Wafer Bonding Chuck With Pressurized Gas Alignment Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate bonding apparatuses face challenges in achieving high-quality wafer-to-wafer bonding due to misalignment and excessive local deformation of substrates, leading to reduced productivity and yield.
Innovation Solution
A substrate bonding apparatus that uses a gas discharge device with a gas discharge pin to apply pressurized inert gas to the substrate, controlled by a controller to manage vertical movement and gas flow rate and pressure, minimizing direct contact and ensuring uniform pressure distribution to prevent substrate deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a component presses the wafer directly in existing substrate bonding apparatuses, then bonding force is applied to the substrate, but misalignment and excessive local deformation occur leading to reduced manufacturing precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces pressurized gas as an intermediary medium between the bonding chuck and the substrate. Instead of direct mechanical contact, the gas transmits the bonding force uniformly across the substrate surface, eliminating misalignment and excessive local deformation while maintaining effective bonding pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pneumatic pressure through gas discharge devices to apply bonding force. The gas discharge pins deliver pressurized gas to the substrate surface, utilizing pneumatic principles to distribute force uniformly without mechanical contact, thereby preventing substrate deformation and alignment issues.
2Device complexity
If pressurized gas is discharged through a single central device, then gas flow is simplified, but uniform pressure distribution across the substrate surface is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the gas discharge system into multiple discrete gas discharge pins arranged in arrays across the bonding chuck. This segmentation allows each pin to deliver pressurized gas to specific regions of the substrate, ensuring uniform pressure distribution across the entire substrate surface while maintaining manageable system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple gas discharge pins into a coordinated array system that works together to achieve uniform pressure distribution. The merged system of multiple pins functions as an integrated pressure application mechanism, distributing gas flow evenly across the substrate surface.
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 apparatus reduces misalignment and excessive deformation, enhancing the productivity and yield of wafer-to-wafer bonding processes by dispersing pressure uniformly across the substrate surface.
Implementation Method 1
a gas discharge device provided through the center of the upper bonding chuck and configured to discharge pressurized gas to a top surface of the second substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate bonding apparatus for bonding a first substrate to a second substrate includes a lower bonding chuck configured to support the first substrate, an upper bonding chuck facing the lower bonding chuck and configured to support the second substrate, a gas discharge device provided through the center of the upper bonding chuck and configured to discharge pressurized gas to a top surface of the second substrate, a gas supply unit configured to supply the pressurized gas to the gas discharge device, and a controller configured to control the gas discharge device and the gas supply unit and the controller controls vertical movement of the gas discharge device with respect to the upper bonding chuck, and a flow rate and pressure of the pressurized gas in the gas discharge device.