Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T10:25:27.456Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Wafer Thinning for Monolithic 3D Integration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

A. Jindal
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
J.Q. Lu
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
Y. Kwon
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
G. Rajagopalan
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
J.J. McMahon
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
A.Y. Zeng
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
H.K. Flesher
Affiliation:
Aptek Industries, Inc., 414-F Umbarger Road, San Jose, California-95111
T.S. Cale
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
R.J. Gutmann
Affiliation:
Focus Center-New York, Rensselaer: Interconnections for Gigascale Integration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York-12180
Get access

Abstract

A three-step baseline process for thinning of bonded wafers for applications in threedimensional (3D) integration is presented. The Si substrate of top bonded wafer is uniformly thinned to ~35 μm by backside grinding and polishing, followed by wet-etching using TMAH. No visible changes at the bonding interface and damage-free interconnect structures are observed after the thinning process. Both mechanical and electrical integrity of the bonded pairs are maintained after the three-step baseline thinning process, with electrical tests on wafers with multi-level copper interconnect test structures showing only a slight change after bonding and thinning. This thinning process works well for Si removal to an etch-stop layer, although present process uniformity is not adequate to thin bulk Si substrates. Other issues such as wafer breakage and edge chipping during Si thinning and their possible solutions are also addressed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), 2001 Edition, Semiconductor Industry Association, 2001, http://public.itrs.net.Google Scholar
2. Davis, J.A., Venkatesan, R., Kaloyeros, A., Beylansky, M., Souri, S.J., Banerjee, K., Saraswat, K.C., Rahman, A., Reif, R., and Meindl, J. D., Proc. of IEEE, 89(3), 305 (2001).Google Scholar
3. Guarini, K.W., Topol, A.W., Ieong, M., Yu, R., Shi, L., Newport, M.R., Frank, D.J., Singh, D.V., Cohen, G.M., Nitta, S.V., Boyd, D.C., O'Neil, P.A., Tempest, S.L., Pogge, H.B., Purushothaman, S., and Haensch, W.E., in Digest of 2002 IEDM, IEEE, 2002, p. 943.Google Scholar
4. Lu, J.Q., Lee, K.W., Kwon, Y., Rajagopalan, G., McMahon, J., Altemus, B., Gupta, M., Eisenbraun, E., Xu, B., Jindal, A., Kraft, R.P., McDonald, J.F., Castracane, J., Cale, T.S., Kaloyeros, A.E., and Gutmann, R.J., in Proc. of 2002 Adv. Metalization Conf., MRS, 2003, p. 45.Google Scholar
5. Lu, J.Q., Kwon, Y., Rajagopalan, G., Gupta, M., McMahon, J., Lee, K.W., Kraft, R.P., McDonald, J. F., Cale, T.S., Gutmann, R.J., Xu, B., Eisenbraun, E., Castracane, J., and Kaloyeros, A., in Proc. of 2002 IEEE Int. Interconnect Technology Conference, IEEE, 2002, p. 78.Google Scholar
6. Kwon, Y., Jindal, A., McMahon, J.J., Cale, T.S., Gutmann, R.J., and Lu, J.Q., in Proc. of Material Research Society 2003 Spring Meeting, Symposium E, MRS, 2003, in press.Google Scholar
7. Pei, Z.J. and Strasbaugh, A., Int. J. Machine Tools and Manufacture 41, 659 (2001).Google Scholar
8. Pei, Z.J., Int. J. Machine Tools and Manufacture 42, 385 (2002).Google Scholar
9. Holz, B., European Semiconductor, p. 123, April 2001.Google Scholar
10. Iyer, S.S. and Auberton-Hervé, A. J., eds., Silicon Wafer Bonding Technology for VLSI and MEMS Applications, The Institute of Electrical Engineers, London (2002).Google Scholar
11. Steigerwald, J. M., Muraka, S. P. and Gutmann, R. J., Chemical Mechanical Planarization of Microelectronic Materials, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York (1997).Google Scholar
12. Landesberger, C., Klink, G., Schwinn, G., and Aschenbrenner, R., in Proc. of 2001 International Symposium on Advanced Packaging Materials, IEEE, 2001, p. 92.Google Scholar
13.Tru-Si Technologies, http://www.trusi.com.Google Scholar
14. Drews, S., in Proc. of 2002 Symposium – The Year of Ultra Thin Wafer: Challenges and Solutions, MEPTEC, 2002.Google Scholar
15. Thong, J.T.L., Choi, W.K., and Chong, C.W., Sensors and Actuators A63, 243 (1997).Google Scholar
16. Tong, Q.Y. and Gösele, U., Semiconductor Wafer Bonding, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York (1999).Google Scholar
17. Lu, J.Q., Jindal, A., Kwon, Y., McMahon, J.J., Rasco, M., Augur, R., Cale, T.S., and Gutmann, R.J., in Proc. of 2003 IEEE Int. Interconnect Tech. Conference, IEEE, 2003, p. 74.Google Scholar