PR97186

ST. FLORIAN, Austria, July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- Successful full-system die-to-wafer transfer at EVG's Heterogeneous

Integration Competence Center(TM) demonstrates important step forward in

achieving process maturity

EV Group (EVG), a leading provider of wafer bonding and lithography equipment

for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today announced it has

achieved a major breakthrough in die-to-wafer (D2W) fusion and hybrid bonding

by successfully demonstrating 100-percent void-free bonding yield of multiple

die of different sizes from a complete 3D system-on-a-chip (SoC) in a single

transfer process using EVG's GEMINI(R)FB automated hybrid bonding system. Such

an accomplishment had been a key challenge for D2W bonding until today, as well

as a major hurdle to scaling down the cost of implementing heterogeneous

integration. This important industry achievement was carried out at EVG's

Heterogeneous Integration Competence Center(TM) (HICC), which is designed to

assist customers in leveraging EVG's process solutions and expertise to

accelerate the development of new and differentiating products and applications

driven by advances in system integration and packaging.

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Leading-edge applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous

driving, augmented/virtual reality and 5G all require the development of

high-bandwidth, high-performance and low-power-consumption devices without

increasing production cost. As a result, the semiconductor industry is turning

to heterogeneous integration – the manufacturing, assembly and packaging of

multiple different components or dies with different feature sizes and

materials onto a single device or package – in order to increase performance on

new device generations. D2W hybrid bonding is a key manufacturing technology

for heterogeneous integration. Yet, as the ever-higher bandwidth needs of these

devices drive newer packaging technologies, new developments in D2W hybrid

bonding and metrology are also needed.

"Hybrid bonding requires substantially different manufacturing technologies to

standard packaging processes, bringing it much closer to front-end

manufacturing – especially in terms of cleanliness, particle control, alignment

and metrology precision," stated Dr. Thomas Uhrmann, business development

director at EV Group. "In line with our market leadership for W2W hybrid

bonding, we continue to expand our D2W hybrid bonding solutions and optimize

our equipment to support critical upstream and downstream processes, such as

plasma activation and cleaning, in order to accelerate the deployment and

maturity of D2W hybrid bonding. Between our established GEMINI FB, which has

been configured for collective D2W integration flows and serving the needs for

D2W bonding for several years already, the EVG(R)320 D2W die preparation and

activation system for direct placement D2W bonding, which provides a direct

interface with D2W bonders, and the EVG(R)40 NT2 overlay metrology system,

which uses AI, feed-forward and feedback loops to further increase hybrid

bonding yields, EVG provides a complete end-to-end hybrid bonding solution to

accelerate the deployment of 3D/heterogeneous integration."

Since the interface in hybrid bonding is solid-state, with embedded metal pads

to allow for face-to-face electrical connection of wafers and dies, D2W hybrid

bonding requires similar tight cleanliness standards and manufacturing

tolerances seen in front-end semiconductor manufacturing processes. This trend

is also moving high-precision metrology into a more central role in controlling

hybrid bonding alignment and process yield, which in turn is driving the

integration of D2W bonding and metrology processes into one process line.

In addition, several different D2W hybrid bonding process flows are under

evaluation today, each with unique advantages and requirements. Since its

establishment two years ago, EVG's HICC has played a key role in helping

customers and partners develop and optimize D2W hybrid bonding processes to

address the unique needs of their given device design and application, taking

into account various factors such as die size, die thickness, total stack

height as well as interface considerations such as contact design and density.

The HICC also features a state-of-the-art cleanroom with cleanliness standards

on par with many leading-edge semiconductor fabs – enabling EVG to uniquely

support the stringent requirements for D2W and W2W hybrid bonding process

development.

"The HICC has firmly established itself as a preeminent central open-access

incubator for novel process solutions such as D2W hybrid and fusion bonding,"

stated Markus Wimplinger, corporate technology development and IP director at

EV Group. "State-of-the-art cleanrooms at EVG's headquarters in Austria, as

well as in our subsidiaries in the US and Japan, guarantee that hybrid bonds

can be developed with the highest possible yield. At the same time, our

world-class development facilities outfitted with our extensive portfolio of

fully automated process solutions offers process development that is as agile

and close to series production as possible. Our expertise in diverse bonding

technologies, as well as process integration and metrology, allows our

customers and partners to develop differentiated total solutions that can be

easily transferred to their production facilities."

For more information on EVG's Heterogeneous Integration Competence Center

(HICC), please visit:

https://www.evgroup.com/products/process-services/heterogeneous-integration-competence-center/.

About EV Group (EVG)

EV Group (EVG) is a leading supplier of equipment and process solutions for the

manufacture of semiconductors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), compound

semiconductors, power devices and nanotechnology devices. Key products include

wafer bonding, thin-wafer processing, lithography/nanoimprint lithography (NIL)

and metrology equipment, as well as photoresist coaters, cleaners and

inspection systems. Founded in 1980, EV Group services and supports an

elaborate network of global customers and partners all over the world. More

information about EVG is available at www.EVGroup.com .

Contacts:

Clemens Schutte                              David Moreno

Director, Marketing and Communications       Principal

EV Group                                     Open Sky Communications

Tel: +43 7712 5311 0                         Tel: +1.415.519.3915

E-mail: Marketing@EVGroup.com                E-mail: dmoreno@openskypr.com

SOURCE EV Group