Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC), a provider of advanced micro-fabrication equipment for manufacturing semiconductors, has introduced the Primo TSV200E etch tool designed for 3DIC, MEMS and 200 mm wafer-level packaging applications. It can be used for building devices such as LEDs and CMOS image sensors.
AMEC has advanced its etch technologies in the Primo D-RIE and Primo AD-RIE tools. The TSV200E etch tool has three unique features: a special gas delivery design that enables higher etch rates with better uniformity, integrated pre-heat stations and a dual-station chamber architecture. This architecture enables ultra-high throughput.
According to Yole Developpement, a research firm, the market for the 3D and wafer-level packaging equipment is expected to reach $788 million in 2012, and is expected to grow to $2.4 billion by 2016. TSV etchers form a major part of this equipment.
The new Primo TSV200E etch tool has been developed by AMEC to meet the increasing demand. The dual-station chamber architecture allows processing of a single wafer or two wafers simultaneously. The tool can accommodate a maximum of three dual-station process modules. This leads to lower production costs and nearly double the throughput of wafers. Profile notching is avoided through RF pulsing bias capability. Even at low pressures, a high-density, de-coupled plasma source and bias facilitates high process control.
3DICs are the critical enablers of tiny System-on-Chip (SOC) packages, which are found in MEMS, LEDS and CMOS sensors. Stacking has become important due to decrease in the sizes of transistors. It has led to shorter interconnects, leading to faster processor speed and data transfer, higher package densities, and low consumption of power.
AMEC Primo TSV200E etch tools are deployed at JCAP and Q Technology in China. The company is developing a 300 mm version of its Primo TSV200E etch tool.
Source: http://www.amec-inc.com/