Flexible Membrane Laminate for Thin Substrate Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for supporting fragile or valuable substrates during processing, such as semiconductor wafers and glass substrates, face challenges like uneven thickness and warping due to conventional support materials, limiting the achievable thickness and requiring irradiation for separation.
Innovation Solution
A laminate body with a light-transmitting or light-blocking support, featuring a release layer with a higher adhesion-modifying agent content than the joining layer, allows for customized substrate release without irradiation, enabling high-throughput debonding and minimizing stress on thin, brittle substrates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional support materials are used to hold substrates during processing, then the substrate can be supported, but uneven thickness and warping occur due to the support material itself
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into a rigid frame and a flexible membrane separated by spacers, allowing the membrane to conform to substrate thickness variations without transmitting stress that causes warping, thus maintaining both support stability and thickness uniformity
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible membrane acts as an intermediary between the rigid frame and the substrate, providing support while accommodating thickness variations and preventing the transmission of warping-inducing stresses to the substrate
2Ease of operation
If photothermal conversion layer is used for separation, then substrate can be released from support, but irradiation by laser beam is required which adds complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The photothermal conversion system (optical field) is replaced with a mechanical peeling system, where the flexible membrane is simply peeled back from the substrate without requiring laser irradiation or photothermal conversion layers, simplifying the separation process
Solution Approach 2:
The photothermal conversion layer and light-transmitting support are removed entirely from the system, retaining only the essential flexible membrane on the rigid frame that provides support during processing and enables simple mechanical separation afterward
3Length of moving object
If thin substrates are ground to reduce thickness, then package thickness is reduced, but substrate warping and unevenness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible membrane provides beforehand cushioning support during the grinding process, absorbing mechanical stresses and preventing warping before they can occur, enabling safe reduction of substrate thickness while maintaining flatness
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
The laminate body effectively supports substrates during processes like backside grinding and vapor deposition, allowing for precise thickness reduction and easy separation without damage, enhancing processing efficiency and productivity.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible membrane stretched across a rigid frame
Implementation Method 2
an adhesive layer on one surface of the flexible membrane
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~4
AI summary
A laminate body, method, and materials for temporary substrate support are provided. The laminate body can hold and protect thin, brittle substrates such as flexible glass or thin semiconductor wafers during further processing such as vapor deposition or thinning by grinding. The provided laminate body, in one embodiment, includes a support, a release layer disposed upon the support, a joining layer disposed upon and in contact with the release layer, and a substrate disposed upon and in contact with the joining layer. The release layer can include an acrylic adhesive and an adhesion modifying agent.