Collaborating to Solve Advanced Packaging Substrate Warpage, Thickness, and Heavy Payload Transport and Shipping Defect Challenges

The advanced packaging technologies evolution toward larger substrates, thinner and thicker wafers, heavier payloads, and more diverse substrate shapes present a new class of defect risks ranging from mechanical damage to contamination and warpage across the entire logistics supply chain. A broader solution is required to prevent the loss of device yield and reduce long-term reliability risks. The Entegris approach includes several considerations to collaborate in solving these challenges.

Carrier Design for Heavier and Larger Payloads

With the shift toward more square, rectangular, and unconventionally shaped panels and substrates, traditional wafer carriers are no longer sufficient. These carriers are being designed not only for mechanical support but also for compatibility with automated material handling systems (AMHS), which are being upgraded to accommodate increased weight and size. Design considerations include:Reinforced FOUPs with engineered bridge to support heavier payloads.

• Quarter-panel and large-panel FOUPs tailored for larger substrates.

• Film frame FOUPs for die-to-wafer (D2W) processes and thin wafer handling.

Environmental Control During Transport

Contamination control is critical during inter-process and inter-site transport. Solutions include: 

• Purge-enabled FOUPs that maintain low moisture and AMC (airborne molecular contamination) levels to prevent bonding surface degradation and corrosion.
• Getters and active RH (relative humidity) control systems integrated into carriers to stabilize the internal environment during queue time and shipping.
• ESD (electrostatic discharge) compatibility to prevent device electrical shock damage and FOUP particle generation.

Vibration and Shock Mitigation in Shipping

Shipping semi-finished goods between fabs or OSATs has always had the potential to introduce the risk of vibration-induced damage. These designs are evolving new form substrate factors to reduce mechanical stress, prevent particle generation, and maintain alignment of delicate structures. Solutions include:

• Intra-site: Controlled environment shippers such as HWS (horizontal wafer shippers), HWSC (horizontal wafer shipper contactless), FFS (film frame shippers), and FFF (film frame FOUP) are being deployed.
• Inter-site: Coin stack film frame shippers and panel shippers are used to protect more fragile substrates during long-haul logistics. 

Substrate-Specific Handling Innovations

As glass substrate and non-traditional form factor adoption grows, new handling solution collaborations are needed:

• Glass suppliers to co-develop shipping systems
• Fabs to redesign carriers to accommodate unique substrate characteristics such as thickness, edge profiles, and warpage tendencies.

Standardization and Ecosystem Collaboration

To ensure scalability and interoperability, continued collaboration will help create standards that will increase the speed to market for new tools and simplify the implementation across the fab eco-systems globally.  Two types of collaborations include:

• Industry stakeholders are advocating for SEMI standardization of panel sizes and carrier specifications.
• Collaboration with OEMs, IDMs, and OSATs is helping define requirements for next-generation transport and shipping infrastructure.

Join us as collaboration partners or bring your individual process needs to solve these challenges. Contact our Experts to get started.