In-Line AFM (IZM-15.1) - PR990603-2590-P

With the advancement of 2.5D/3D packaging and especially with heterogeneous integration of different materials, there are several W2W or D2W bonding technologies, namely direct, fusion or hybrid bonding, which might involve bonding of different materials like Si, SiO, SiN, polymer, metal, the surface roughness prior to the bonding process is of essential importance. Furthermore, CMP of polymer based RDLs with high density routing needs CMP with subsequent in-line monitoring. Thus, in-line atomic force microscopy as a metrology tool is being used for surface characterizations. In such cases, it is not only needed to measure the surface roughness, also dishing or small protrusions in some areas have to be measured as well. The tool should be capable to handle dies on wafer or wafers up to 300mm diameter, with autoalignment and inspections of certain wafer areas chosen on a wafer map. Automatic carrier loading as well as manual sample placement should be available. Furthermore, integration in an existing MES and connection to a data base would be an advantage for data collection and data review automation. For measurement of the surface roughness, different scanning modes (e.g. contact or tapping mode) should be available, as for proper hybrid bonding, a suitable surface roughnesses resolution is needed. The tool would be used to inspect surface qualities prior to different bonding techniques, to planarize RDL layers or to 3D scan of of sidewall roughness, e.g. for TSV cavities or resist sidewalls, used in the pilotline for heterogeneous integration.