltaics USA conference & exhibition in Santa Clara, CA, November 30-December 1, www.IDTechEx.com/peUSA, with talks on both nanomaterials.

Graphene:
Dr Narayan Hosmane from Northern Illinois University will share how he almost by accident produced high-yields of graphene instead of the expected single-wall carbon nanotubes using the Dry-Ice Method. He will discuss synthetic methodologies for producing large volumes of graphene.

Kate Duncan from CERDEC, the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, will present on direct write approaches to nanoscale electronics.

Prof Yang Yang, head of the Yang Group at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), will give a brief summary on olymer solar cells and UCLA developments with G-CNTs, a hybrid graphene-carbon nanotube material.

Dr Sanjay Monie, Vorbeck Materials, will give the latest R&D news on the Vor-ink line of conductive graphene inks and coatings for the printed electronics industry.

Carbon nanotubes:
Stephen Turner, Brewer Science, will talk about Aromatic Hydrocarbon Functionalization of carbon nanotubes for conductive applications. Brewer Science’s CNTRENE carbon nanotube material was developed for semiconductor, advanced packaging/3-D IC, MEMS, display, LED, and printed electronics applications.

Dr Philip Wallis, SWeNT, will discuss proprietary V2V ink technology and how SWeNT fabricates and tests TFT devices.

Dr Jamie Nova, Applied Nanotech (ANI), will cover CNT field emission.

September 27, 2011 — Seiko Epson Corporation (TSE:6724) introduced the IP-2000 inkjet semiconductor marking system to print identification data, such as the manufacturer’s name or a production number, on the surface of a semiconductor package.

The system prints faster and more clearly than laser engraving, protecting the chip inside the semiconductor package from damage. Semiconductor packages are "smaller and thinner," said Hideo Hirao, responsible for Epson’s Factory Automation Division, and require protection from die breakage and chipping, and cuts from lasers engraving too deeply. Since the system does not need printing plates, it can be used for small-lot production.

The IP-2000 cleans the package surface, then uses Epson’s proprietary Micro Piezo technology to apply high-visibility white ultraviolet (UV)-cured ink, also developed by Epson. Ultraviolet irradiation is undertaken simultaneously with printing to solidify the ink.

Epson is a global imaging company offering printers and 3LCD projectors for business and the home, to electronic and crystal devices. The Epson Group is led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation. Learn more at http://global.epson.com/

Subscribe to Solid State Technology/Advanced Packaging.

Follow Advanced Packaging on Twitter.com by clicking www.twitter.com/advpackaging. Or join our Facebook group

September 27, 2011 – Marketwire — Cascade Microtech Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCD) completed the sale of its test socket manufacturing business for a purchase price of $550,000 to R&D Interconnect Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of R&D Circuits, based in Brooklyn Park, MN.

Cascade’s board of directors also authorized a stock repurchase program under which up to $2,000,000 of its common stock may be repurchased. Shares may be purchased from time-to-time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The timing and actual number of shares purchased will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions, corporate and regulatory requirements, and alternative business and investment opportunities. Repurchases under the program will be funded from available cash. The program does not require the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and the program may be commenced, suspended or terminated at any time or from time-to-time at the Company’s discretion without prior notice.

Cascade Microtech will not purchase any stock under the repurchase program until it announces its financial results for its third quarter on November 1, 2011.

The sale of CSCD’s test socket business, and this share repurchase program, will help bring Cascade Microtech’s stock value up and build long-term value for shareholders, said Michael Burger, president and CEO.

Cascade Microtech Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCD) makes precision contact, electrical measurement and test products for integrated circuits (ICs), optical devices, etc. For more information, visit www.cascademicrotech.com.

R&D Interconnect Solutions specializes in design and production of high-performing sockets and interconnect products for testing of packaged ICs. It is wholly owned by R&D Circuits. For more information on R&D Circuits, visit www.rdcircuits.com.

Subscribe to Solid State Technology/Advanced Packaging.

Follow Advanced Packaging on Twitter.com by clicking www.twitter.com/advpackaging. Or join our Facebook group

September 27, 2011 — Ziptronix announced just before SEMICON Taiwan that its low-temperature direct oxide bonding technology — Zibond, used for constructing backside-illuminated (BSI) structures in image sensors — was licensed by Sony. In a podcast interview with ElectroIQ.com, Ziptronix president & CEO, Daniel Donabedian, and company CTO, Paul Enquist, discussed both the wafer bonding technology and what the Sony deal means in the podcast below.


 

Because adhesives do not have high bonding energy at low temperatures, the result is high distortion, therefore, these materials are not usable for scaling smaller pixel sizes, said Enquist. Conversely, the company

September 22, 2011 — Carbon nanotubes (CNT) company SouthWest NanoTechnologies Inc. (SWeNT) received an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consent order permitting SWeNT to manufacture and distribute multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) for commercial applications.

SWeNT’s Multi-Wall products are sold under the SWeNT SMW, Specialty Multi-Wall, trademark.

SWeNT reports that it is now the only US manufacturer permitted to commercially distribute both single and multi-wall carbon nanotubes. Commercial-scale sales allow more product developers to integrate CNTs for cost and performance improvements, from a domestic source, said SWeNT CEO Dave Arthur.

Prior to the EPA decision, SWeNT distributed its SMW products via a low release, low exposure (LOREX) PMN exemption from the EPA.

The EPA granted this consent order under the Toxic Control Substances Act (TSCA), which requires defining each company’s carbon nanotubes as a new chemical substance. The EPA requires manufacturers who intend to distribute commercial quantities to obtain a consent order prior to CNT commercial production or distribution, although small quantities are permitted for research and development from suppliers with a LOREX exemption.  

The consent order states that SWeNT’s SMW CNTs can be used as additives in resins, thermoplastics and elastomers for mechanical reinforcement and enhanced electrical properties. The SWeNT products can also be used commercially for coatings on metallic foils for batteries and for fabric composites manufacturing.

SouthWest NanoTechnologies (SWeNT) is a specialty chemical company that manufactures high-quality single-wall and specialty multi-wall carbon nanotubes, printable inks and CNT-coated fabrics. For more information, please visit www.swentnano.com.

September 22, 2011 — Rogers Corporation’s (NYSE:ROG) Board of Directors elected Bruce D. Hoechner as the materials company’s new president and CEO, effective October 3, 2011. Hoechner’s past positions were with Rohm and Haas and Dow Chemical.

Hoechner also will join Roger’s Board of Directors. Current company leader Robert D. Wachob will become Chairman of the Board of Directors in this transition. Wachob and the Board of Directors have been executing this CEO succession plan for about 2 years. Wachob plans to retire sometime in 2012.

Hoechner comes to Rogers after 5 years in Shanghai, China, with Rohm and Haas Company and Dow Chemical, which acquired Rohm and Haas in 2009. Hoechner spent 28 years with Rohm and Haas.

His roles have included president, Asia Pacific region, Dow Advanced Materials Division with regional revenues of more than $2 billion, and a number of specialty chemical global business units.

Wachob set the strategic direction of Rogers, said William E. Mitchell, Lead Director of the Rogers Corporation Board of Directors. Hoechner’s experience and global business expertise make him "well suited to continue to successfully execute the Company’s vision."

Hoechner holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University and is a graduate of the Wharton Management Certificate Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) is a global technology leader in specialty materials and components that enable high performance and reliability of consumer electronics, power electronics, mass transit, clean technology, and telecommunications infrastructure. For more information, visit www.rogerscorp.com.

Subscribe to Solid State Technology/Advanced Packaging.

Follow Advanced Packaging on Twitter.com by clicking www.twitter.com/advpackaging. Or join our Facebook group