- PVA MPS
- Technologies
- Overview
Plasma Systems for the Semiconductor Industry
In wafer processing as well as during packaging of the devices, our plasma systems remove unwanted impurities and organic layers such as photoresist after the corresponding process step without damaging the nascent device. This technology guarantees our customers an optimum yield in production.
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Back-End Systems
We provide the systems as batch systems for plasma processes with multiple magazines simultaneously or as automated systems in which the strips are loaded from the magazine into the chamber in multiple tracks in parallel and processed. They are then loaded back into magazines depending on the preferred embodiment. There are a wide variety of applications for cleaning and activation, from wire bonding, BGA, and flip-chip processes to mold underfill and encapsulation of the finished components.
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Front-End Systems
The front-end systems are plasma systems with manual or automatic loading that are available either as a cost-effective batch system or as a single-layer system for higher requirements in terms of process results. Our systems are mostly used in the lithography of wafer fabrication in order to remove photoresist or to prepare the wafers for a subsequent step.
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Metrology Systems for Efficient Production
Our metrology systems are designed to detect defects and surface contamination. They help our customers to see damage and defects on their products and establish the causes at the earliest possible stage. As a result, corresponding measures can be taken quickly in order to prevent damage and further increase productivity.
To our systems
Defect Analysis
Manufacture of increasingly small components means higher costs for every single manufacturing step. Therefore, it is crucial to detect defects in manufacturing as early as possible. This is the only way in which corresponding corrective measures can be instigated while enabling effective, cost-efficient production.
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Shear Stress in Wafers
The latest generations of microelectronic and micromechanical components demand ever-higher quality of the wafer material, as even the tiniest defects in the crystal affect the functioning of the chips located there. Measurement and evaluation of shear stress provides reliable insight into the quality of the wafer material and allows identification of defects that may arise during mechanical processing or high-temperature processes such as epitaxy and in bonding.
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Detection of Contamination on Wafer Surfaces
Trace-Element Analysis
Current production processes need a high level of cleanliness, as the processes react extremely sensitively to contamination even at the tiniest concentrations. That’s why it is so important to keep all starting materials and process systems as clean as possible. This cleanliness can be proven with VPD technology right up to the boundaries of physical feasibility.
Surface Cleaning
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Photoresist Processes
Removal of photoresist (also known as “stripping” or “ashing”) is a widely used process in the manufacture of semiconductor components, MEMS or optoelectronic components. A plasma process under microwave excitation is mostly used here. This process enables a high removal rate along with minimal damage to sensitive C-MOS components. It is used for full ashing of the photoresist and for partial removal (descum or flash process) as pretreatment for subsequent process steps.
Depending on the properties of the components and the requirements for a cost-effective procedure, the process is performed with batch sizes of 50 wafers, with a 200 mm diameter in 25 wafers per run. The advantages of the batch process are an unbeatable cost benefit as well as the property of being able to remove the paint from both sides of the wafer simultaneously. In addition, our systems are able to perform the process in a temperature-controlled manner without exceeding a preset maximum temperature.
For challenging applications, we manufacture systems with a single-layer process up to a wafer size of 300 mm. More precise control of the process is possible here, providing optimum results for removal rate, uniformity, and endpoint detection.
Most processes are based on an oxygen process, while some use special additive gases, depending on the requirements of the materials to be processed. In the case of sensitive layers with a tendency to oxidation, a hydrogen process is alternatively available in order to prevent oxidation of exposed layers.
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Plasma Processes for Bonding
Our special cleaning processes are widely used before wire bonding or casting of components, as cleaning before underfilling of flip-chip components, in the removal of surface oxide layers, and in surface activation. Depending on the type of application, we use different types of plasma excitation and system configuration. For mass production, we mainly use the systems with manual loading, as the cost/benefit factor is unbeatable thanks to the combination of a simple design and a high throughput.
To the batch packaging systems
Surface conditioning by means of plasma processes is common practice in today's semiconductor industry when it comes to improvement of yield and reliability. Before wire bonding in particular, cleaning of bond surfaces by means of plasma on the die and the lead frame are now an essential process because of the increasing copper-wire requirements. This process ensures a high yield. Our high commitment to product quality and traceability of production has led to the development of systems with automatic loading here.