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Back-end semiconductor applications are starting to demand the high levels of accuracy that are already seen in front-end applications. As chips get more complex and the size of connections gets smaller, the use of advanced packaging is becoming increasingly necessary.
Achieving greater throughput is also a key priority in these applications. However, any engineer will recognize that this is simply not possible without the right technologies. Existing methods, such as standard drives, ball screw motors, and passive vibration isolation are unable to push the limits further. Businesses are left with systems that cannot produce more and cannot achieve the level of accuracy needed to keep up with requirements.
When traditional systems limit throughput and accuracy, which also impacts profitability, keeping costs under control is a big challenge. Not least because the price of linear motors is increasing, in part due to the growing cost of the magnets and copper used.
Solutions to common pain points
The latest generation of technologies offers solutions to the common challenges in back-end semiconductor applications. Whether the business is undertaking laser dicing, wire bonding, die attach, and pick & place operations, improved throughput and accuracy can be achieved cost-effectively by utilizing the right products and systems for advanced packaging.
The following innovative options show how our automated advanced packaging solutions and capabilities help you to deal with these challenges.
Motion stages are at the core of each system used in advanced packaging, as there are many necessary movements during the process. Speed is essential for boosting throughput, whether this is dicing, stacking dies, or stacking wafers.
Equipped linear motors are controlled directly, resulting in higher accuracy, and faster settling time. Both contribute to a higher throughput.
Furthermore, the motion stages can be custom designed towards the specific needs of the application. This helps ensure that businesses are not paying for features they don’t need and helps deliver a cost-beneficial solution.
As we build motion stages with our own off-the-shelf Motion & Mechatronics products, such as drives and controllers, a high level of system integration is achieved. This reduces system complexity and eliminates the overhead of working with multiple suppliers
Besides the important role that fast linear motors play in motion stages, having a high-performance is also critical within the mechatronics systems used in advanced packaging. For instance, systems for wire bonding, pick and place, placement heads, or handling heads, all depend on small form factor motors. A great example can be seen via Phoenix and Iris series linear motors.
The Phoenix series, consisting of ironless linear motors, are typically used whenever high accuracy and smooth movements are needed. As the motor is free from core metal, there is no cogging caused by magnets, and the motors are designed to function with low ripple. The motors have also been designed with cost in mind. When it comes to the Phoenix Tiny, rather than featuring a coil unit, the same performance can be achieved with layers of PCB instead. This helps to reduce the costs significantly.
Moreover, the Iris series also helps to improve accuracy for advanced packaging applications. These voice coils, which are core to any high-end motion stage, support active vibration isolation, with a high bandwidth which allows disturbance compensation of very high accelerations from the stage.
Correct positioning is essential, especially during precise operations such as wire bonding. The Apogee and Kepler series’ of servo drives provide high linearity and take accuracy to a new level, with a dramatic reduction in jitter.
In the past, to achieve a very low output current ripple, analog linear amplifiers would be used. Now, the Apogee and Kepler series drives deliver a matched performance while using 200kHz PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) and internal filtering. This brings positive benefits to positioning accuracy for any movement within the stage.
In demanding advanced packaging motion applications, real time control is necessary alongside power and performance. The Poseidon CPL motion controller series addresses this need with synchronized control of multiple EtherCAT buses with sample frequencies up to 20kHz. A single Poseidon controller can be used to control multiple motion stages within a system. For example, where one stage may be quickly and accurately picking dies, and another may be placing them, then another may be performing wire bonding all within one a single motion system.
By reducing delays, engineers have the real-time control they need to support high accuracy. The PMP (Prodrive Motion Platform) software saves machine time by reducing settling times with advanced control algorithms and 4th order trajectory generation, while development time is saved by providing a large set of ready-to-go control algorithms designed in MATLAB/Simulink. As these control algorithms are also provided as a Simulink model, customers can modify the control structures with our Simulink code generation integration.
PMP gives users a high level of flexibility across any stages within the system, with the ability to modify any parameters or control loops. This helps ensure that control systems can be adjusted to be specific to the application and change as requirements evolve. Compared to buying new controls or drives to fit new needs, PMP has less disruption and a shorter development time can be achieved.
With such broad expertise across semiconductor advanced packaging applications, Prodrive Technologies can also deliver a complete solution for placement heads and handling systems. On receipt of specifications, these can be designed and manufactured as a standalone module, ready for end users to integrate into their own systems. This solution is completely customized to specific capacity needs, and can typically be delivered in a short timeline, which provides more flexibility to fit the demands.
Supporting engineers with effective advanced packaging solutions.
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