Article including a device wafer reversibly mountable to a carrier substrate

• US 9,099,512 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2010
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brewer Science Inc.
• Original Assignee: Brewer Science Inc.
• Inventors: Flaim, Tony D., McCutcheon, Jeremy
• Primary Examiner(s): Hu, Shouxiang
• Application Number:
  US12/951,530
• Publication Number:
  US 20110069467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,716 Days
• Field of Search: 257/618, 257/619, 257/620, 257/782, 257/783, 257/786, 257/E21.23, 257/E21.237, 438/118, 438/459, 438/458, 438/455, 438/465
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6835 using temporarily an auxiliary support
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6836 Wafer tapes, e.g. grinding or dicing support tapes adhesive tapes in general C09J7/20
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2221/68318 Auxiliary support including means facilitating the separation of a device or wafer from the auxiliary support
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2221/68327 used during dicing or grinding
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2221/6834 used to protect an active side of a device or wafer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/19041 being a capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31678 Of metal

Abstract

New temporary bonding methods and articles formed from those methods are provided. The methods comprise bonding a device wafer to a carrier wafer or substrate only at their outer perimeters in order to assist in protecting the device wafer and its device sites during subsequent processing and handling. The edge bonds formed by this method are chemically and thermally resistant, but can also be softened, dissolved, or mechanically disrupted to allow the wafers to be easily separated with very low forces and at or near room temperature at the appropriate stage in the fabrication process.

Claims

1. An article comprising:

a first substrate having front and back surfaces, said front surface having a peripheral region and a central region, wherein said first substrate comprises a device wafer having a device surface comprising an array of devices selected from the group consisting of integrated circuits;

MEMS;

microsensors;

power semiconductors;

light-emitting diodes;

photonic circuits;

interposers;

embedded passive devices; and

microdevices fabricated on or from a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon-germanium, gallium arsenide, and gallium nitride;

an edge bond presenting first and second surfaces, said first surface being bonded to said peripheral region and said second surface being remote from said peripheral region, said edge bond being absent from said central region so as to form a fill zone, said edge bond being formed from a material comprising monomers, oligomers, or polymers selected from the group consisting of epoxies, acrylics, silicones, styrenics, vinyl halides, vinyl esters, polyamides, polyimides, polysulfones, polyethersulfones, cyclic olefins, polyolefin rubbers, and polyurethanes, wherein the integrity of said edge bond is maintained upon being submerged in concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature for 10 minutes or in 30% by weight potassium hydroxide solution at about 85°

C. for about 45 minutes; and

an amorphous polymeric fill material in said fill zone, said material having an adhesion strength of less than about 50 psig and being absent from said first and second surfaces, wherein the adhesion strength is determined by ASTM D4541/D7234, wherein said edge bond has an adhesion strength that is at least about 0.5 psig greater than said fill material adhesion strength.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein said first substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, sapphire, quartz, metal, glass, and ceramics.

3. The article of claim 1, further comprising a second substrate having a carrier surface, said edge bond being further bonded to said carrier surface.

4. The article of claim 3, wherein said second substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, sapphire, quartz, metal, glass, and ceramics.

5. The article of claim 3, wherein said fill material presents a first surface and a second surface, said article further comprising a layer in contact with one of said first and second surfaces, and wherein said layer is selected from the group consisting of a low adhesive strength layer, a polymeric layer, and a surface modification of said carrier surface or of said surface.

6. The article of claim 5, wherein said layer is in contact with said carrier surface.

7. The article of claim 1, said device surface comprising at least one structure selected from the group consisting of:

solder bumps;

metal posts;

metal pillars; and

structures formed from a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, polysilicon, silicon dioxide, silicon (oxy)nitride, metal, low k dielectrics, polymer dielectrics, metal nitrides, and metal silicides.

8. The article of claim 1, wherein said fill material presents a first surface and a second surface, said article further comprising a layer in contact with one of said first and second surfaces.

9. The article of claim 1, wherein said edge bond has a width of from about 2 mm to about 15 mm.

10. The article of claim 1, wherein said fill material comprises monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers selected from the group consisting of cyclic olefins and amorphous fluoropolymers.

11. The article of claim 1, wherein said edge bond remains stable at temperatures up to about 350°

C.

12. An article comprising:

a first substrate having front and back surfaces, said front surface having a peripheral region and a central region, wherein said first substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, sapphire, quartz, metal, glass, and ceramics, and said front surface comprises an array of devices;

an edge bond presenting first and second surfaces, said first surface being bonded to said peripheral region and said second surface being remote from said peripheral region, said edge bond being absent from said central region so as to form a fill zone, wherein the integrity of said edge bond is maintained upon being submerged in concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature for 10 minutes or in 30% by weight potassium hydroxide solution at about 85°

C. for about 45 minutes, wherein said edge bond is formed from a material comprising monomers, oligomers, or polymers selected from the group consisting of epoxies, acrylics, silicones, styrenics, vinyl halides, vinyl esters, polyamides, polyimides, polysulfones, polyethersulfones, cyclic olefins, polyolefin rubbers, and polyurethanes; and

an amorphous polymeric fill material in said fill zone, said fill material having an adhesion strength of less than about 50 psig and being absent from said first and second surfaces, wherein the adhesion strength is determined by ASTM D4541/D7234, wherein said edge bond has an adhesion strength that is at least about 0.5 psig greater than said fill material adhesion strength.

13. The article of claim 12, further comprising a second substrate having a carrier surface, said edge bond being further bonded to said carrier surface.

14. The article of claim 13, wherein said second substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, sapphire, quartz, metal, glass, and ceramics.

15. The article of claim 12, said devices comprising at least one structure selected from the group consisting of:

solder bumps;

metal posts;

metal pillars; and

structures formed from a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, polysilicon, silicon dioxide, silicon (oxy)nitride, metal, low k dielectrics, polymer dielectrics, metal nitrides, and metal silicides.

16. The article of claim 12, wherein said fill material presents a first surface and a second surface, said article further comprising a layer in contact with one of said first and second surfaces of said fill material.

17. The article of claim 16, further comprising a second substrate having a carrier surface, and wherein said layer is selected from the group consisting of a low adhesive strength layer, a polymeric layer, and a surface modification of said carrier surface or of said front surface.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein said second layer is in contact with said carrier surface.

19. The article of claim 12, wherein said edge bond has a width of from about 2 mm to about 15 mm.

20. The article of claim 12, wherein said fill material comprises monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers selected from the group consisting of cyclic olefins and amorphous fluoropolymers.

21. An article comprising:

a first substrate having front and back surfaces, said front surface having a peripheral region and a central region;

an edge bond bonded to said peripheral region, said edge bond being absent from at least some of said central region so as to form a fill zone, said edge bond being formed from a material comprising monomers, oligomers, or polymers selected from the group consisting of epoxies, acrylics, silicones, styrenics, vinyl halides, vinyl esters, polyamides, polyimides, polysulfones, polyethersulfones, cyclic olefins, polyolefin rubbers, and polyurethanes, wherein the integrity of said edge bond is maintained upon being submerged in concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature for 10 minutes or in 30% by weight potassium hydroxide solution at about 85°

C. for about 45 minutes;

an amorphous polymeric fill material in said fill zone, said material having an adhesion strength of less than about 50 psig, wherein the adhesion strength is determined by ASTM D4541/D7234, wherein said edge bond has an adhesion strength that is at least about 0.5 psig greater than said fill material adhesion strength; and

a second substrate having a carrier surface, said edge bond being further bonded to said carrier surface.

22. The article of claim 21, wherein said second substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, sapphire, quartz, metal, glass, and ceramics.

23. The article of claim 21, wherein said first substrate comprises a device wafer having a device surface, said device surface comprising at least one structure selected from the group consisting of:

solder bumps;

metal posts;

metal pillars; and

structures formed from a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, polysilicon, silicon dioxide, silicon (oxy)nitride, metal, low k dielectrics, polymer dielectrics, metal nitrides, and metal silicides.

24. The article of claim 21, wherein said fill material presents a first surface and a second surface, said article further comprising a layer in contact with one of said first and second surfaces.

25. The article of claim 24, wherein said layer is selected from the group consisting of a low adhesive strength layer, a polymeric layer, and a surface modification of said carrier surface or of said front surface.

26. The article of claim 25, wherein said layer is in contact with said carrier surface.

27. The article of claim 21, wherein said edge bond has a width of from about 2 mm to about 15 mm.

28. The article of claim 21, wherein said fill material comprises monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers selected from the group consisting of cyclic olefins and amorphous fluoropolymers.