Wafer Leveling Rim Rigid Receiver and Flexible Containment Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor wafers often warp or droop during handling and processing due to their thinness, making them unsuitable for further processing, and existing solutions involving sacrificial substrates are inefficient and costly, with issues like residue and targeted heating.
Innovation Solution
A wafer leveling rim system comprising a thin, rigid receiver ring and a flexible containment ring, with radial slots and tabs for secure association, provides rigidity and maintains the wafer's shape without the need for a sacrificial substrate, allowing for improved handling and processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a thin semiconductor wafer is handled during processing, then the wafer can be processed, but the wafer warps or droops due to its thinness
Solution Approach 1:
A leveling rim is introduced as an intermediary component between the wafer and the processing equipment. The leveling rim has a flat bottom surface that contacts the wafer and a circumferential rim that engages with the wafer's edge, providing mechanical support to prevent warping while allowing the wafer to be processed
Solution Approach 2:
The leveling rim is constructed as a composite structure with a rigid base layer providing overall shape and support, and a compliant upper surface layer that conforms to the wafer's surface. This composite structure allows the rim to provide rigid support against warping while maintaining contact with the wafer's potentially non-flat surface
2Shape
If a sacrificial substrate is bonded to the wafer to prevent warping, then the wafer maintains its shape, but additional process steps and costs are required
Solution Approach 1:
The solution extracts only the necessary support function from the sacrificial substrate concept. Instead of bonding a complete substrate to the wafer, only a thin leveling rim is applied to the wafer's edge and back surface, providing support without requiring full substrate bonding or subsequent removal processes
Solution Approach 2:
The leveling rim is designed as a disposable, low-cost component that can be applied and removed easily. The rim is made from inexpensive materials and can be discarded after use, eliminating the need for costly laser ablation or chemical detachment processes required for permanent substrate bonding
3Shape
If a sacrificial substrate is bonded to the wafer, then the wafer maintains its shape, but residue and static damage may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling rim is designed as a disposable component that is easily removed without leaving residue. The rim material is selected to be free of adhesive properties that would leave residue, and the rim can be discarded after a single use, eliminating the need for detachment processes that generate static or residue
4Shape
If a sacrificial substrate is bonded to the wafer, then the wafer maintains its shape, but processing on the bonded side is precluded
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling rim applies support only to specific regions of the wafer - the circumferential rim engages with the edge while the bottom surface contacts the back surface. This segmented support approach leaves the front processing surface completely exposed and accessible, allowing all standard front-side processing to proceed without interference
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, system and method for a wafer leveling rim, and for installing a wafer leveling rim. The leveling rim for a semiconductor wafer may include: a thin, substantially rigid receiver ring suitable to receive a circumferential rim of the semiconductor wafer; and a substantially flexible containment ring removably associated with the rigid receiver ring. Thereby, the rigid receiver ring imparts rigidity to a circumferential shape of the semiconductor wafer, and the containment ring retains the semiconductor wafer within the rigid receiver ring.