Apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices
AssigneeSoitec
InventorsMarcel Broekaart, Ionut Radu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an apparatus for the manufacture of semiconductor devices wherein the apparatus includes a bonding module that has a vacuum chamber to provide bonding of wafers under pressure below atmospheric pressure; and a loadlock module connected to the bonding module and configured for wafer transfer to the bonding module. The loadlock module is also connected to a first vacuum pumping device configured to reduce the pressure in the loadlock module to below atmospheric pressure. The bonding and loadlock modules remain at a pressure below atmospheric pressure while the wafer is transferred from the loadlock module into the bonding module.
Claims16
An apparatus for the manufacture of semiconductor devices;
- comprising
- a bonding module comprising a vacuum chamber to provide bonding of wafers under a pressure below atmospheric pressure;
- and
- a loadlock module connected to the bonding module and configured and dimensioned for wafer transfer to the bonding module and also connected to a first vacuum pumping device configured to reduce the pressure in the loadlock module to below atmospheric pressure;
- wherein the bonding and loadlock modules remain at a pressure below atmospheric pressure while the wafer is transferred from the loadlock module into the bonding module.
A method for bonding semiconductor wafers, which comprises:
- evacuating a vacuum chamber of a bonding module;
- transferring at least a first wafer and a second wafer from an external environment to a loadlock module that is connected to the bonding module;
- evacuating the loadlock module after transfer of at least the first and second wafers to the loadlock module;
- transferring at least the first and second wafers from the evacuated loadlock module to the evacuated vacuum chamber of the bonding module while retaining the bonding and load lock modules at a pressure below atmospheric pressure;
- positioning the first wafer and a second wafer on a first and a second bonding chuck, respectively;
- and
- moving the first and the second wafer towards each other by movement of the first and/or second bonding chuck such that a main surface of the first wafer and a main surface of the second wafer locally come sufficiently close to each other to allow bonding to be initiated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.