Semiconductor chip alignment method, bonding method, semiconductor device, and electronic component manufacturing system

Abstract

To improve the alignment accuracy of a semiconductor chip stacked and bonded.SOLUTION: A bonding method for stacking and bonding a semiconductor chip onto a wafer includes: a thin film formation step (S101) in which a surface of the wafer and a facing surface of the semiconductor chip are coated with titanium oxide, thereby forming a surface thin film and a facing surface thin film; a hydrophilization step (S102) in which the surface thin film and the facing surface thin film are hydrophilized by being irradiated with light; a droplet adhesion step (S103) in which droplets are adhered to a hydrophilized region in the wafer; a self-alignment step (S104) in which the semiconductor chip is placed on the droplets and a chip hydrophilized region in the semiconductor chip is self-aligned with respect to a hydrophilized region in the wafer by means of the surface tension of the droplets; and a bonding step (S105) in which the chip hydrophilized region in the semiconductor chip is brought into contact with the hydrophilized region in the wafer so that the chip hydrophilized region and the hydrophilized region are hydrophilic-bonded to each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for aligning stacked semiconductor chips, a bonding method, a semiconductor device, and a configuration of an electronic component manufacturing system.

Background Art

[0002] A semiconductor chip is stacked on a semiconductor chip having solder bumps formed on electrodes, temporarily bonded by pressing, then heated in a reflow furnace, and self-aligned by surface tension and interfacial tension when the solder becomes liquid. Then, the temperature is lowered to solidify the solder, and the semiconductor chips are stacked and bonded (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this method, after the solder is solidified, the gap between the semiconductor chips is filled with resin for sealing to form a stacked semiconductor device.

[0003] Also, a method has been proposed in which a plurality of semiconductor chips are temporarily adhered to a carrier substrate, and the carrier substrate is pressed against other semiconductor chips bonded to a support substrate to stack and bond the semiconductor chips to the other semiconductor chips (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In this method, after forming a thin film of silicon dioxide on the entire surface of the carrier substrate, the portion other than the temporary adhesion region is removed by etching to form a thin film of silicon dioxide having hydrophilicity in the temporary adhesion region. Then, water is dropped onto this temporary adhesion region to form a water film, and a semiconductor chip whose surface has been hydrophilized by the same method as described above is placed on this water film. The position of the semiconductor chip is automatically aligned by the surface tension of the water, and the semiconductor chip is temporarily adhered to the carrier substrate by the adsorption force of the water. In this method, after the stacking and bonding of the semiconductor chip and other semiconductor chips are completed, the water between the carrier substrate and the semiconductor chip is evaporated by heating, and then the carrier substrate is removed from the semiconductor chip.

[0004] In the method described in Patent Document 2, the bonding between the semiconductor chip and other semiconductor chips is performed by pressing the micro bumps formed on the electrodes of the semiconductor chip against each other, and the gap between the semiconductor chip and other semiconductor chips is filled with an insulating adhesive. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-110995 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2006 / 077739 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] Incidentally, while the prior art described in Patent Document 1 can perform self-alignment of stacked semiconductor chips using molten solder, the process is complex, requiring the filling of gaps with resin after the solder has solidified, and there is room for improvement.

[0007] Furthermore, in the prior art described in Patent Document 2, the position of the carrier substrate and the semiconductor chip are automatically aligned by the surface tension of water. However, the positions of the semiconductor chips that are actually stacked and bonded together are not automatically aligned, and there was a possibility that the positions of the stacked and bonded semiconductor chips would be misaligned with those of the other semiconductor chips.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention aims to improve the alignment accuracy of semiconductor chips that are bonded in a stacked structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The alignment method of the present invention is a method for aligning a first semiconductor chip when stacking and bonding a first semiconductor chip to a flat electronic component, and is characterized by including: a thin film formation step of coating the surface of the electronic component and the relative surface of the first semiconductor chip facing the surface with a photoexcitation hydrophilization reaction substance to form a surface thin film and a relative surface thin film; a hydrophilization step of irradiating a hydrophilization region which is a part of the surface thin film and a chip hydrophilization region of the relative surface thin film facing the hydrophilization region with light to hydrophilize the hydrophilization region and the chip hydrophilization region; a droplet attachment step of attaching a droplet to the hydrophilized hydrophilization region of the electronic component; and a self-alignment step of placing the hydrophilized chip hydrophilization region of the first semiconductor chip on the droplet and causing the chip hydrophilization region of the first semiconductor chip to self-align with the hydrophilization region of the electronic component by the surface tension of the droplet.

[0010] In this way, the position of the first semiconductor chip is self-aligned with respect to the electronic components that are laminated and bonded by the surface tension of the droplets, so that the electronic components and the first semiconductor chip can be aligned with high precision.

[0011] In the alignment method of the present invention, the hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region may be regions that have the same external shape and are smaller than the external shape of the first semiconductor chip.

[0012] This makes it possible to improve the alignment accuracy between the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip.

[0013] In the alignment method of the present invention, the photo-excited hydrophilic reaction substance is selected from one of titanium dioxide, tungsten trioxide, silver bromide, silver chloride, silicon dioxide, nitrogen-doped silicon carbide, silicon nitride, or carbon-doped silicon monoxide, the droplet is composed of a liquid selected from one of hydrogen water, ozonated water, carbon water, alkaline electrolyzed water, or fine bubble water, and the light may be ultraviolet light.

[0014] This allows for a simple method of aligning electronic components with the first semiconductor chip.

[0015] In the alignment method of the present invention, the electronic component may be a wafer, a second semiconductor chip different from the first semiconductor chip, or a substrate.

[0016] This allows for a simple method of aligning various types of electronic components with the first semiconductor chip.

[0017] The present invention relates to a bonding method for stacking and bonding a first semiconductor chip to a flat electronic component, comprising: a thin film formation step of coating the surface of the electronic component and the opposing surface of the first semiconductor chip with a photoexcitation hydrophilic reaction substance to form a surface thin film and an opposing surface thin film; a hydrophilization step of irradiating a hydrophilic region which is a part of the surface thin film and a chip hydrophilic region of the opposing surface thin film with light to hydrophilize the hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region; and a step of attaching a droplet to the hydrophilized hydrophilic region of the electronic component. The invention is characterized by comprising: a droplet adhesion step; a self-alignment step in which the hydrophilized chip hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip is placed on the droplet and the surface tension of the droplet causes the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip to self-align with the hydrophilic region of the electronic component; and a bonding step in which the hydrophilized chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film is brought into contact with the hydrophilized chip hydrophilic region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film.

[0018] In this way, the position of the first semiconductor chip is self-aligned with respect to the electronic components that are laminated and bonded by the surface tension of the droplets, and the electronic components and the first semiconductor chip are bonded in that state, so that the electronic components and the first semiconductor chip can be bonded with high alignment accuracy.

[0019] In the bonding method of the present invention, the hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region may be regions that have the same external shape and are smaller than the external shape of the first semiconductor chip.

[0020] This makes it possible to improve the alignment accuracy between the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip.

[0021] The bonding method of the present invention further includes a thermal diffusion bonding step, wherein the electronic component comprises at least one electrode protruding from the surface, the first semiconductor chip comprises at least one counter electrode protruding from the relative surface at a position opposite to each of the electrodes, the thin film formation step comprises coating the surface with the photoexcitation hydrophilization reaction material to form a surface thin film having the same thickness as the protrusion height of each electrode in a region of the surface that does not include each of the electrodes, and coating the relative surface with the photoexcitation hydrophilization reaction material to form a relative thin film having the same thickness as the protrusion height of each of the counter electrodes in a region of the relative surface that does not include each of the counter electrodes A thin film is formed on the surface. The hydrophilization step hydrophilizes the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilized chip region of the relative thin film. The bonding step brings the hydrophilized chip region of the relative thin film into contact with the hydrophilized hydrophilized region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic chip region of the relative thin film, and forms a bonded body in which each tip surface of each electrode and each tip surface of each opposing electrode are in contact. The thermal diffusion bonding step may heat the bonded body to thermally diffuse bond the tip surfaces of each contacting electrode and each tip surface of each opposing electrode.

[0022] In this way, the surface thin film of the electronic component formed at the same height and the tip surface of the electrode of the electronic component are joined to the relative surface thin film of the first semiconductor chip formed at the same height and the tip surface of the opposing electrode of the first semiconductor chip by hydrophilic bonding and thermal diffusion bonding. As a result, no gap is formed between the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip after bonding, and there is no need to fill the gap with adhesive or anything like that. Therefore, semiconductor devices with high bonding quality can be manufactured using a simple method.

[0023] In the bonding method of the present invention, a through electrode forming step of forming at least one through electrode that penetrates the electronic component and the surface thin film in the thickness direction of the electronic component on the electronic component on which the surface thin film is formed, and the first semiconductor chip on which the opposing surface thin film is formed, and the first semiconductor chip and the opposing surface thin film penetrate in the thickness direction of the first semiconductor chip, and an opposing through electrode forming step of forming at least one opposing through electrode facing the through electrode are further included, and the bonding step includes bringing the chip hydrophilic region hydrophilized by the opposing surface thin film into contact with the hydrophilic region hydrophilized by the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the chip hydrophilic region of the opposing surface thin film, and forming a bonded body in which each tip surface of each through electrode and each tip surface of each opposing through electrode contact each other. The thermal diffusion bonding step may heat the bonded body and thermally diffusively bond each tip surface of each through electrode in contact with each other and each tip surface of each opposing through electrode.

[0024] Thus, since the surface thin film of the electronic component and the tip surface of the through electrode are respectively bonded to the opposing surface thin film of the first semiconductor chip and the tip surface of the opposing through electrode by hydrophilic bonding and thermal diffusion bonding, no gap is formed between the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip after bonding, and there is no need to fill the gap with an adhesive or the like. For this reason, a semiconductor device with high bonding quality can be manufactured by a simple method.

[0025] In the bonding method of the present invention, the photoexcited hydrophilic reactant is selected from any one of titanium oxide, tungsten trioxide, silver bromide, silver chloride, silicon dioxide, nitrogen-added silicon carbide, silicon nitride, or carbon-added silicon monoxide, the droplet is composed of a liquid selected from any one of hydrogen water, ozone water, carbonated water, alkaline electrolyzed water, or fine bubble water, and the light may be ultraviolet light.

[0026] Thereby, alignment of the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip can be performed by a simple method.

[0027] In the bonding method of the present invention, the electronic component may be a wafer, a second semiconductor chip different from the first semiconductor chip, or a substrate.

[0028] This allows for a simple method of joining various types of electronic components to the first semiconductor chip.

[0029] The semiconductor device of the present invention is characterized in that the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip are joined by the above-described joining method.

[0030] A semiconductor device with high bonding quality can be provided using a simple method.

[0031] The present invention relates to an electronic component manufacturing system for stacking and bonding a first semiconductor chip to a flat electronic component, comprising a thin film forming apparatus, a hydrophilization apparatus, and a bonding apparatus, wherein the thin film forming apparatus coats the surface of the electronic component and the relative surface of the first semiconductor chip opposite to the surface with a photoexcited hydrophilization reaction substance to form a surface thin film and a relative surface thin film, the electronic component with the surface thin film formed and the first semiconductor chip with the relative surface thin film formed are supplied to the hydrophilization apparatus, the hydrophilization apparatus processes the hydrophilized region which is a part of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic The process involves irradiating the chip hydrophilization region of the relative surface thin film facing the hydrophilization region with light to hydrophilize the hydrophilization region and the chip hydrophilization region, supplying the hydrophilized electronic component and the first semiconductor chip to the bonding apparatus, bonding the first semiconductor chip to the electronic component supplied from the hydrophilization apparatus, and comprising a stage for adsorbing and fixing the electronic component, a collet for gripping and releasing the first semiconductor chip, a dispenser for attaching droplets to the surface of the electronic component, and the collet in a direction along the stage and in a direction toward and toward the stage. The device comprises a bonding head that moves, a dispenser head that moves the dispenser in a direction along the stage and in a direction toward and toward the stage, a pressing device that presses the first semiconductor chip against the electronic component that is adsorbed and fixed to the stage, a collet, the dispenser, the bonding head, the dispenser head, and a control unit that adjusts the operation of the pressing device, the control unit comprising a processor that performs information processing, the processor processing the first semiconductor chip that is adsorbed and fixed to the stage by the dispenser The liquid droplet is attached to the hydrophilic region of the electronic component, the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip is placed on the liquid droplet by the collet, the surface tension of the liquid droplet causes the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip to self-align with the hydrophilic region of the electronic component, and the pressing device presses the hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film against the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film.It is characterized by the following:

[0032] In this way, the position of the first semiconductor chip is self-aligned with respect to the electronic components that are laminated and bonded by the surface tension of the droplets, and the electronic components and the first semiconductor chip are aligned in that state, so that the electronic components and the first semiconductor chip can be bonded with high alignment accuracy.

[0033] In the electronic component manufacturing system of the present invention, the hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region may be regions that have the same external shape and are smaller than the external shape of the first semiconductor chip.

[0034] This makes it possible to improve the alignment accuracy between the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip.

[0035] The present invention provides an electronic component manufacturing system, further comprising a heating device, wherein the electronic component comprises at least one electrode protruding from the surface, the first semiconductor chip comprises at least one counter electrode protruding from the relative surface at a position opposite to each of the electrodes, the thin film forming apparatus coats the surface with the photoexcitation hydrophilization reaction material to form a surface thin film having the same thickness as the protrusion height of each electrode in a region of the surface that does not include each of the electrodes, and coats the relative surface with the photoexcitation hydrophilization reaction material to form a relative surface thin film having the same thickness as the protrusion height of each of the counter electrodes in a region of the relative surface that does not include each of the counter electrodes. The hydrophilization device hydrophilizes the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilized chip region of the relative surface thin film, and the processor presses the hydrophilized chip region of the relative surface thin film onto the hydrophilized hydrophilized region of the surface thin film using the pressing device to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilized chip region of the relative surface thin film, and also forms a joint in which each tip surface of each electrode and each tip surface of each opposing electrode are in contact, and the heating device may heat the joint and thermally diffuse bond each tip surface of each electrode and each tip surface of each opposing electrode that are in contact.

[0036] In this way, the surface thin film of the electronic component formed at the same height and the tip surface of the electrode of the electronic component are joined to the relative surface thin film of the first semiconductor chip formed at the same height and the tip surface of the opposing electrode of the first semiconductor chip by hydrophilic bonding and thermal diffusion bonding. As a result, no gap is formed between the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip after bonding, and there is no need to fill the gap with adhesive or anything like that. Therefore, semiconductor devices with high bonding quality can be manufactured using a simple method.

[0037] The present invention provides an electronic component manufacturing system, further comprising an electrode forming apparatus and a heating apparatus, wherein the thin film forming apparatus coats the surface of the electronic component and the relative surface of the first semiconductor chip facing the surface with the photoexcited hydrophilic reaction substance to form the surface thin film and the relative surface thin film, supplies the electronic component with the surface thin film formed and the first semiconductor chip with the relative surface thin film formed to the electrode forming apparatus, the electrode forming apparatus forms at least one through electrode on the electronic component with the surface thin film formed, penetrating the electronic component and the surface thin film in the thickness direction of the electronic component, and forms the first semiconductor chip and the relative surface thin film on the first semiconductor chip with the relative surface thin film formed At least one opposing through-electrode is formed that penetrates the thickness direction of the chip and faces the through-electrode. The hydrophilization device hydrophilizes the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the chip hydrophilized region of the relative surface thin film. The processor presses the hydrophilized chip hydrophilized region of the relative surface thin film onto the hydrophilized hydrophilized region of the surface thin film using the pressing device to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the chip hydrophilized region of the relative surface thin film, forming a joint where each tip surface of each through-electrode and each tip surface of each opposing through-electrode are in contact. The heating device may heat the joint and thermally diffuse the tip surfaces of each contacting through-electrode and each tip surface of each opposing through-electrode.

[0038] In this way, the surface thin film of the electronic component and the tip surface of the through-electrode are joined to the relative surface thin film of the first semiconductor chip and the tip surface of the opposing through-electrode, respectively, by hydrophilic bonding and thermal diffusion bonding. As a result, no gap is formed between the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip after bonding, and there is no need to fill the gap with adhesive or the like. Therefore, semiconductor devices with high bonding quality can be manufactured using a simple method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0039] This invention can improve the alignment accuracy of semiconductor chips that are bonded in a stacked structure. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0040] [Figure 1] This is a flowchart showing the alignment method and joining method of the embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor chip. [Figure 3] Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor chip with a relative thin film formed on the relative surface of the semiconductor chip (left figure) and with the relative thin film formed on the tip surface of the counter electrode of the semiconductor chip removed (right figure). [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram showing the hydrophilization process for making the hydrophilic region of a semiconductor chip hydrophilic. [Figure 5] Figure 4 is a plan view of the semiconductor chip shown. [Figure 6] Figure 2 shows the plan view and cross-sectional view (AA) of the wafer to which the semiconductor chips are bonded. [Figure 7] Figure 6 is a plan view showing a wafer surface with a thin film formed on its surface, resulting in a state where the hydrophilic region has been made hydrophilic. [Figure 8] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer, specifically the BB cross-section shown in Figure 7. [Figure 9] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a liquid droplet is attached to the hydrophilic region of the wafer. [Figure 10]This is a cross-sectional view of a wafer and a semiconductor chip, showing a semiconductor chip with the hydrophilic region of the chip shown in Figure 4 hydrophilized, inverted and placed on a droplet shown in Figure 9. [Figure 11] This is a cross-sectional view of a wafer and a semiconductor chip, showing a state where the positions of each opposing electrode on the semiconductor chip and the electrodes on the wafer are aligned due to droplet self-alignment, compared to the state shown in Figure 10. [Figure 12] This is a cross-sectional view of a wafer and a semiconductor chip, showing the state in which the semiconductor chip is being pressed toward the wafer, as shown in Figure 10. [Figure 13] This diagram shows a cross-sectional view of a wafer and a semiconductor chip, where the hydrophilic region of the semiconductor chip and the hydrophilic region of the wafer are hydrophilically bonded, and the tip surface of the electrode of the wafer and the tip surface of the counter electrode of the semiconductor chip are in contact. [Figure 14] This is a plan view showing other shapes of the relative thin films of a semiconductor chip. [Figure 15] This is a plan view showing other shapes of the relative thin films of a semiconductor chip. [Figure 16] This is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an electronic component manufacturing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 17] Figure 16 is a diagram showing the configuration of the bonding apparatus. [Figure 18] Figure 16 is a diagram showing the configuration of the pressing device of the bonding apparatus. [Figure 19] Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the bonding apparatus, illustrating the process of a dispenser attaching droplets to the hydrophilic region on the surface of the wafer. [Figure 20] Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the bonding apparatus, illustrating the state in which the semiconductor chip has been moved to the bonding position on the wafer using a collet. [Figure 21] Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the bonding apparatus, illustrating the state in which a semiconductor chip is placed on a droplet using a collet. [Figure 22]Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the bonding apparatus, specifically the state in which the pressing device has been moved onto the semiconductor chip. [Figure 23] Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the bonding apparatus, illustrating the state in which a semiconductor chip is pressed onto the wafer surface by a pressing device. [Figure 24] Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the bonding apparatus, specifically the state after the pressing operation has been performed and the pressing device has been raised. [Figure 25] This flowchart shows joining methods of other embodiments. [Figure 26] This is a cross-sectional view of another semiconductor chip that is laminated and bonded, showing a state in which a thin film is formed on the relative surfaces. [Figure 27] Figure 26 shows cross-sectional views of another semiconductor chip with opposing through-holes formed (left view) and with copper embedded in the through-holes to form opposing through-electrodes (right view). [Figure 28] This is a cross-sectional view of a wafer on which other semiconductor chips are stacked and connected, showing the state in which a surface thin film and through-electrodes have been formed. [Figure 29] This is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an electronic component manufacturing system in another embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0041] The alignment method and bonding method of the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following description will explain the alignment method of the semiconductor chip 32 shown in Figure 2 and the bonding method when stacking and bonding the semiconductor chip 32 shown in Figure 2 onto a wafer 31, which is a flat electronic component shown in Figure 6. In the following description, the surface of the wafer 31 on which the semiconductor chip 32 is stacked will be described as surface 31a, and the surface of the semiconductor chip 32 that is superimposed opposite surface 31a will be described as relative surface 32a.

[0042] As shown in Figure 6, the wafer 31 has multiple electrodes 36 formed on it, with their leading edge surfaces 36a protruding from the surface 31a. Also, as shown in Figure 2, the semiconductor chip 32 has multiple opposing electrodes 33 formed on it, with their leading edge surfaces 33a protruding from the relative surface 32a and arranged at the same pitch as the electrodes 36 on the wafer 31. When the semiconductor chip 32 is positioned above the chip mounting area 31b (see Figure 6) of the wafer 31, each opposing electrode 33 faces each electrode 36 on the wafer 31.

[0043] The alignment method of the embodiment includes a thin film formation step shown in step S101 of Figure 1, a hydrophilization step shown in step S102 of Figure 1, a droplet adhesion step shown in step S103 of Figure 1, and a self-alignment step shown in step S104 of Figure 1. The bonding method of the embodiment also includes a thin film formation step (S101), a hydrophilization step (S102), a droplet adhesion step (S103), a self-alignment step (S104), a bonding step shown in step S105 of Figure 1, and a thermal diffusion bonding step shown in step S106 of Figure 1.

[0044] First, the thin film formation process will be explained. The thin film formation process involves forming a relative surface thin film 34 on the relative surface 32a of the semiconductor chip 32, and forming a surface thin film 37 on the surface 31a of the wafer 31.

[0045] Referring to Figure 3, the case in which a thin film 34 is formed on the relative surface 32a of the semiconductor chip 32 will be described. As shown in the left figure in Figure 3, titanium dioxide (TiO2), a photoexcitation hydrophilization reactant, is coated onto the relative surface 32a of the semiconductor chip 32. The titanium dioxide coating is carried out so that the thickness of the formed thin film 34a is approximately the same as the protrusion height of the opposing electrode 33 from the relative surface 32a. At this time, a thin film 34b of titanium dioxide is also formed on the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33.

[0046] After forming thin films 34a and 34b on the relative surface 32a, as shown in the right-hand diagram in Figure 3, the region not including the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33 is masked, and the thin film 34b formed on the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33 is removed by etching. As mentioned earlier, the thickness of the thin film 34a formed on the relative surface 32a is approximately the same as the protrusion height of the opposing electrode 33 from the relative surface 32a. Therefore, when the thin film 34b formed on the tip surface 33a is removed by etching, a relative surface thin film 34 is formed in the region not including the electrode 36. The height of the upper surface of the relative surface thin film 34 is then the same as the height of the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33. In this way, the thin film formation process involves coating the relative surface 32a of the semiconductor chip 32 with titanium oxide (TiO2) to form a relative surface thin film 34 with the same thickness as the protrusion height of the opposing electrode 33 in the region of the relative surface 32a not including the opposing electrode 33.

[0047] In the case of forming a surface thin film 37 on the surface 31a of the wafer 31 shown in Figure 6, titanium oxide (TiO2) is coated onto the surface 31a to approximately the same thickness as the protrusion height of the electrode 36 from the surface 31a, and the thin film of titanium oxide (TiO2) formed on the tip surface 36a of the electrode 36 is removed by etching. In this way, in the thin film formation process, titanium oxide (TiO2) is coated onto the surface 31a of the wafer 31 to form a surface thin film 37 with the same thickness as the protrusion height of the electrode 36 in the region of the surface 31a that does not include each electrode 36.

[0048] Next, the hydrophilization process will be explained. As shown by the arrow in Figure 4, the hydrophilization process involves irradiating the surface of the relative surface thin film 34 formed on the relative surface 32a of the semiconductor chip 32 with ultraviolet light to hydrophilize titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is a photoexcited hydrophilization reaction substance. As shown in Figure 5, the area that is hydrophilized by irradiation with ultraviolet light is not the entire relative surface thin film 34, but rather a part of the relative surface thin film 34, which is the chip hydrophilization region 35, including the area around each opposing electrode 33 of the semiconductor chip 32. The external shape of the chip hydrophilization region 35 is smaller than the external shape of the semiconductor chip 32 and is similar in shape to the semiconductor chip 32.

[0049] In the hydrophilization process, as shown by the arrow in Figure 8, ultraviolet light is shone on the surface thin film 37 formed on the surface 31a of the wafer 31 to hydrophilize the titanium dioxide (TiO2). As shown in Figure 7, the region to be hydrophilized is the hydrophilized region 38, which is a part of the inside of the chip mounting region 31b of the surface thin film 37. The chip mounting region 31b has the same shape as the outer shape of the semiconductor chip 32, and the shape of the hydrophilized region 38 is a similar shape that is smaller than the shape of the chip mounting region 31b. In the alignment method and bonding method of this embodiment, the hydrophilized region 38 of the wafer 31 that is hydrophilized in the hydrophilization process and the chip hydrophilized region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 have the same outer shape. When the semiconductor chip 32 is positioned so that it is above the chip mounting region 31b of the wafer 31, the chip hydrophilized region 35 faces the hydrophilized region 38 of the wafer 31.

[0050] Next, the droplet deposition process will be described. As shown in Figure 9, the droplet deposition process involves depositing, for example, hydrogen water onto the upper surface of the hydrophilic hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31. Hydrogen water is water in which hydrogen gas is dissolved. The hydrogen water deposited on the hydrophilic region 38 spreads throughout the entire hydrophilic hydrophilic region 38, but does not spread to the outer surface thin film 37 of the hydrophilic region 38 that is not hydrophilic. As a result, the hydrogen water rises from the outer edge of the hydrophilic region 38 and forms droplets 39 that rise in a hemispherical shape. In the droplet deposition process, droplets 39 of hydrogen water are deposited on the upper surface of each of the multiple hydrophilic regions 38 shown in Figure 7 (see Figure 9).

[0051] Next, the self-alignment process will be described. As shown in Figure 10, the self-alignment process involves placing the hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 on a droplet 39, and using the surface tension of the droplet 39 to self-align the hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 with respect to the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31.

[0052] As shown in Figure 10, the semiconductor chip 32 is inverted so that the hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 faces the wafer 31. Then, the semiconductor chip 32 is placed on the droplet 39, aligning it with the chip mounting area 31b of the wafer 31. The droplet 39 that comes into contact with the hydrophilic region 35 spreads over the entire hydrophilic region 35, but does not spread outside the hydrophilic region 35. As a result, the droplet 39 is divided at the lower side by the outer edge of the hydrophilic region 38 and at the upper side by the outer edge of the hydrophilic region 35, and forms a columnar liquid column 39a with outwardly bulging sides that connect the outer edges of the hydrophilic region 38 and the outer edge of the hydrophilic region 35 by surface tension. The liquid column 39a supports the semiconductor chip 32. As explained earlier, the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31 and the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 are regions with the same external shape. Therefore, as shown in Figure 11, the semiconductor chip 32 is self-aligned by the surface tension of the liquid column 39a so that the outer edge of the hydrophilic region 38 of the lower wafer 31 and the outer edge of the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the upper semiconductor chip 32 are in the same position.

[0053] Then, as shown in Figure 11, when the hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 self-aligns with the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31, the positions of each electrode 36 of the wafer 31 and each opposing electrode 33 of the semiconductor chip 32 coincide.

[0054] Next, the bonding process and the thermal diffusion bonding process will be explained with reference to Figures 12 to 13. The bonding process involves bringing the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the relative surface thin film 34 of the semiconductor chip 32 into contact with the hydrophilic region 38 of the surface thin film 37, thereby hydrophilically bonding the hydrophilic region 38 of the surface thin film 37 to the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the relative surface thin film 34. The thermal diffusion bonding process involves heating the bonded wafer 31 and semiconductor chip 32 (see Figure 13) that were bonded in the hydrophilic bonding process, thereby thermally diffusing bonding the tip surfaces 36a of each contacting electrode 36 to the tip surfaces 33a of each opposing electrode 33.

[0055] As shown in Figure 12, when the semiconductor chip 32 is pressed downwards, the hydrogen water constituting the liquid column 39a flows out from the outer surface, and the height of the liquid column 39a gradually decreases. Then, when the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 is brought into contact with the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31, and the chip hydrophilic region 35 is pressed against the hydrophilic region 38, the chip hydrophilic region 35 and the hydrophilic region 38 are joined by hydrophilic bonding, and a bonded body 28 is formed. As explained earlier, the upper surface of the relative surface thin film 34 on which the chip hydrophilic region 35 is formed and the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33 are on the same plane, and the upper surface of the surface thin film 37 on which the hydrophilic region 38 is formed and the tip surface 36a of the electrode 36 are on the same plane. Therefore, when the chip hydrophilic region 35 and the hydrophilic region 38 come into contact, the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33 and the tip surface 36a of the electrode 36 also come into contact. Then, when this bonded body 28 is heated in a heating device 60 (see Figure 16), the tip surfaces 36a of each contacting electrode 36 and the tip surfaces 33a of each opposing electrode 33 are joined by thermal diffusion bonding, forming a semiconductor device.

[0056] As described above, the alignment method of the embodiment self-aligns the position of the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 with respect to the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31 by the surface tension of the liquid column 39a, so that the wafer 31 and the semiconductor chip 32 can be aligned with high precision.

[0057] Furthermore, in the bonding method of this embodiment, the surface tension of the liquid column 39a self-aligns the position of the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 with respect to the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31, and the wafer 31 and semiconductor chip 32 are bonded in that state, so the wafer 31 and semiconductor chip 32 can be bonded with high alignment accuracy.

[0058] Furthermore, in the bonding method of this embodiment, the hydrophilic region 38 of the surface thin film 37 of the wafer 31, which is formed at the same height, and the tip surface 36a of the electrode 36 are bonded to the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33, which is bonded to the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the relative surface thin film 34 of the semiconductor chip 32, which is formed at the same height, by hydrophilic bonding and thermal diffusion bonding. As a result, no gap is formed between the wafer 31 and the semiconductor chip 32 after bonding, and there is no need to fill the gap with adhesive or the like. Therefore, semiconductor devices with high bonding quality can be manufactured using a simple method.

[0059] In the above explanation, the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 was described as having an external shape similar to the external shape of the semiconductor chip 32. However, if the region includes the area around each opposing electrode 33, for example, multiple locations on the relative surface thin film 134 may be hydrophilized to provide multiple chip hydrophilic regions 135, as shown in Figure 14. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 15, chip hydrophilic regions 235 may be provided on the relative surface thin film 234 around each opposing electrode 33. In this case, the shape of the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31 may be the same as the shape of the chip hydrophilic regions 135 and 235 described above.

[0060] Furthermore, although the above explanation uses titanium dioxide (TiO2) as the photoexcited hydrophilic reaction material, it is not limited to this. For example, one of the following may be used: tungsten trioxide, silver bromide, silver chloride, silicon dioxide (SiO2), nitrogen-doped silicon carbide (SiCN), silicon nitride (SiN), or carbon-doped silicon monoxide (SiOC).

[0061] Furthermore, although the above explanation describes the formation of droplet 39 using hydrogen water, it is not limited to this, and one of the following may be used: ozonated water, carbon water, alkaline electrolyzed water, or fine bubble water.

[0062] Furthermore, although the above explanation describes the use of ultraviolet light to hydrophilize the relative surface thin film 34 and the surface thin film 37, the explanation is not limited to this, and hydrophilization may also be performed using visible light.

[0063] Next, with reference to Figures 16 to 18, we will describe an electronic component manufacturing system 100 that manufactures semiconductor devices by performing the alignment method and joining method described earlier.

[0064] As shown in Figure 16, the electronic component manufacturing system 100 includes a thin film forming apparatus 50, a hydrophilization apparatus 52, a bonding apparatus 10, a heating apparatus 60, a first transport apparatus 55, and a second transport apparatus 65.

[0065] The thin film forming apparatus 50 includes a coating apparatus for applying titanium oxide (TiO2) coating, an etching apparatus, and a transport apparatus (not shown) inside.

[0066] The thin-film deposition apparatus 50 coats the relative surface 32a of the semiconductor chip 32 shown in Figure 2 with titanium oxide (TiO2), then removes the thin film 34b formed on the tip surface 33a of the counter electrode 33 to form a relative surface thin film 34, and coats the surface 31a of the wafer 31 shown in Figure 6 with titanium oxide (TiO2), then removes the thin film formed on the tip surface 36a of the electrode 36 to form a surface thin film 37. As explained earlier with reference to Figures 2 and 3, the thin-film deposition apparatus 50 forms a relative surface thin film 34 with the same thickness as the protrusion height of the counter electrode 33 in the region of the relative surface 32a that does not include the counter electrode 33, and forms a surface thin film 37 with the same thickness as the protrusion height of the electrode 36 in the region of the surface 31a that does not include each electrode 36. The semiconductor chip 32 on which the relative surface thin film 34 has been formed and the wafer 31 on which the surface thin film 37 has been formed are then supplied to the hydrophilization apparatus 52.

[0067] The hydrophilization device 52 includes an ultraviolet irradiation device inside. The hydrophilization device 52 irradiates ultraviolet light onto the thin film 34 on the relative surface of the semiconductor chip 32 to form a hydrophilized region 35 on the chip. The hydrophilization device 52 also irradiates ultraviolet light onto the thin film 37 on the surface of the wafer 31 to form a hydrophilized region 38.

[0068] As shown by arrows 56 and 57 in Figure 16, the first transport device 55 transports the semiconductor chip 32 and wafer 31, which have been hydrophilized by the hydrophilization device 52, to the bonding device 10.

[0069] The bonding apparatus 10 is a device that bonds a semiconductor chip 32 to the upper surface of a wafer 31 supplied from a hydrophilization apparatus 52 by a first transport apparatus 55 to form a bonded body 28. Details of the bonding apparatus 10 will be explained later with reference to Figures 17 and 18.

[0070] As shown by arrow 66 in Figure 16, the second conveying device 65 conveys the bonded body 28 joined by the bonding device 10 to the heating device 60.

[0071] The heating device 60 heats the bonded body 28 supplied from the bonding device 10, causing thermal diffusion bonding between the tip surfaces 36a of each contacting electrode 36 and the tip surfaces 33a of each opposing electrode 33.

[0072] Next, the configuration of the bonding apparatus 10 will be described with reference to Figures 17 and 18. The bonding apparatus 10 includes a stage 11, a collet 12, a bonding head 13, a guide rail 15, a first camera 14, a mounting table 17, a dispenser 22, a dispenser head 23, a second camera 24, a pressing device 26 shown in Figure 18, and a control unit 40 shown in Figures 17 and 18. In the following description, the direction in which the guide rail 15 extends will be described as the Y direction, the direction perpendicular to the Y direction in the horizontal plane will be described as the X direction, and the vertical direction will be described as the Z direction. In addition, the side of the mounting table 17 will be described as the negative Y direction side, the side of the stage 11 as the positive Y direction side, the front side of the paper in Figure 1 as the positive X direction side, the back side of the paper as the negative X direction side, the upward direction as the positive Z direction side, and the downward direction as the negative Z direction side.

[0073] Stage 11 adsorbs and fixes the wafer 31 to its upper surface. Collet 12 is connected to the lower end of bonding head 13, and adsorbs the semiconductor chip 32 to its tip, gripping the semiconductor chip 32 and releasing the semiconductor chip 32.

[0074] The bonding head 13 is equipped with a Y-direction drive motor 13M and moves in the Y-direction as shown by arrow 91 in Figure 17, guided by the guide rail 15. The bonding head 13 also incorporates a Z-direction drive motor 12M that moves the collet 12 in the Z-direction as shown by arrow 92 in Figure 17. The guide rail 15 moves in the X-direction by an X-direction drive device (not shown). Therefore, the bonding head 13 and the X-direction drive device (not shown) move the collet 12 in the XY direction, which is along the suction surface 11a of the stage 11, and in the Z direction, which is in the direction of approaching and moving away from the suction surface 11a.

[0075] The first camera 14 is attached to the bonding head 13 and acquires an image of the wafer 31 that is adsorbed onto the stage 11 or the semiconductor chip 32 that is placed on the mounting stage 17.

[0076] The mounting table 17 is a platform on which a semiconductor chip 32, whose chip hydrophilic region 35 has been hydrophilized by the hydrophilization device 52, is temporarily placed. The mounting table 17 may be designed to allow the semiconductor chip 32 to be placed on its upper surface non-contactually, for example, by ultrasonic vibration or pneumatic pressure.

[0077] The dispenser 22 is connected to the lower end of the dispenser head 23 and dispenses hydrogen water from its tip.

[0078] The dispenser head 23, like the bonding head 13, is equipped with a Y-direction drive motor 23M and moves in the Y-direction as shown by arrow 93 in Figure 17, guided by the guide rail 15. The dispenser head 23 also incorporates a Z-direction drive motor 22M that moves the dispenser 22 in the Z-direction, as shown by arrow 94 in Figure 17. Similar to the bonding head 13, the dispenser head 23 and the X-direction drive device (not shown) move the dispenser 22 in the XY direction, which is along the suction surface 11a of the stage 11, and in the Z direction, which is in the direction of approaching and moving away from the suction surface 11a.

[0079] The second camera 24 is attached to the dispenser head 23 and acquires an image of the wafer 31 that is adsorbed onto the stage 11 or the semiconductor chip 32 that is mounted on the wafer 31.

[0080] As shown in Figure 18, the pressing device 26 consists of a main body 26a attached to the upper frame 15a of the bonding apparatus 10 and a pressing plate 27 attached to the lower side of the main body 26a. The main body 26a is equipped with a Z-direction drive motor 26M that drives the pressing plate 27 in the Z direction, as shown by arrow 95 in Figure 18.

[0081] The control unit 40 is a computer equipped with a CPU 41, which is a processor that performs information processing, and a memory 42 that stores operation programs and control data. Image data acquired by the first camera 14 and the second camera 24 is input to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 detects the position of the chip mounting area 31b on the wafer 31 or the position of the semiconductor chip 32 by performing image analysis of the input image data. In addition, the Z-direction drive motor 12M mounted inside the bonding head 13 detects the position of the collet 12 in the Z direction and outputs it to the control unit 40. Similarly, the Z-direction drive motor 22M mounted inside the dispenser head 23 detects the position of the dispenser 22 in the Z direction and outputs it to the control unit 40.

[0082] The Y-direction drive motor 13M and Z-direction drive motor 12M of the bonding head 13, the Y-direction drive motor 23M and Z-direction drive motor 22M of the dispenser head 23, the X-direction drive device, the collet 12, the dispenser 22, and the Z-direction drive motor 26M of the pressing device 26 are operated by commands from the control unit 40. The Y-direction drive motor 13M, Z-direction drive motor 12M, and X-direction drive device of the bonding head 13 adjust the XYZ position of the collet 12 based on commands from the control unit 40. The collet 12 also picks up and releases the semiconductor chip 32 based on commands from the control unit 40. Similarly, the Y-direction drive motor 23M, Z-direction drive motor 22M, and X-direction drive device of the dispenser head 23 adjust the XYZ position of the dispenser 22 based on commands from the control unit 40. The dispenser 22 also dispenses hydrogen water by dropping it based on commands from the control unit 40. Then, the Z-direction drive motor 26M of the pressing device 26 adjusts the position of the pressing plate 27 in the Z-direction based on a command from the control unit 40.

[0083] Next, the operation of bonding the semiconductor chip 32 onto the wafer 31 by the electronic component manufacturing system 100 will be described with reference to Figures 19 to 24.

[0084] As shown in Figure 19, a semiconductor chip 32 (see Figure 4), whose hydrophilic region 35 has been hydrophilized by the hydrophilization device 52, is placed on the mounting table 17 with the hydrophilic region 35 facing downwards. A wafer 31 (see Figures 7 and 8), whose hydrophilic region 38 has been hydrophilized, is adsorbed and fixed onto the stage 11. The control unit 40 drives the Y-direction drive motor 13M of the bonding head 13 to move the collet 12 onto the mounting table 17.

[0085] The control unit 40 drives the Y-direction drive motor 23M of the dispenser head 23 to move the dispenser 22 over the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31, and then lowers the tip to a predetermined height. Then, as shown by arrow 96 in Figure 19, the control unit 40 drives the dispenser 22 to drop hydrogen water onto the hydrophilic region 38. The control unit 40 similarly drops hydrogen water onto each hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31. The dropped hydrogen water becomes droplets 39 on the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31 as shown in Figure 9. Once the dropping of hydrogen water onto each hydrophilic region 38 is complete, the control unit 40 drives the Y-direction drive motor 23M to move the dispenser head 23 outside the stage 11, as shown in Figure 20.

[0086] The control unit 40 drives the Z-direction drive motor 12M of the bonding head 13 shown in Figure 19 to lower the collet 12 onto the semiconductor chip 32, gripping the semiconductor chip 32 with the collet 12, and then raises the collet 12 with the Z-direction drive motor 12M to pick up the semiconductor chip 32. Then, it drives the Y-direction drive motor 13M to move the semiconductor chip 32 onto the chip mounting area 31b (see Figures 7 and 8) of the wafer 31, as shown in Figure 20. Then, as shown by arrow 98 in Figure 20, the control unit 40 drives the Z-direction drive motor 12M to lower the collet 12 onto the droplet 39 in the hydrophilic area 38 of the wafer 31, and releases the grip on the semiconductor chip 32 as shown in Figure 21, placing the semiconductor chip 32 on the droplet 39. Then, as explained with reference to Figures 10 and 11, the semiconductor chip 32 is self-aligned by the surface tension of the liquid column 39a such that the outer edge of the hydrophilic region 38 of the lower wafer 31 and the outer edge of the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the upper semiconductor chip 32 are in the same position.

[0087] Next, as shown in Figure 22, the control unit 40 moves the pressing device 26 onto the stage 11 and drives the Z-direction drive motor 26M to lower the pressing plate 27 toward the semiconductor chip 32, as indicated by arrow 99 in Figure 22, and presses multiple semiconductor chips 32 onto the wafer 31 simultaneously, as shown in Figure 23. As a result, as explained with reference to Figure 13, the hydrophilic region 35 and the hydrophilic region 38 of the chip come into contact and are hydrophilically bonded, and a bonded body 28 is formed where the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33 and the tip surface 36a of the electrode 36 come into contact. The formed bonded body 28 is then transported to the heating device 60 by the second transport device 65, as shown by arrow 66 in Figures 24 and 16. When this bonded body 28 is heated in the heating device 60 (see Figure 16), the tip surfaces 36a of each contacting electrode 36 and the tip surfaces 33a of each opposing electrode 33 are bonded by thermal diffusion bonding, and the semiconductor device is completed.

[0088] The electronic component manufacturing system 100 of the embodiment described above, similar to the bonding method described earlier, self-aligns the position of the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the semiconductor chip 32 with respect to the hydrophilic region 38 of the wafer 31 by the surface tension of the liquid column 39a, and bonds the wafer 31 and the semiconductor chip 32 in that state, thereby enabling bonding of the wafer 31 and the semiconductor chip 32 with high alignment accuracy.

[0089] Furthermore, the electronic component manufacturing system 100 of this embodiment, similar to the bonding method described earlier, bonds the hydrophilic region 38 of the surface thin film 37 of the wafer 31 formed at the same height to the tip surface 36a of the electrode 36, and the chip hydrophilic region 35 of the relative surface thin film 34 of the semiconductor chip 32 formed at the same height to the tip surface 33a of the opposing electrode 33, by hydrophilic bonding and thermal diffusion bonding. As a result, no gap is formed between the wafer 31 and the semiconductor chip 32 after bonding, and there is no need to fill the gap with adhesive or the like. Therefore, semiconductor devices with high bonding quality can be manufactured.

[0090] Next, with reference to Figures 25 to 28, other bonding methods for bonding semiconductor chips 332 of other structures to wafers 331 of other structures will be described.

[0091] Other bonding methods include a thin film formation step shown in step S201 of Figure 25, a counter-through electrode formation step shown in step S202 of Figure 25, a through electrode formation step shown in step S203 of Figure 25, a hydrophilization step shown in steps S102 to S106 of Figure 25, a droplet attachment step, a self-alignment step, a bonding step, and a thermal diffusion bonding step.

[0092] As shown in Figure 26, unlike the semiconductor chip 32 described earlier, the semiconductor chip 332 does not have a counter electrode 33 whose tip surface 33a protrudes from the relative surface 332a. Similarly, the wafer 331 does not have an electrode 36 whose tip surface 36a protrudes from the surface 331a.

[0093] As shown in Figure 26, the thin film formation process involves coating the relative surface 332a of the semiconductor chip 332 with titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is a photoexcitation hydrophilization reactant, to form a relative surface thin film 334, and simultaneously coating the surface 331a of the wafer 331 with titanium dioxide (TiO2) to form a surface thin film 335.

[0094] The opposing through-electrode formation process is a process of forming opposing through-electrodes 333 that penetrate the semiconductor chip 332 and the relative surface thin film 334 in the thickness direction of the semiconductor chip 332, on which the relative surface thin film 334 has been formed. The opposing through-electrode formation process includes, as shown in the left figure of Figure 27, an etching process to form opposing through-holes 332h that penetrate the semiconductor chip 332 and the relative surface thin film 334 in the thickness direction of the semiconductor chip 332, on which the relative surface thin film 334 has been formed, and, as shown in the right figure of Figure 27, a metal filling process to fill the formed opposing through-holes 332h with a metal such as copper. When the opposing through-holes 332h are filled with metal, opposing through-electrodes 333 are formed as shown in the right figure of Figure 27. In the metal filling process, the metal is filled so that the tip surface 333a of the opposing through-electrode 333 is on the same plane as the upper surface 334c of the relative surface thin film 334. Therefore, the upper surface 334c of the relative surface thin film 334 and the tip surface 333a of the opposing through electrode 333 are on the same plane.

[0095] Similarly, the through-electrode formation process includes an etching process to form through-holes (not shown) that penetrate the wafer 31 and the surface thin film 337 in the thickness direction of the wafer 331, and a metal filling process to fill the formed through-holes with metal. When metal is filled into the through-holes, a through-electrode 336 as shown in Figure 28 is formed. The metal filling process fills the metal so that the tip surface 336a of the through-electrode 336 is on the same plane as the upper surface 337c of the surface thin film 337. Therefore, the upper surface 337c of the surface thin film 337 and the tip surface 336a of the through-electrode 336 are on the same plane.

[0096] The hydrophilization process, droplet adhesion process, self-alignment process, bonding process, and thermal diffusion bonding process are the same as those described earlier with reference to Figures 1 to 13, so their explanation will be omitted.

[0097] Other joining methods produce the same effects as those described earlier with reference to Figures 1 to 13.

[0098] Next, we will describe an electronic component manufacturing system 200 that manufactures a semiconductor device by performing the above-mentioned other joining methods. Parts similar to those in the electronic component manufacturing system 100 described earlier with reference to Figures 16 to 24 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0099] The electronic component manufacturing system 200 has the same configuration as the electronic component manufacturing system 100 described earlier with reference to Figures 16 to 24, except that it includes an electrode forming apparatus 51.

[0100] The electrode formation apparatus 51 includes an etching apparatus (not shown) and a metal filling apparatus (not shown) inside. The etching apparatus forms opposing through-holes 332h in the semiconductor chip 332 on which a thin film 334 has been formed on the relative surface by the thin film formation apparatus 50. The metal filling apparatus fills the opposing through-holes 332h with a metal such as copper to form opposing through-electrodes 333. The etching apparatus also forms through-holes (not shown) in the wafer 31 on which a thin film 337 has been formed by the thin film formation apparatus 50, and the metal filling apparatus fills the through-holes with metal to form through-electrodes 336.

[0101] The through-electrodes 336 of the wafer 331 and the opposing through-electrodes 333 of the semiconductor chip 332 are formed with the same pitch. Therefore, when the semiconductor chip 332 is positioned above the chip mounting area 331b of the wafer 331, each opposing through-electrode 333 of the semiconductor chip 332 faces each through-electrode 336 of the wafer 31.

[0102] The metal filling apparatus fills the metal so that the tip surface 333a of the opposing through electrode 333 is flush with the upper surface 334b ​​of the relative surface thin film 334. Therefore, the upper surface 334b ​​of the relative surface thin film 334 and the tip surface 333a of the opposing through electrode 333 are flush. Similarly, the metal filling apparatus fills the metal so that the tip surface 336a of the through electrode 336 is flush with the upper surface 337b of the surface thin film 337. Therefore, the upper surface 337c of the surface thin film 337 and the tip surface 336a of the through electrode 336 are flush.

[0103] In the electronic component manufacturing system 200, similar to the electronic component manufacturing system 100 described earlier, the hydrophilization device 52 forms a chip hydrophilization region 35 on the semiconductor chip 332 and a hydrophilization region 38 on the wafer 31, and the semiconductor chip 332 and wafer 331 are transported to the bonding device 10 by the first transport device 55. The bonding device 10 bonds the semiconductor chip 332 onto the wafer 331 in the same operation as described earlier with reference to Figures 19 to 24 to form a bonded body 28. The bonded body 28 is transported to the heating device 60 by the second transport device 65, where it is heated, and the tip surface 336a of the through electrode 336 and the tip surface 333a of the opposing through electrode 333 are thermally diffusively bonded to form a semiconductor device.

[0104] The electronic component manufacturing system 200 performs the same functions / effects as the electronic component manufacturing system 100 described earlier.

[0105] The bonding methods and electronic component manufacturing systems 100 and 200 described above were explained as bonding semiconductor chips 32 and 332 onto wafers 31 and 331, but they are not limited to this and may also be applied when other semiconductor chips are laminated onto semiconductor chips 32 and 332. Furthermore, instead of wafer 31, the methods may also be applied when semiconductor chips 32 and 332 are laminated onto a substrate. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0106] 10 Bonding apparatus, 11 Stage, 11a Adsorption surface, 12 Collet, 12M, 22M, 26M Z-direction drive motor, 13 Bonding head, 13M, 23M Y-direction drive motor, 15 Guide rail, 15a Upper frame, 17 Mounting platform, 22 Dispenser, 23 Dispenser head, 26 Pressing device, 26a Main body, 27 Pressing plate, 28 Bonded body, 31, 331 Wafer, 31a, 331a Surface, 31b, 331b Chip mounting area, 32, 332 Semiconductor chip, 32a, 332a Relative surface, 33 Counter electrode, 33a, 333a Tip surface, 34, 134, 234, 334 Relative surface thin film, 34a, 34b Thin film, 35, 135, 235 Chip hydrophilization area, 36 Electrode, 36a, 336a Tip surface, 37, 337 Surface thin film, 38 Hydrophilic region, 39 Droplet, 39a Liquid column, 40 Control unit, 41 CPU, 42 Memory, 50 Thin film forming apparatus, 51 Electrode forming apparatus, 52 Hydrophilization apparatus, 55 First transport apparatus, 60 Heating apparatus, 65 Second transport apparatus, 100, 200 Electronic component manufacturing system, 332h Opposing through hole, 333 Opposing through electrode, 334c, 337c Top surface, 336 Through electrode.

Claims

1. A method for aligning a first semiconductor chip when stacking and bonding a first semiconductor chip to a flat electronic component, A thin film formation step involves coating the surface of the electronic component and the opposing surface of the first semiconductor chip opposite to the surface with a photoexcited hydrophilic reaction material to form a surface thin film and an opposing surface thin film, A hydrophilization step involves irradiating light onto a hydrophilic region which is part of the surface thin film and a chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film facing the hydrophilic region to make the hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region hydrophilic. A droplet attachment step of attaching a droplet to the hydrophilic region of the electronic component, The process includes a self-alignment step in which the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip is placed on the droplet, and the surface tension of the droplet causes the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip to self-align with the hydrophilic region of the electronic component. An alignment method characterized by the following.

2. The alignment method according to claim 1, The hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region have the same external shape and are smaller than the external shape of the first semiconductor chip. An alignment method characterized by the following.

3. An alignment method according to claim 1 or 2, The photo-excited hydrophilic reaction material is selected from one of the following: titanium dioxide, tungsten trioxide, silver bromide, silver chloride, silicon dioxide, nitrogen-doped silicon carbide, silicon nitride, or carbon-doped silicon monoxide. The aforementioned droplet is composed of a liquid selected from one of the following: hydrogen water, ozonated water, carbon water, alkaline electrolyzed water, or fine bubble water. The aforementioned light is ultraviolet light. An alignment method characterized by the following.

4. The alignment method according to claim 3, The electronic component is a wafer, a second semiconductor chip different from the first semiconductor chip, or a substrate. An alignment method characterized by the following.

5. A bonding method for stacking and bonding a first semiconductor chip to a flat electronic component, A thin film formation step involves coating the surface of the electronic component and the opposing surface of the first semiconductor chip opposite to the surface with a photoexcited hydrophilic reaction material to form a surface thin film and an opposing surface thin film, A hydrophilization step involves irradiating light onto a hydrophilic region which is part of the surface thin film and a chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film facing the hydrophilic region to make the hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region hydrophilic. A droplet attachment step of attaching a droplet to the hydrophilic region of the electronic component, A self-alignment step is performed by placing the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip on the droplet, and using the surface tension of the droplet to self-align the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip with respect to the hydrophilic region of the electronic component. A bonding step in which the hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film is brought into contact with the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film, A joining method characterized by comprising the following:

6. A joining method according to claim 5, The hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region have the same external shape and are smaller than the external shape of the first semiconductor chip. A joining method characterized by the following.

7. A joining method according to claim 6, The process further includes a thermal diffusion bonding step, The electronic component comprises at least one electrode protruding from the surface, The first semiconductor chip includes at least one counter electrode that protrudes from the relative surface at a position opposite to each of the electrodes, The thin film formation step involves coating the surface with the photoexcitation hydrophilic reaction substance to form a surface thin film with the same thickness as the protrusion height of each electrode in the region of the surface that does not include each electrode, and coating the relative surface with the photoexcitation hydrophilic reaction substance to form a relative surface thin film with the same thickness as the protrusion height of each counter electrode in the region of the relative surface that does not include each counter electrode. The hydrophilization step hydrophilizes the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilized region of the chip of the relative surface thin film. The bonding step involves bringing the hydrophilicized chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film into contact with the hydrophilicized hydrophilic region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film, and forming a bonded body in which each tip surface of each electrode and each tip surface of each opposing electrode are in contact. The thermal diffusion bonding step involves heating the bonded body to thermal diffusion bond the tip surfaces of each contacting electrode to the tip surfaces of each opposing electrode. A joining method characterized by the following.

8. A joining method according to claim 6, A through electrode forming step, in which at least one through electrode is formed on the electronic component on which the surface thin film is formed, the through electrode penetrates the electronic component and the surface thin film in the thickness direction of the electronic component, A process for forming a counter through electrode, wherein the first semiconductor chip on which the relative surface thin film is formed penetrates the first semiconductor chip and the relative surface thin film in the thickness direction of the first semiconductor chip, and at least one counter through electrode is formed facing the through electrode, The process further includes a thermal diffusion bonding step, The bonding step involves bringing the hydrophilicized chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film into contact with the hydrophilicized hydrophilic region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film, and forming a bonded body in which each tip surface of each through electrode and each tip surface of each opposing through electrode are in contact. The thermal diffusion bonding step involves heating the bonded body to thermal diffusion bond the tip surfaces of each contacting through electrode to the tip surfaces of each opposing through electrode. A joining method characterized by the following.

9. A joining method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, The photo-excited hydrophilic reaction material is selected from one of the following: titanium dioxide, tungsten trioxide, silver bromide, silver chloride, silicon dioxide, nitrogen-doped silicon carbide, silicon nitride, or carbon-doped silicon monoxide. The aforementioned droplet is composed of a liquid selected from one of the following: hydrogen water, ozonated water, carbon water, alkaline electrolyzed water, or fine bubble water. The aforementioned light is ultraviolet light. A joining method characterized by the following.

10. A joining method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, The electronic component is a wafer, a second semiconductor chip different from the first semiconductor chip, or a substrate. A joining method characterized by the following.

11. A semiconductor device comprising the bonding method described in any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the electronic component and the first semiconductor chip are bonded together.

12. An electronic component manufacturing system for stacking and bonding a first semiconductor chip to a flat electronic component, The system comprises a thin film forming apparatus, a hydrophilization apparatus, and a bonding apparatus. The thin film forming apparatus is A photo-excited hydrophilic reaction material is coated onto the surface of the electronic component and the opposing surface of the first semiconductor chip facing the surface to form a surface thin film and an opposing surface thin film, and the electronic component with the surface thin film formed and the first semiconductor chip with the opposing surface thin film formed are supplied to the hydrophilization device. The aforementioned hydrophilic device is Light is irradiated onto the hydrophilic region which is part of the surface thin film and the chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film facing the hydrophilic region to make the hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region hydrophilic, and the hydrophilized electronic component and the first semiconductor chip are supplied to the bonding apparatus. The bonding apparatus bonds the first semiconductor chip to the electronic component supplied from the hydrophilization apparatus. A stage for adsorbing and fixing the aforementioned electronic component, A collet for gripping and releasing the first semiconductor chip, A dispenser for attaching liquid droplets to the surface of the electronic component, A bonding head that moves the collet in a direction along the stage and in a direction toward and toward the stage, A dispenser head that moves the dispenser in a direction along the stage and in a direction toward and toward the stage, A pressing device for pressing the first semiconductor chip against the electronic component that is adsorbed and fixed to the stage, The system comprises the collet, the dispenser, the bonding head, the dispenser head, and a control unit for adjusting the operation of the pressing device. The control unit includes a processor that performs information processing, The aforementioned processor, The dispenser causes the droplets to adhere to the hydrophilic region of the electronic component that has been adsorbed and fixed to the stage. The collet places the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip on the droplet, and the surface tension of the droplet causes the hydrophilic region of the first semiconductor chip to self-align with the hydrophilic region of the electronic component. The pressing device presses the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film against the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film. An electronic component manufacturing system characterized by [feature].

13. An electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 12, The hydrophilic region and the chip hydrophilic region have the same external shape and are smaller than the external shape of the first semiconductor chip. An electronic component manufacturing system characterized by [feature].

14. An electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 13, It is further equipped with a heating device, The electronic component comprises at least one electrode protruding from the surface, The first semiconductor chip includes at least one counter electrode that protrudes from the relative surface at a position opposite to each of the electrodes, The thin film forming apparatus is The photo-excited hydrophilic reaction material is coated onto the surface to form a thin film on the surface in a region of the surface that does not include each electrode, having the same thickness as the protrusion height of each electrode; the photo-excited hydrophilic reaction material is coated onto the relative surface to form a thin film on the relative surface in a region of the relative surface that does not include each counter electrode, having the same thickness as the protrusion height of each counter electrode; The hydrophilization device hydrophilizes the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilized region of the chip of the relative surface thin film. The aforementioned processor, The pressing device presses the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film against the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the surface thin film, thereby hydrophilically bonding the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film, and also forms a bonded body in which each tip surface of each electrode contacts each tip surface of each opposing electrode. The heating device heats the joined body and causes thermal diffusion bonding between the tip surfaces of each contacting electrode and the tip surfaces of each opposing electrode. An electronic component manufacturing system characterized by [feature].

15. An electronic component manufacturing system according to claim 13, Electrode forming apparatus, It further includes a heating device, The thin film forming apparatus coats the surface of the electronic component and the opposing surface of the first semiconductor chip facing the surface with the photoexcited hydrophilic reaction substance to form the surface thin film and the opposing surface thin film, and supplies the electronic component with the surface thin film formed and the first semiconductor chip with the opposing surface thin film formed to the electrode forming apparatus. The electrode forming apparatus forms at least one through-electrode on the electronic component on which the surface thin film is formed, which penetrates the electronic component and the surface thin film in the thickness direction of the electronic component, and forms at least one opposing through-electrode on the first semiconductor chip on which the relative surface thin film is formed, which penetrates the first semiconductor chip and the relative surface thin film in the thickness direction of the first semiconductor chip and faces the through-electrode. The hydrophilization device hydrophilizes the hydrophilized region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilized region of the chip of the relative surface thin film. The aforementioned processor, The pressing device presses the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film against the hydrophilic hydrophilic region of the surface thin film to hydrophilically bond the hydrophilic region of the surface thin film and the hydrophilic chip hydrophilic region of the relative surface thin film, and forms a bonded body in which each tip surface of each through electrode and each tip surface of each opposing through electrode are in contact. The heating device heats the joined body and causes thermal diffusion bonding between the tip surfaces of each of the contacting through electrodes and the tip surfaces of each of the opposing through electrodes. An electronic component manufacturing system characterized by [feature].

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