A brand new inter-die gapfill device is purpose-built to resolve essential challenges in 3D stacking and high-density heterogeneous integration. VECTOR TEOS 3D gives ultra-thick, uniform inter-die gapfill by leveraging Lam Analysis’s proprietary bowed wafer dealing with strategy and developments in dielectric deposition.
Trade watchers describe it as a big step for superior packaging, as void-free, nanoscale gapfill could possibly be essential for dependable 3D stacking and chiplet integration in next-generation synthetic intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) semiconductor units.
The semiconductor business is popping to 3D superior packaging to combine a number of dies into chiplet architectures for AI, HPC, and gaming functions. These chiplet designs improve processing pace and pack extra compute into smaller kind elements by bringing reminiscence and processing nearer, thereby optimizing electrical pathways.
Nonetheless, as these chipsets scale taller and turn into extra advanced, they encounter a spread of latest manufacturing challenges. That spans from stress throughout processing—which may distort or bow a wafer’s form—to cracks and voids in movies that trigger defects and decrease yield. In different phrases, when chip designers scale units vertically and horizontally, they require a dielectric gapfill that’s thick sufficient to fill the areas between stacked dies for structural, thermal, and mechanical integrity.
It’s attention-grabbing to notice that progress in trendy chips is historically measured by improvement of thinner and smaller constructions. Then again, superior packaging strays from this conference, looking for methods to make movies thicker as they stack dies increased and better. Right here, thick wafers and their related glass substrates reply in another way to thermal cycles, contributing to bowing. And dealing with bowed wafers is notoriously tough.
Inter-die gapfill device
Enter VECTOR TEOS 3D (pronounced “TEE-oss”), Lam Analysis’s deposition device particularly designed for superior packaging to reliably ship ultra-thick movies—dielectric gapfill movies as much as 60-µm in thickness—and thus excel at processing thick wafers with excessive bowing traits. TEOS minimizes cracks and voids in thick dielectric gapfill movies whereas dealing with high-bow wafers.
Determine 1 TEOS 3D gives high-quality, void-free thick dielectric movie deposition for superior packaging. Supply: Lam Analysis
Movie cracks and voids can injury completed dies, every price tens of 1000’s of {dollars}. “VECTOR TEOS 3D deposits the business’s thickest, void-free, inter-die gapfill movies, personalized to fulfill the difficult necessities of superior die stacking integration schemes, even on ultra-stressed, high-bow wafers,” mentioned Sesha Varadarajan, senior VP of the World Merchandise Group at Lam Analysis.
TEOS deposits specialised dielectric movies of as much as 60 microns thick between dies with nanoscale precision, although it gives scalability to deposit movies higher than 100 microns. These movies present important structural, thermal and mechanical assist to stop widespread packaging failures similar to delamination.
Subsequent, TEOS options Lam’s novel clamping know-how and an optimum pedestal design, providing distinctive stability when processing thick wafers. That, in flip, facilitates uniform movie deposition even when coping with excessive wafer bow.
Lastly, Lam’s quad station module (QSM) structure options 4 distinct stations, enabling parallel processing and lowering bottlenecks. It results in practically 70% quicker device throughput in comparison with Lam’s earlier technology of gapfill options. Furthermore, the excessive throughput ensuing from the modular design helps enhance the price of possession as much as 20%.
Determine 2 TEOS addresses a spread of superior packaging challenges. Supply: Lam Analysis
Different key options of TEOS embrace a big chamber design, ringless wafer switch, and built-in tools intelligence.
Why it issues
Superior packaging is now a vital half within the improvement of next-generation chips similar to GPUs and HBM reminiscence chips. The GPU/HBM stacks are rising extra advanced whereas packing in additional transistors. Subsequently, conventional options are more and more falling quick.
Superior packaging requires excessive precision at each step of the chipmaking course of, spanning from plating to etch. Lam claims that TEOS is the primary resolution for single-pass processing of crack-free movies exceeding 30 microns in thickness. That considerably enhances yield and course of time.
TEOS is now put in at main logic and reminiscence fabs around the globe.
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