Semiconductor Wafer Attaching Device Alignment Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for attaching a supporting plate to a semiconductor wafer face challenges in accurately aligning components with similar diameters and maintaining alignment due to the use of epoxy resin adhesives, which become less rigid with heat, leading to displacement issues.
Innovation Solution
An attaching device with a mounting plate, pressing plate, and alignment members that can move horizontally, equipped with blades and rollers for precise positioning and gas release, along with a vacuum chamber to prevent air entry and reduce warpage, allows for reliable alignment and correction of the supporting plate and semiconductor wafer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the diameters of the semiconductor wafer and the supporting plate are made almost the same to simplify handling, then the layered structure can be handled as the semiconductor wafer alone during transfer, but displacement occurs because both components are inserted into a hole with a larger diameter
Solution Approach 1:
A positioning plate with a precisely fitted hole serves as an intermediary component. The hole diameter matches the supporting plate diameter, providing a mechanical guide that ensures accurate alignment during insertion. This mediator component resolves the conflict by enabling both easy handling (through standardized insertion) and high precision alignment (through precise dimensional matching).
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning plate is prepared in advance with a pre-defined hole dimension that matches the supporting plate. This preliminary preparation of the positioning structure ensures that when the wafer and supporting plate are inserted, alignment is automatically achieved without requiring complex real-time adjustment mechanisms.
2Ease of manufacture
If epoxy resin is used as an adhesive for attaching the supporting plate to the semiconductor wafer, then attachment is achieved, but displacement easily occurs after positioning because the rigidity of the epoxy resin decreases with heating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of the adhesive from organic epoxy resin to inorganic adhesive material. This parameter change transforms the thermal behavior: inorganic adhesives maintain their rigidity and bonding strength at high temperatures, preventing the displacement issue that occurs with epoxy resin whose rigidity decreases when heated during semiconductor processing.
3Ease of operation
If a positioning plate with a hole larger than the supporting plate diameter is used to insert both components, then insertion is facilitated, but alignment precision deteriorates due to the loose fit
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning plate creates an asymmetric constraint system: the hole diameter is precisely matched to the supporting plate diameter, creating a tight fit that eliminates radial play. This asymmetric dimensional relationship (hole = supporting plate diameter, not larger) provides automatic centering and precise alignment while still allowing straightforward insertion, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and alignment precision.
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 enables accurate alignment and fine adjustment of the supporting plate and semiconductor wafer, reducing displacement and warpage, and simplifies the attachment process by integrating multiple functions into a single apparatus, enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the attachment process.
Implementation Method 1
a vacuum chamber to prevent air entry
Implementation Method 2
the rigidity of an epoxy resin decreases with heating
Data Source
AI summary
An attaching method for attaching a support plate to a surface of a substrate with an adhesive involves the steps of applying an adhesive to the surface of the substrate, heating and thereafter cooling the substrate, positioning centers of the substrate and the supporting plate to coincide with each other, and forming a layered structure by pushing the supporting plate onto the substrate with the adhesive therebetween in a pressure-reduced atmosphere. In the positioning step, after the supporting late has been placed on the substrate, it is possible to finely adjust the alignment of the supporting plate and a semiconductor wafer when attached because the adhesive is applied to the surface of the substrate, and thereafter the substrate is heated and cooled.