Photolithography Offset Marking for Semiconductor Component Traceability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for tracing back the location of electronic components on a semiconductor substrate after singulation are costly and prone to human error, especially when additional photolithography masks are required, which increase complexity and production time.
Innovation Solution
A method of manufacturing electronic components on a semiconductor substrate that incorporates a predetermined offset between mask levels during photolithography, allowing identification of components without additional photolithography steps, using an identification mask with a unique offset for each field area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If additional photolithography masks are applied to generate unique identification patterns for each component, then component traceability is improved, but device complexity and production time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The identification pattern is created during the existing photolithography manufacturing process by intentionally applying an offset to the mask positioning, rather than adding a separate identification step after manufacturing. This preliminary action embeds the traceability feature during normal production without requiring additional masks or process steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The existing photolithography masks serve dual functions: both defining the electronic component structure and creating the identification pattern for traceability. By applying an offset to the mask positioning, the same mask system performs both manufacturing and identification encoding functions simultaneously.
2Reliability
If manual marking operations are performed on packages to trace component locations, then component traceability is improved, but production time and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The component carries its own identification information through the offset pattern embedded during manufacturing. This self-contained identification system eliminates the need for external manual marking operations, allowing components to be automatically traced through their inherent identification features without human intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical marking process is replaced by an automated photolithography-based pattern formation. The offset pattern created during manufacturing serves as the identification mechanism, substituting manual operations with an automated, integrated process that occurs during normal production.
3Reliability
If sampling and semi-manual mapping operations are implemented to trace components, then component traceability is improved, but human error and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The identification pattern is created as a precise copy of the mask design with a known offset, rather than requiring manual measurement and mapping operations. This copied pattern provides an exact, error-free representation of the component's location information that can be automatically read and traced without human interpretation.
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
Enables accurate tracing of component locations on the substrate post-singulation, reducing costs and errors by eliminating the need for additional masks and manual operations, while maintaining component performance.
Implementation Method 1
photolithography steps to form a stack of layers forming each electronic component, each photolithography step defining a mask level and comprising the application of a mask successively on each field in photolithography equipment
Data Source
AI summary
The invention concerns a method of manufacturing an assembly of electronic components on a front surface of a semiconductor substrate comprising a plurality of field areas, each field area comprising at least one field and each field comprising at least one electronic component, the method comprising a plurality of photolithography steps to form a stack of layers forming each electronic component, each photolithography step defining a mask level and comprising the application of a mask successively on each field in photolithography equipment, the positioning of said mask on each field being performed relative to a reference mask level, one of the masks being designated as identification mask.The manufacturing method is remarkable in that:at the photolithography step defining a mask level associated with the identification mask, said mask is positioned with a predetermined offset with respect to the reference mask level, the offset being different for each field area,the electronic component(s) of a field area have an identification element appearing as a predetermined offset between a pattern defined at the reference mask level and a pattern defined at the identification mask level.