Sonoscan AW200 Series

Features:
• Sonoscan Waterfallª transducer provides non-immersion scanning which minimizes risks of contamination and false bond indications

• Dual (2) high-precision robot arms with vacuum pickup end effectors maximize total throughput by efficiently automating the entire inspection processÑincluding aligning, delivery, drying and sorting

• Functions with up to three 25-wafer cassettes (two for loading/ unloading and one for reject) for larger batch capacity

• Universal cassette interface platform capable of handling wafers from 125mm to 200mm in diameter. Platforms for smaller wafer sizes are also available

• Sonoscan automated analysis software accurately determines percent bond/nonbonded, void size and count, and automatic accept/reject based on user-defined criteria

• Matched 500 MHz bandwidth pulser/receiver and ultra-high resolution transducers rapidly generate
superior images as both are designed and manufactured by Sonoscan for optimum performance

• Self-contained water and vacuum unit option quickly provides these capabilities when hook-ups are not available

The AW200™ Series is a high-capacity, high-throughput automated C-SAM® system designed to deliver maximum sensitivity for the evaluation of bonded wafers in
applications such as SOI, MEMS and others. Since the
materials used in these applications are very transparent
to ultrasound, Sonoscan uses proprietary high acoustic
frequency lenses, which are designed in-house, to obtain the most detailed images. The AW200 Series can detect voids smaller than 5 microns in diameter between two wafers and delamination with the separation between the wafers as thin as 200 Angstroms.

The system is designed to handle wafers bonded by virtually any method, including direct fusion, anodic, glass frit and epoxy bonding. For direct bond techniques, users of the system have found that yields can be significantly improved by inspecting at three production stages—after initial bonding by Van der Waals forces, after annealing and after thinning.

The AW200 Series delivers fully automated inspection. Wafers up to 200mm in diameter are loaded via two
standard wafer cassettes. Dual robot arms with vacuum pickup end effectors transfer the wafers first to the aligner and then to the scan stage for acoustic inspection. The entire wafer area is scanned using Sonoscan's
proprietary Waterfall™ Transducer, which provides non-immersion scanning and reduces the risks of contamination and false bond indications. If inspection is performed after metallization has been applied, the acoustic image can be overlaid onto a wafer map. This method relates void, bond and other defects to the individual die.

After completing the scan of each bonded wafer pair, typically two to three minutes, the wafer is passed through a set of air knives to remove excess water. While drying, Sonoscan's automated analysis software analyzes the data. Based on your chosen accept/reject criteria, the bonded wafer is either placed back into one of the accept cassettes or in a third reject cassette. At the same time this is occurring, thanks to the dual robot arms, the second wafer has already been loaded and is being scanned. By minimizing time between scans, the AW200 Series helps maximize throughput.