“By 2017, the ratio of thin wafers vs. total number of wafers will be 74% in 12’’eq.”

Come and register for a live webcast today, on I-Micronews.com, Upcoming Webcasts section.

During the webcast, you will discover the thin wafers market, its applications and related processes. It will cover the following applications:

-MEMS
-CMOS Image sensors
-Power devices
-HB LEDs
-RF
-Memory & logic
-Interposers and advanced packaging
-Photovoltaics
-Thin wafer handling solutions for the manufacture of 2.5D and 3D type devices

“Consumer electronics is a big driver for smaller, higher performing, lower cost device configurations for use in applications such as memory, wireless devices, and others.”, explains Dr Eric Mounier, Senior Technology & Market Analyst at Yole Développement and speaker during the webcast.

These new configurations are, in turn, pushing demand for thin (< 100 μm) and even ultra-thin semiconductor wafers (below 40μm) with the following benefits:

-Reduced thickness, equating to thinner packages
-Wafer thinning is the most efficient approach used for heat dissipation in thermal management
-For 3D integration, thin wafers offer higher density for through Si vias

However, as wafer thickness decreases to 100μm and below, manufacturing challenges arise. Ultra-thin wafers are less stable and more vulnerable to stress, and the die could be prone to breaking and warping - not only during grinding, but also at subsequent processing steps. Thus, special thin wafer handling processes (such as temporary bonding) are necessary, especially when wafers are dual-side processed or have high topographies.

After Yole Développement’s presentation, Markus Wimplinger will present EV Group solutions that address the challenge of handling and stacking thin and ultra-thin semiconductor wafers and dies. Exemplary process flows geared towards the manufacture of different devices as well as key performance requirements will be discussed. These solutions are key enablers for the manufacture of 2.5 and 3D type devices that will fuel performance gains in next generation consumer electronics. Markus Wimplinger is director of EV Group’s business unit for technology development and intellectual property.