Increasingly, R&D and production level semiconductor processing sites worldwide are realising the benefits of using superior precision cutting, lapping and polishing machines for accurate processing and polishing of semiconductor materials such as GaAs, Silicon or InP. Cross sectional polishing, backthinning, delayering or planarization application areas can all benefit from the versatility and precision offered by the latest Logitech system technology.
Semiconductor materials are used in a wide variety of devices such as field effect transistors (MosFets, Fets), integrated circuits (ICs, MMICs, ASICs), focal plane arrays, infra-red detectors, and so on.
Many diverse materials are used in these devices and new materials are constantly being developed. Silicon is common, but for many applications, alternatives have been found in a group of materials known as Compound Semiconductors, the most commonly used being:
- Gallium Arsenide
- Indium Phosphide
- Mercury Cadmium Telluride
- Cadmium Sulphide
- Cadmium Telluride
Whatever the application or material, each semiconductor wafer undergoes several common stages during manufacture, which include slicing the wafer from the crystal, preparing the surface prior to fabrication and thinning the device after fabrication through the use of lapping and polishing techniques.
Slicing the semiconductor wafer is carried out on an annular saw, and surface finishing and thinning are normally accomplished by a combination of lapping and polishing. These have proven to be ideal applications for Logitech equipment, particularly since most of the new compounds are extremely delicate and difficult to process - properties which Logitech technology is specifically designed to cater for. The range of Semiconductor material processing and preparation requirements encountered in this sector can be summarised as follows:
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Wafer thinning and backlappingWafer thinning, more commonly known as "backlapping", is generally carried out at the end of the device fabrication process in order to reduce the fabricated semiconductor wafer's thermal conductivity and to speed up signal transmission across the device.
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Chemo-Mechanical Polishing & CMPFor dedicated CMP and delayering / planarization processes Logitech have produced the Tribo and Orbis Chemical Mechanical Polishing systems. This versatile machine is ideal for use in CMP delayering and polishing applications where geometric precision and surface quality are of paramount importance.  |
Chemical PolishingChemical polishing is normally employed to prepare the semiconductor wafer surface for epitaxial growth or to reclaim wafers which have a defective epitaxial layer. The processes require the use of aggressive and often toxic chemical polishing agents, such as Bromine Methanol, which necessitates the use of special construction methods and materials in any equipment used. |
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For more information on our semiconductor materials processing equipment and what Logitech technology will do for your business, call us on +44 (0)1389 875444 or complete our contact form.
