12-Inch Wafer Inkjet Chip Substrate Yield Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inkjet chips produced on wafers less than 6 inches are limited in size, leading to increased manufacturing costs and waste due to the need for larger printing swaths for higher resolution and speed, resulting in a low number of usable chips and inefficient use of wafer area.
Innovation Solution
A wafer structure with a chip substrate fabricated on a wafer of at least 12 inches, allowing for a larger number of inkjet chips with varied sizes to be arranged and diced, reducing waste and manufacturing costs while achieving higher resolution and speed through a semiconductor process that includes ink-drop generators with nozzles of specific dimensions and arrangements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a wafer structure of less than 6 inches is used, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the printing swath is limited and the number of usable chips is small, resulting in high manufacturing cost and waste
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the wafer size parameter from less than 6 inches to 12 inches or more, which fundamentally alters the manufacturing scale and capacity. This parameter change enables larger printing swath and higher number of usable chips per wafer, directly resolving the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from small-scale wafer fabrication to large-scale wafer fabrication, effectively moving to another dimension of manufacturing scale. This dimensional change in wafer size allows for increased printing swath and higher chip yield, addressing the productivity limitation of smaller wafers.
2Manufacturing precision
If the printing swath is increased for higher resolution and speed, then the printing quality improves, but the overall area required for the inkjet chip becomes larger, reducing the number of chips that can be manufactured on a limited wafer area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the wafer size parameter to 12 inches or more, which provides sufficient area to accommodate larger inkjet chips with increased printing swath while maintaining high resolution. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by providing enough space for both high-resolution printing and efficient wafer utilization.
3Manufacturing precision
If the inkjet chip area is increased to achieve higher resolution and printing speed, then the printing quality improves, but the manufacturing cost increases due to reduced number of chips per wafer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the wafer size parameter to 12 inches or more, which provides sufficient area to accommodate larger inkjet chips with increased printing swath while maintaining high resolution. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by providing enough space for both high-resolution printing and efficient wafer utilization.
4Ease of manufacture
If a wafer of less than 6 inches is used, then the manufacturing cost per wafer is lower, but the vacancy rate on the wafer exceeds 20%, resulting in waste and effectively higher cost per chip
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the wafer size parameter to 12 inches or more, which provides sufficient area to accommodate larger inkjet chips with increased printing swath. This parameter change reduces the vacancy rate on the wafer by better utilizing the available area, thereby reducing waste and effectively lowering the cost per chip.
Data Source
AI summary
A wafer structure is disclosed and includes a chip substrate and an inkjet chip. The chip substrate is a silicon substrate fabricated by a semiconductor process on a wafer of 12 inches. The inkjet chips are formed on the chip substrate by the semiconductor process and diced into the inkjet chip. The inkjet chip includes plural ink-drop generators generated by the semiconductor process on the chip substrate. Each of the plurality of ink-drop generators includes a nozzle. A diameter of the nozzle is in a range between 0.5 micrometers and 10 micrometers. A volume of an inkjet drop discharged from the nozzle is in a range between 1 femtoliter and 3 picoliters. The ink-drop generators form plural longitudinal axis array groups having a pitch and plural horizontal axis array groups having a central stepped pitch equal to or less than 1/600 inches.