Chip Sorting Apparatus Using Adhesive Transfer and Solvent Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current chip sorting processes in semiconductor manufacturing are inefficient, requiring extensive machine movement and taking several hours to sort thousands of chips due to the time-consuming process of selecting and separating qualified chips from a wafer.
Innovation Solution
A chip sorting apparatus and method utilizing a chip holder, a pressurization device, and a separator, where the pressurization device adheres chips to a receiver surface using adhesive tapes, and the separator decreases adhesion between chips and the holder using solvents like acetone, allowing for efficient transfer and sorting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a commercial sorter is used to choose qualified chips one by one, then sorting accuracy is improved, but sorting speed deteriorates (takes about three hours to sort forty thousand chips)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sorting process into two distinct phases: (1) mass transfer of all chips from the wafer to the chip holder using adhesive tape, and (2) selective separation of qualified chips using a separator. This segmentation allows the system to achieve both high-speed mass transfer and accurate selective sorting, resolving the contradiction between sorting speed and accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the selection function from the transfer process. All chips are transferred to the chip holder first, then the separator is used to extract only the qualified chips based on wafer map data. This extraction approach enables rapid mass transfer followed by precise selection, improving overall sorting efficiency while maintaining accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If the machine arm works back and forth during the sorting process, then chip selection is improved, but time consumption increases (decreasing production efficiency)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by transferring all chips to the chip holder before the selection process begins. This preliminary mass transfer eliminates the need for repeated machine arm movements during selection, significantly reducing time consumption while maintaining the ease of selecting qualified chips through the separator mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the transfer and selection operations into a unified process. By using adhesive tape to transfer multiple chips simultaneously and then applying the separator to select qualified chips in one operation, the system combines what would traditionally require multiple separate machine arm movements into a single efficient process, reducing time loss.
3Productivity
If adhesive tape is used to adhere chips to the chip holder, then chip transfer efficiency is improved, but chip separation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a separator as an intermediary substance between the chip holder and the chips. This separator selectively reduces adhesion for qualified chips while leaving other chips adhered, enabling easy separation of only the desired chips. The intermediary allows the system to maintain strong adhesion for efficient transfer while enabling controlled separation when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making the adhesion property location-specific. The separator is applied only to regions where qualified chips are located, creating local reduction in adhesion strength. This allows chips at different locations to have different adhesion characteristics, enabling selective separation while maintaining overall transfer efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces the time required to sort chips, improving production efficiency by enabling faster selection and separation of qualified chips from the wafer, thereby enhancing the overall semiconductor manufacturing process.
Implementation Method 1
a pressurization device making the first chip and the third surface of the first chip receiver adhering to each other through pressuring the second surface at where corresponding to the first position
Implementation Method 2
a separator decreasing the adhesion between the first chip and the first surface
Data Source
AI summary
A method of chip sorting comprises providing a chip holder having a first surface; providing multiple chips on the first surface; providing a chip receiver having a second surface, wherein the second surface faces the first surface; attaching the multiple chips to the second surface; decreasing an adhesion between the multiple chips and the first surface; and separating the multiple chips from the first surface after the step of decreasing the adhesion between the multiple chips and the first surface.