ACM Research has launched Thin Wafer Cleaning System that supports MOSFET and IGBT production for the power semiconductor market.
The System features touch-free handling and processing based on the Bernoulli effect to eliminate possible wafer damage and improve final device yield.
It supports 200mm and 300mm silicon wafers and is suitable for Taiko wafers down to 50-micron thickness, ultra-thin wafers of less than 200-micron thickness, high aspect ratio (>10:1) deep-trench wafers as well as double-thickness bonded wafer pairs.
Its handling system is programmable to accommodate deep-trench, Taiko and ultra-thin wafers, or bonded wafers. The robot arms for loading and unloading, as well as the chuck, have been designed for non-contact wafer handling using a proprietary method based on the Bernoulli effect.
Nitrogen gas provides constant pressure to keep the wafer floating in place on the arm, which can be flipped for processing on either side while still holding the wafer in place. This allows for handling high-warpage wafers without contact.
During the wet process, the wafer sits front-side down on a Bernoulli chuck, where an N2 flow cushions the wafer, protecting it and keeping it dry. This proprietary design, using ACM's patented technology on a Bernoulli chuck, features a recipe-controlled gap between the wafer and chuck to meet requirements for undercut width control on the wafer device side edge, as well as pin-mark-free control. Additionally, the system can be configured to include an optional thickness measurement function.
Each chamber can be configured with up to four swing arms for delivering process chemistries such as wet etchants, solvents, RCA cleaning chemicals, deionized water and nitrogen. Additionally, the chambers are designed to allow reclaiming of two types of chemicals, ACM Research said.
Yole Développement, a market research and technology analysis firm, said that the market for thinned wafers will increase from 100 million in 2019 to 135 million in 2025, a compound annual growth rate of more than 5%. Yole Développement expects this market growth to be driven by memory, CMOS image sensors and power silicon carbide components as well as LED and laser diodes.
