Peripheral Substrate Stack Holder for Vacuum Bonding Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in existing alignment and bonding technologies is the deformation of substrates due to thermal effects, which negatively impacts the bonding result, especially with increasingly smaller structures, and the need for a method that minimizes or avoids these deformations during the bonding process in high vacuum conditions.
Innovation Solution
A device and method that symmetrically heat substrates from both sides using infrared radiation, with a dynamically displaceable upper heating device and a static lower heating device, maintaining vacuum conditions throughout the process to prevent substrate deformation and ensure precise alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If substrates are heated asymmetrically from one side during bonding, then the bonding process can be simplified, but substrate deformation increases due to thermal gradients
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry in reverse - it uses symmetric heating from both sides of the substrate stack to counteract the asymmetric thermal deformation that would occur with single-sided heating. The upper and lower heating devices are positioned and controlled to create symmetric thermal fields, ensuring uniform temperature distribution across all substrates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-sided heating (one-dimensional heat input) to dual-sided heating (two-dimensional heat input through the stack). By adding heating capability from the opposite side, the system creates balanced thermal gradients that prevent warping while maintaining bonding effectiveness.
2Strength
If mechanical clamps are used to hold substrates in the alignment device, then substrates can be securely fixed, but substrate deformation occurs due to clamping pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical clamping systems with a magnetic field-based holding system. Magnets embedded in the heating devices exert magnetic forces on the substrates to secure them in position during alignment and bonding, eliminating the need for mechanical clamps that cause deformation through direct contact pressure.
3Productivity
If substrates are transferred from alignment device to bonding device, then bonding can proceed, but alignment accuracy is lost due to substrate deformation during transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the alignment device and bonding device into an integrated system where substrates remain in the same chamber throughout the process. The heating devices serve dual functions: holding substrates in alignment during positioning and providing thermal energy for bonding, eliminating the need for transfer operations that disrupt alignment.
4Use of energy by moving object
If heating surfaces are placed in direct contact with substrates, then heat transfer efficiency increases, but substrate contamination occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a thin intermediary layer between the heating surfaces and substrate contact points. This layer acts as a barrier that prevents direct contamination while allowing thermal conduction to occur, maintaining heat transfer efficiency without compromising substrate cleanliness.
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 allows for a gentle and uniform heating of substrates, minimizing thermal deformations and maintaining alignment accuracy, resulting in improved bonding results with precise control over heating rates and outputs, ensuring high-quality substrate bonding without excessive stress or distortion.
Implementation Method 1
heating the substrates of the substrate stack aligned at contact surfaces of the substrates for, in particular, permanent, bonding in the bonding device gently and evenly from both surfaces to be heated
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a receiving device for receiving a substrate stack (14), characterized in that the receiving device is designed such that the substrate stack (14) can only be received in a peripheral region of the substrate stack (14).