Methods and apparatus for thinning, testing and singulating a semiconductor wafer

#The present invention relates generally to semiconductor test equipment, and more particularly relates to methods and apparatus for providing electrical pathways between the pads of integrated circuits on a wafer and circuitry external to the wafer.

#Advances in semiconductor manufacturing technology have resulted in, among other things, reducing the cost of sophisticated electronics to the extent that integrated circuits have become ubiquitous in the modern environment.

#As is well-known, integrated circuits are typically manufactured in batches, and these batches usually contain a plurality of semiconductor wafers within and upon which integrated circuits are formed through a variety of semiconductor manufacturing steps, including, for example, depositing, masking, patterning, implanting, etching, and so on.

#FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional representation of a silicon-core wafer translator.

#FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional representation of a silicon-core wafer translator placed inquiry-side down on a temperature controlled vacuum chuck.

#FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional representation of a silicon-core wafer translator placed inquiry-side down on a temperature controlled vacuum chuck and having a layer of wafer bonding thermo-set plastic on the wafer-side thereof.

#Reference herein to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or similar formulations, means that a particular feature, structure, operation, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment, is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or formulations herein are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, various particular features, structures, operations, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

#Terminology

#Pad refers to a metallized region of the surface of an integrated circuit, which is used to form a physical connection terminal for communicating signals to and/or from the integrated circuit.