SEZ Expands Single-Wafer Technology Beyond the Fab Line With New Galileo? Substrate-Etch Tool
Tool Extends Company?s Reach in Japan and Asia-Pacific, Delivering Wafer Thinning, Surface Conditioning and Stress Relief for IC Packaging and Wafer Manufacturing
SEMICON JAPAN, Chiba, Japan, December 3, 2003?The SEZ Group (SWX Swiss Exchange: SEZN), the market leader and premier innovator in single-wafer wet-processing technology for the semiconductor industry, today announced it is expanding its portfolio of substrate-etch tools with a new system designed to address the growing demand for thinner, higher-performing IC packages. The new Galileo? system, dubbed the GL-210, leverages SEZ?s proven wet Spin-Processing technology in a single-wafer system that delivers superior wafer thinning, surface conditioning and stress relief for two key new sectors?back-end assembly/packaging, and front-end wafer manufacturing.
Emerging electronics applications, such as smart cards, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and handheld mobile devices are driving OEM demand for smaller, more compact device packages. While these advanced packaging technologies, together with new IC materials, deliver significant reductions in weight and thickness, they require optimization via surface-etch processing. Traditional dry etch and chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) cannot deliver adequate yield, cycle time or process quality for these applications, necessitating a higher-performing alternative.
Developed in response to customer requirements for improved wafer thinning, as well as better handling of ultra-thin wafers, Galileo was specifically designed to help boost device yields of ultra-thin wafers. In addition to delivering a 2X improvement in wafer/die strength, Galileo allows users to tailor and optimize surface-conditions for specific applications. It also features non-contact Bernoulli handling to ensure the safe transfer and processing of fragile wafers down to 25 microns in thickness.
According to G. Dan Hutcheson, president and CEO of San Jose, Calif.-based market research firm VLSI Research Inc, the new Galileo tool exemplifies SEZ?s continued leadership in single wafer wet processing technology. ?Of specific note is the Galileo?s process flexibility in terms of ?fine-tuning? the actual surface conditions of the wafer in accordance with application-specific requirements. Equally significant is the addition of contact-less Bernoulli handling that levitates the wafer to both the robot and transfer mechanisms, which is critical to protecting today?s extremely costly and increasingly fragile product wafers,? noted Hutcheson.
The GL-210 is a single-chamber spin processor optimized for surface-etching of 200-mm product wafers slated for chip-scale, multi-chip, flip-chip, stacked and other advanced packages. Deployed immediately following mechanical grinding, the tool offers reductions in cycle time and footprint, compared to competitive technologies. SEZ?s new Galileo series also delivers similar advantages for wafer manufacturers, who must optimize the surface of the bare wafer prior to device patterning. This includes not only traditional silicon, but also wafers composed of complex new materials?silicon-on-insulator (SOI), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and other compound semiconductors. Surface conditioning and stress relief are of particular importance for these newer materials, as they tend to be thinner and more subject to mishandling, warping, bowing and breakage than those made of silicon epitaxy.
Target Markets Mirror SEZ?s Global Success
According to market research firm Gartner Dataquest (San Jose, Calif.), Japan and Asia-Pacific together represent more than 80 percent of the total market for packaging and assembly equipment. SEZ?s pursuit of this market sector for its new substrate-etch technology is a natural outgrowth of the company?s established success in these regions, where its cleaning tools enjoy a significant market share. For the first nine months of 2003, Asia-Pacific represented 42 percent of SEZ?s total figure sales, while sales in Japan for the same period nearly doubled, accounting for 31 percent of the total versus 17 percent in 2002.
The introduction of the GL-210 closely follows the launch earlier this year of SEZ?s new Da Vinci family of modular, wet-process cleaning tools, developed to help speed the industry?s transition from batch to processing to single-wafer cleaning technology. Together, these tools represent important, complimentary additions to SEZ?s roadmap aimed at propagating single-wafer wet processing throughout the entire semiconductor-manufacturing chain?from wafer manufacturing to fabrication to packaging and assembly.
?SEZ has long dominated substrate-etch in the fab; our installed base currently exceeds 160 tools,? said Dr. Masaaki Yashiro, chief operating officer, SEZ Japan, Inc. ?Our new GL-210 leverages our proven single-wafer wet technology beyond the fab, with capabilities specifically geared toward assembly and packaging houses and wafer manufacturers, in geographic regions where the value of our core technology has already been demonstrated. These sectors are ideally positioned to benefit from single-wafer spin processing, given the rapid rise of exotic, new wafer materials and package styles relying on thin die. In addition, the tool shows promise for back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes within the fab, as chipmakers need extendible, substrate-etch solutions that can accommodate future technology and process advancements?
Galileo?s Key Capabilities
Mechanical grinding creates damage that is becoming increasingly difficult for CMP and dry-etch technologies to remove. The GL-210 removes these imperfections while simultaneously optimizing die/wafer strength, electrical characteristics, metal adhesion and uniformity. The machine etches the wafer in one multi-level process chamber, employing a customizable combination of nitrogen, de-ionized (DI) water and a selection of chemicals that can be either drained or recycled within the system.
The GL-210 is available in four different primary handling configurations?standalone (standard); in-line with wafer carrier (cassette load port and handling); in-line without wafer carrier (wafer-handling robot only); and core unit (no wafer cassette or stocker). The choice of configuration depends on the customer?s existing manufacturing line and handling requirements. The system can also handle both 150- and 200-mm wafers as needed.
Improved chemical handling is integrated into the GL-210, with new valves that minimize chemical dripping during processing. The system also offers greater flexibility with a chemical dispense system (CDS) that enables plug-and-play integration with any major CDS in the market and enhanced Windows NT-based software.
Currently under evaluation by several key customers, the GL-210 is slated to commence production shipments in the second quarter of 2004.
Media interested in learning more about SEZ?s Spin-Processing technology and product portfolio are invited to visit Booth #A5-A201 located in Hall 5 of the Makuhari Messe (Chiba, Japan) during SEMICON Japan 2003, December 3-5.
About SEZ Group
SEZ Group is the leading provider of single-wafer, wet-processing solutions for the global semiconductor industry, with an installed base of over 750 tools. The company maintains operations in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Japan, and North America. SEZ Holding AG is traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SEZN. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at www.sez.com
Galileo and Da Vinci are trademarks of SEZ.
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