EV Group Introduces New Suite of Aligners and Measurement Systems
(Nanowerk News) EV Group (EVG), a leading
supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS,
nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today introduced the NT series -- a
new, yet already field-proven suite of mask aligners, wafer-to-wafer (W2W)
bond aligners and measurement systems -- to address increased demand for
higher precision alignment accuracy. The shift to smaller geometries along
with more feature-dense packages adds a host of challenges, surrounding
precision alignment capabilities, which can greatly impact device failure
intolerance and, ultimately, yield and cost. The new EVG-NT series offers
dramatically increased alignment accuracy -- in the range of 1 um down to 0.1
um -- for the manufacture of advanced MEMS, compound semiconductor,
silicon-based power, 3D IC and nanotechnology devices -- unlike anything else
on the market. First units of the new NT systems have already been installed
at customer sites worldwide and passed the acceptance tests.
"Structural integrity and, ultimately, device performance is impacted by
alignment inaccuracies throughout the production process, increasing the total
cost of manufacturing," said Paul Lindner, EVG's executive technology
director. "There are a host of variables to consider in the manufacturing
process that can affect alignment accuracy -- including temperature and
substrate materials -- and the movement to smaller, more feature-dense
packages greatly exacerbates the problem. In fulfilling our commitment to
enabling our customers, we have introduced the EVG-NT series to solve these
issues. We're pleased to report that customers have already qualified our
first systems in the field, and that data have confirmed our quoted
specifications. This is testament to our triple 'i' philosophy of invent,
innovate and implement, and we look forward to pushing the envelope in
enabling next-generation manufacturing needs."
The EVG-NT series features next-generation alignment and measurement
systems with significantly increased alignment precision. The series is
composed of the following mask aligners, a W2W bond aligner, and an alignment
measurement system.
Mask Aligners: EVG620NT and EVG6200NT
The EVG620NT and EVG6200NT mask aligners -- which handle sizes of
substrates starting from less than 5 mm up to 150 mm and from 3 inches up to
200 mm, respectively -- offer new state-of-the-art features, including a
granite base, active vibration isolation and linear motors to meet higher
precision and throughput requirements. Built upon EVG's most flexible and
versatile aligner platforms, these new systems enable manufacturers to easily
scale between R&D efforts to volume manufacturing in a simple one-to-one
process transfer from manual mode to full automation. The ramp-up ease to
volume manufacturing coupled with alignment accuracies improvements -- down to
0.1 um -- deliver significant cost-of-ownership (CoO) benefits.
W2W Bonder Aligner: SmartViewNT
Multiple wafer stacking and bonding processes require an alignment
accuracy of <1 um. To meet this challenge, the SmartViewNT utilizes a
revolutionary high-precision alignment stage that comprises top- and
bottom-side microscopes to ensure the highest degree of accuracy. This
versatile bond aligner can also handle all types of alignments, including W2W,
backside and infrared transparent. Initial results for W2W alignments
demonstrated <0.3 um face-to-face alignment accuracy, eliminating the need for
post-processing steps such as generating backside alignment keys and
double-sided polishing -- enabling lower CoO. In a side-by-side comparison of
the SmartViewNT to its predecessor, alignment accuracies increased by more
than 60%, 300%, and 40% for SmartView, backside and transparent alignments,
respectively -- enabling the system to effectively address stringent precision
requirements.
Alignment Measurement System: EVG40NT
The EVG40NT is designed to perform highly accurate non-destructive
alignment accuracy measurement of single- and double-sided structured wafers,
as well as bond interfaces. This new system overcomes the limitation of
conventional double-view microscope and infrared systems, which rely on a
cumbersome and time-consuming procedure to calibrate the optical axis. The
EVG40NT is a highly flexible tool that can quickly provide an unlimited number
of measurement points across the wafer surface. Compared to the previous
generation, the NT series' throughput improves up to five fold, offering
200-300 measurements per hour. Additionally, while process dependent, results
have shown a 60% accuracy increase producing a measurement accuracy of <0.2
um. These results are highly repeatable and reproducible with a statistic
probability of >99%.
EVG reports that each system from its NT family has already been installed
and qualified by leading-edge manufacturers globally.
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