Canon’s semiconductor equipment division has launched a back-end lithography tool optimized for TSVs, bump processing, and other forms of next-generation semiconductor packaging.

The FPA-5510iV scanner includes new optics with a dual wavelength capability, and an alignment approach optimized for TSVs. It features a numerical aperture that can be varied between 0.10 and 0.18 for the relatively thick resists used in packaging. It can pattern features sized from 1-50 microns with the high aspect ratios required for TSVs.

Canon said the FPA-5510iV features a large exposure area measuring 52 x 34 mm, compared with the 26 x 33 mm area of front-end exposure tools. The system can overlay two standard, front-end scanner fields in a single exposure for high throughputs, Canon said.

The illumination optics utilizes a 4.5kW high-intensity lamp as the light source. It allows the use of i-line light, or a combination of i-line and h-line light for exposure. The company said the use of dual-wavelengths “can raise exposure intensity to increase stepper throughput for the high-dose rough bump processes.”

Canon said the alignment system for the 10iV “automatically monitors and corrects for baseline and lens magnification changes due to optics and substrate heating,” providing 300nm overlay accuracy.

Canon offers optional units which support bonded wafer handling and the backside alignment required for TSVs. The optional Through-Silicon Alignment (TSA) scope uses infrared light to penetrate silicon to view and measure alignment marks buried in bonded-wafer stacks. The method transmits long-wavelength infrared light to detect alignment marks on a wafer.

The tool aligns directly to front-end alignment marks, which Canon said eliminates the need to form additional marks to support backside processing of the wafer.

The company also offers an optional, non-contact wafer edge shielding (WES) unit that masks a portion of each shot on the edge of the wafer during exposure. Canon said the use of the WES allows negative-tone resist along the wafer perimeter to be stripped away during development.

The FPA-5510iV options support the processing of severely warped wafers that often result from wafer bonding and thinning operations, Canon said.

Tags: Canon, IC packaging, lithography, TSVs

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