EVG offers EVG-NT mask and bond aligners

EV Group (EVG) has introduced the NT series of mask aligners, wafer-to-wafer (W2W) bond aligners and measurement systems.

The EVG-NT series offers increased alignment accuracy in the range of 1um down to 0.1um for the manufacture of advanced MEMS, compound semiconductor, silicon-based power, 3D IC and nanotechnology devices.

The EVG-NT series features next-generation alignment and measurement systems with increased alignment precision.

The series is composed of a W2W bond aligner and an alignment measurement system.

The EVG620NT and EVG6200NT mask aligners, which handle sizes of substrates from less than 5mm up to 150mm and from 76mm up to 200mm respectively, offer features including a granite base, active vibration isolation and linear motors to meet higher precision and throughput requirements.

These aligners enable manufacturers to scale from research and development efforts to volume manufacturing in a simple one-to-one process transfer from manual mode to full automation.

The ramp-up ease to volume manufacturing, coupled with alignment-accuracies improvements down to 0.1um, deliver cost-of-ownership (CoO) benefits.

Multiple wafer stacking and bonding processes require an alignment accuracy of <1um.

To meet this challenge, the SmartviewNT utilises a high-precision alignment stage that comprises top- and bottom-side microscopes to ensure accuracy.

This versatile bond aligner can handle all types of alignments, including W2W, backside and infrared transparent.

Initial results for W2W alignments demonstrated <0.3um face-to-face alignment accuracy, eliminating the need for post-processing steps such as generating backside alignment keys and double-sided polishing, lowering CoO.

In a comparison of the SmartviewNT with its predecessor, alignment accuracies increased by more than 60 per cent, 300 per cent, and 40 per cent for Smartview, backside and transparent alignments, respectively.

The EVG40NT performs accurate non-destructive alignment accuracy measurement of single- and double-sided structured wafers, as well as bond interfaces.

This new system overcomes the limitation of conventional double-view microscope and infrared systems, which rely on a time-consuming procedure to calibrate the optical axis.

The EVG40NT is a flexible tool that can quickly provide an unlimited number of measurement points across the wafer surface.

Compared with the previous generation, the NT series' throughput is up to five times better, offering 200-300 measurements an hour.

While process dependent, results have shown a 60 per cent accuracy increase, producing a measurement accuracy of <0.2 um.

These results are repeatable and reproducible, with a statistic probability of >99 per cent.

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