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SEZ Achieves Production Ready Thinning of 300 mm Wafers to 100 Microns
SAN FRANCISCO, July 10, 2000 -- The SEZ Group (Switzerland: SEZN) said today that it has combined the wafer strength enhancement capability of its spin-processing equipment with a final thinning etch process to successfully produce 300 mm wafers with a thickness of only 100 microns. This meets the stringent requirements of the industry's state-of-the-art packaging requirements for smart cards and similar applications.
The announcement was made at the opening of SEMICON West 2000 in San Francisco and San Jose, the industry's major showcase for new production technologies. The 100-micron thin wafers will be on display at the show.
"This is a major breakthrough for our customers since our wafer conditioning process alleviates stress and removes microcracks to improve yield during the assembly process," explained Michael Kucher, senior vice president for SEZ Group. "SEZ has been a long-term supplier of thinning equipment to the semiconductor industry because of our ability to make wafers thin and flat maximizing die sawing effectiveness."
Wafer thinning for advanced packaging technologies continues to gain importance as the market for smart cards, automotive and other applications requiring extremely thin integrated circuits continues to increase. Using Spin-Processing for silicon etching offers numerous advantages over other available thinning technologies. It minimizes wafer warpage and stress, produces uniform thickness (demonstrated at less than 5 percent for 300 mm wafers) and a defect-free backside. Wafer surface conditioning is used to provide the optimal surface needed for back metal and/or die attachment.
The uniform thickness also allows balanced heat dissipation, increasing chip reliability and better meets electrical requirements for packaging because the flat surface enables better contacts.
SEZ's wafer thinning process for 300 mm wafer removes edge stress risers as well as microcracks from the wafer backside, significantly improving customer yields. By following the traditional grinding process with SEZ's chemical-based spin-processing, customers will be able to complete the thinning operation and perform die strength enhancement that results in fewer 300mm wafers and die being lost due to breakage in the packaging stage. This reduces waste of expensive 300mm wafers while increasing overall wafer yields and productivity.
Approximately 30 percent of all Spin-Processors in the field are used for post-backgrind thinning and strengthening applications.
About SEZ
The SEZ Group is a leading supplier of spin-processing equipment to the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company's breakthrough proprietary Spin-Processor technology forms the basis of a broad portfolio of backside and frontside wafer surface conditioning products for semiconductor chipmakers worldwide. SEZ maintains development, manufacturing, sales, marketing and service operations in Europe, Asia and North America. Registered in Zurich, Switzerland, SEZ Holding AG is listed on the Swiss Exchange under the symbol (SWX: SEZN).
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