Rotating Hot Plate Chamber for Uniform Piezoelectric Wafer Baking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing methods for piezoelectric devices result in non-uniform breakdown voltages across the piezoelectric structure due to uneven gas removal during the baking process, leading to unreliable and unpredictable device performance.
Innovation Solution
Rotating the wafer at different orientations during the baking process using an orientor device or a continuously rotating hot plate to ensure uniform gas removal and composition, thereby reducing variations in breakdown voltages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the wafer is stationary during the baking process, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the gas removal is non-uniform leading to varying breakdown voltages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by rotating the wafer during the baking process. The wafer rotation mechanism transforms a static baking process into a dynamic one, where the wafer continuously changes orientation to ensure uniform gas removal across all regions. This rotational movement eliminates the non-uniform breakdown voltage issue without requiring complex multi-step stationary baking procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The orientor device is used to position the wafer at specific orientations before the baking process begins. This preliminary positioning ensures that the wafer is correctly oriented for uniform gas removal during baking, preventing breakdown voltage variations before they occur rather than requiring corrective measures after baking.
2Reliability
If the wafer is rotated during baking, then the gas removal becomes uniform improving breakdown voltage consistency, but the device complexity increases due to additional rotating mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The hot plate chamber incorporates a rotation mechanism that dynamically moves the wafer during baking. This dynamic rotation ensures that all regions of the wafer experience uniform gas removal conditions, directly improving the reliability and consistency of breakdown voltages across the piezoelectric devices manufactured on the wafer.
Solution Approach 2:
The hot plate chamber is designed with multi-functionality by integrating both the heating function and the wafer rotation function into a single device. This universal design allows the chamber to perform uniform gas removal through rotation while maintaining the baking function, improving reliability without requiring entirely separate systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If the wafer is positioned at different orientations using an orientor device, then the composition uniformity improves reducing breakdown voltage variation, but the manufacturing process time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The orientor device performs preliminary positioning of the wafer at optimal orientations before the baking process begins. By pre-positioning the wafer correctly, the system achieves uniform composition and breakdown voltage without requiring multiple extended baking cycles, thus improving manufacturing precision while minimizing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous rotation of the wafer during baking dynamically ensures uniform composition development. This dynamic approach allows the baking process to complete in a single optimized cycle rather than requiring multiple stationary baking steps, maintaining composition uniformity while reducing total process time.
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 solution achieves a more uniform breakdown voltage distribution, enhancing the reliability and predictability of piezoelectric devices by reducing the range of breakdown voltages by up to 50%, ensuring consistent performance across die regions.
Implementation Method 1
performing a baking process in the hot plate chamber to dry, decompose and densify the sol-gel solution layer to form a piezoelectric layer
Implementation Method 2
performing a baking process in the hot plate chamber to dry, decompose and densify the sol-gel solution layer to form a piezoelectric layer
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a processing tool that includes a wafer chuck disposed within a hot plate chamber and having an upper surface is configured to hold a semiconductor wafer. A heating element is disposed within the wafer chuck and is configured to increase a temperature of the wafer chuck. A motor is coupled to the wafer chuck and configured to rotate the wafer chuck around an axis of rotation extending through the upper surface of the wafer chuck. The processing tool further includes control circuitry coupled to the motor and configured to operate the motor to rotate the wafer chuck while the temperature of the wafer chuck is increased to form a piezoelectric layer from a sol-gel solution layer on the semiconductor wafer.