Optical Oxide Detection for Reliable Semiconductor Bonding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods lack an efficient real-time mechanism for detecting and removing residual oxide materials from bonding structures in semiconductor IC dies and target structures, leading to poor bond quality and reduced yields in fluxless thermocompression bonding processes.
Innovation Solution
An optical inspection system integrated into a semiconductor processing tool that includes a plasma treatment module to remove oxides and a bond chamber for bonding, utilizing a light source and camera to detect and ensure complete oxide removal before bonding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If plasma treatment is used to remove oxide materials from bonding structures, then bond quality improves, but residual oxide detection becomes critical to avoid rework and waste of time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements an optical inspection system that provides real-time feedback on oxide removal effectiveness. The system captures images of bonding structures before and after plasma treatment, automatically analyzes oxide presence, and provides feedback to determine whether additional treatment is needed. This closed-loop feedback mechanism eliminates manual verification time while ensuring bond quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual inspection methods with an automated optical inspection system. Instead of mechanical or manual verification of oxide removal, the system uses optical imaging and automated image analysis to detect residual oxide materials, significantly reducing verification time while maintaining or improving detection accuracy.
2Reliability
If multiple plasma treatment steps are performed to ensure complete oxide removal, then bonding reliability improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs optical inspection before bonding to preliminarily identify and address oxide contamination issues. By detecting and verifying oxide removal prior to the bonding step, the system prevents bonding failures without requiring multiple redundant plasma treatment steps, thus maintaining productivity while ensuring reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection system provides immediate feedback on oxide removal effectiveness after each plasma treatment step. This allows for precise control of the number of treatment steps needed, avoiding both insufficient treatment (which would compromise reliability) and excessive treatment (which would reduce productivity).
3Device complexity
If manual inspection methods are used to detect oxide materials, then system complexity remains low, but measurement precision and detection accuracy are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates an optical copy (image) of the bonding structures and performs analysis on this copy rather than requiring complex physical manipulation or highly sophisticated in-situ sensing. The optical inspection system captures images that replicate the visual appearance of bonding structures, allowing for accurate oxide detection through image analysis while keeping the physical inspection system relatively simple.
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
Improves bond quality, increases yields, and enhances the reliability of bonded device structures by ensuring thorough oxide removal, thereby expanding the process window and improving bonding reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a treatment module 111 configured to treat surfaces 127, 131 of device structures 120, 130 with a plasma to remove oxide materials from bonding structures 122, 124
Implementation Method 2
an optical inspection system 112 configured to direct light in a wavelength range of 10 nm to 400 nm onto surfaces 127, 131 of device structures 120, 130, obtain images of light reflected from surfaces 127, 131
Data Source
AI summary
Optical inspection systems and methods to detect the presence of oxide materials on bonding structures are disclosed. An optical inspection system may be integrated into a semiconductor processing tool including a plasma treatment module for removing oxide materials from bonding structures, and a bond chamber configured to bond bonding structures on a first device structure to bonding structures on a second device structure. A light source may direct light having a wavelength between 10-400 nm onto surfaces of the device structures containing the bonding structures, and a camera may obtain images of the surfaces illuminated by the light source. The images may be analyzed to detect the presence of oxide materials on the bonding structures. Accordingly, sufficient removal of oxide materials may be ensured before bonding of the device structures, which may lead to improved bond quality, increased yields, and better reliability of the bonded device structures.