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News Release from: Applied Microengineering | Subject: Anodic Bonder
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 27 March 2000
Anodic bonding joins silicon wafers to
glass
AML launches its first, new, standalone, flexible, "off-the-shelf" Anodic Bonding machine the AML-400.
AML provides another step forward for the exploitation of Microsystems in the UK, this time on the equipment front, by launching a new Anodic Bonder After strong demand and following the supply of custom Anodic Bonders (for bonding silicon wafers to glass wafers - 3 to 6in diameter), AML launches its first, new, standalone, flexible, "off-the-shelf" Anodic Bonding machine the AML-400 It benefits from years of Anodic Bonding process experience at AML
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 25 Feb 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The throughput and performance of wafer bonding tools can play a key role in determining the cost of assembly and packaging of MEMS and other microsystems devices.
This bonder has the performance and throughput to satisfy most MST applications.
Its affordability will enable many new entrants to use the technique, who up to now have had the options of purchasing very expensive machines or building their own.
The totally complete machine including turbo vacuum system retails for £52k.
Further reading
Radical shift in wafer activation
AML's customers can finally activate, align and bond in-situ, in one chamber.
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AML is offering a special price to the first sale in each country in the World of just £45k.
In return, the purchaser must offer viewing access to other potential purchasers.
A feature of the new Bonder is that alignment and bonding are performed in-situ in a high vacuum chamber.
The wafers are loaded cold and heated in the process chamber.
For high accuracy alignment (+/-5um or better), they are aligned and brought into contact after the process temperature is reached, thus avoiding differential thermal expansion effects which can compromise alignment.
This arrangement has an advantage over other bonders (where alignment is carried out outside the bonder) of enabling the user to make adjustments for any relative movement of the aligned wafers when brought into contact before finally committing to making the bond.
This in-situ system also enables visual confirmation just before the bonding process that the desired alignment is still being achieved.
This is particularly useful when the wafers are not absolutely flat.
Patent Pending.
In addition to wafer production, the bonder also allows you to bond materials in non-wafer form, e.g individual chips or tubes, etc.
Many applications of anodic bonding are found in the field of MST, MEMS or Microengineering.
These include the fabrication of microsensors e.g pressure sensors, accelerometers, and microfluidic structures.
It can also be used to provide first order wafer scale packaging of silicon chips to isolate package-induced stresses.
The high yield process (very tolerant to particle contamination and wafer warp) hermetically and permanently joins glass to silicon producing a thermally matched, low stress, high strength bond without using adhesives.
The wafers are heated to typically 300 - 500°C and a high voltage is applied to form the bond.
The AML-400 is officially launched at SEMICON - Munich on 4 April 2000 - Stand A4.150.
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