Methods and apparatus for glass removal in CMOS image sensors
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsPao-Tung Chen, Szu-Ying Chen, Dun-Nian Yaung, Jen-Cheng Liu
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Abstract
Methods for glass removal while forming CMOS image sensors. A method for forming a device is provided that includes forming a plurality of pixel arrays on a device wafer; bonding a carrier wafer to a first side of the device wafer; bonding a substrate over a second side of the device wafer; thinning the carrier wafer; forming electrical connections to the first side of the device wafer; subsequently de-bonding the substrate from the second side of the device wafer; and subsequently singulating individuals ones of the plurality of pixel arrays from the device wafer. An apparatus is disclosed.
Claims19
A method for forming a device, comprising:
- forming a plurality of photo-sensitive elements in a semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer disposed over a first major surface of a dielectric structure;
- bonding a substrate to the semiconductor wafer;
- bonding a carrier wafer to a second major surface of the dielectric structure, the second major surface opposite the first major surface;
- forming one or more openings in the carrier wafer, the one or more openings exposing a metallization layer in the dielectric structure;
- forming electrical connections to the metallization layer;
- and
- singulating individual ones of the plurality of photo-sensitive elements.
A method for forming a device comprising:
- forming a plurality of pixel arrays on a device wafer;
- bonding a carrier wafer to a first side of the device wafer;
- bonding a substrate over a second side of the device wafer;
- thinning the carrier wafer;
- forming electrical connections to the first side of the device wafer;
- subsequently de-bonding the substrate from the second side of the device wafer;
- and
- subsequently singulating individuals ones of the plurality of pixel arrays from the device wafer.
A method for forming a device, the method comprising:
- forming a first pixel array of photodiodes and a second pixel array of photodiodes over a first side of a device wafer;
- bonding a carrier wafer to a second side of the device wafer;
- bonding a substrate over the first pixel array and the second pixel array;
- after bonding the substrate, forming a first through-via and a second through-via in the carrier wafer, the first through-via and the second through-via proximal the first pixel array and the second pixel array, respectively;
- forming a first electrical connection and a second electrical connection within the first through-via and the second through-via, respectively;
- after forming the first electrical connection and the second electrical connection, removing the substrate from the device wafer;
- and
- singulating the device wafer, the singulating separating the first pixel array and the first through-via from the second pixel array and the second through-via.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.