Handling exotic materials

For many lab based researchers, small wafers, and even wafer pieces, are used as substrates to prototype devices and develop new manufacturing processes. Yet, as these pioneering efforts move the pilot device beyond the borders of the research lab, the need to develop a scalable lithography process becomes paramount.

To secure such a process in a timely manner, many have taken to moving the “fab” into the “lab”. In actuality, this means bringing volume production equipment into the lab, with certain modifications that enable them to produce prototype devices. These modifications may be in the form of hardware or software, allowing the user to build a manufacturing process that is both scalable and relevant to a foundry business model.

Photograph courtesy of Paul Hundal, Teledyne Scientific

 

A cost effective solution

The use of holders has recently become popular with researchers developing high power/frequency wireless communication devices. The researchers typically wish to develop their prototype devices beyond the 1-2 wafers per day limit of their e-beams. Unfortunately, this has always been a struggle, as the materials are either too small, too fragile or viewed as a major source of contamination, and thus, not welcome on anyone’s high resolution, production system.

Recent Simax Lithography Applications field work has proven that a cost effective method is now available to provide a workable solution to all of the aforementioned issues. The method utilizes regular Silicon wafers as carriers, which are typically 1” larger in diameter than the “research wafer” diameter. The use of a custom “ring template”, to accurately and repeatably position the smaller “research wafer”, permits the reuse of the Silicon holder wafer which reduces the cost significantly. The adhesion, alignment, leveling and removal concerns have also been solved, such that imaging and overlay at the lithography system’s specification are now possible. The method has been further developed to the extent that a cassette of 25 research wafers could be run in pseudo production mode on a conventional lithography system.

The advantages of this method are many, and permit the researcher to exploit production quality lithography without the risk of contamination.

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