The 'NT' Series Significantly Increases Both Alignment and Measurement
Accuracy to Enable
Better Device Performance and Lower Manufacturing Costs
ST. FLORIAN, AUSTRIA, December 1, 2008 - 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 µm down to 0.1 µm-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 out 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 µm-deliver significant cost-of-ownership (CoO)
benefits.
W2W Bond Aligner: SmartViewNT
Multiple wafer stacking and bonding processes require an alignment accuracy
of <1 µm. 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 face-to-face, backside and infrared-transparent. Initial
results for W2W alignments demonstrated <0.3 µm 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 µm. 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.
Editors interested in learning more about the new NT suite of tools are
invited to visit EVG's booth located in Hall 4A, Booth #206 at SEMICON
Japan 2008 held December 3-5 in Chiba, Japan.
About EV Group
EV Group (EVG) is a world leader in wafer-processing solutions for
semiconductor, MEMS and nanotechnology applications. Through close
collaboration with its global customers, the company implements its
flexible manufacturing model to develop reliable, high-quality,
low-cost-of-ownership systems that are easily integrated into customers'
fab lines. Key products include wafer bonding,
lithography/nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and metrology equipment, as well
as photoresist coaters, cleaners and inspection systems.
In addition to its dominant share of the market for wafer bonders, EVG
holds a leading position in NIL and lithography for advanced packaging and
MEMS. Along these lines, the company co-founded the EMC-3D consortium
in 2006 to create and help drive implementation of a cost-effective
through-silicon via (TSV) process for major ICs and MEMS/sensors.
Other target semiconductor-related markets include silicon-on-insulator
(SOI), compound semiconductor and silicon-based power-device
solutions.
Founded in 1980, EVG is headquartered in St. Florian, Austria, and operates
via a global customer support network, with subsidiaries in Tempe, AZ;
Albany, NY; Yokohama and Fukuoka, Japan; Seoul, Korea and Chung-Li,
Taiwan. The company's unique Triple i-approach (invent - innovate -
implement) is supported by a vertical integration, allowing EVG to respond
quickly to new technology developments, apply the technology to
manufacturing challenges and expedite device manufacturing in high
volume. More information is available at www.EVGroup.com.
Contacts:
EV Group Contacts: Clemens Schütte
Director, Marketing and Communications
EV Group Tel: +43 7712 5311 0
E-Mail: Marketing@EVGroup.com
Marie Labrie
Vice President
MCA, Inc.
Tel: +1-650-968-8900, ext. 119
E-mail: mlabrie@mcapr.com
Note to Editors: Photos Available Upon Request