T-ESC®-Technology is based on using an electrostatic field to apply an electrical
force on materials of even lower conductivity. The mobile electrostatic carriers
(T-ESC®) developed by PCS can build up such a field and lock in especially thin substrates
(< 50µm) for a long period of time (up to 50 hours) by applying the so-called Coulomb
force. The release at the end of the process takes only a short amount of time and
leaves absolutely no traces on the fixed substrate. Organic residues caused by the
use of tapes or by bonding - and thereby involving additional cleaning processes
- are avoided. By using T-ESC®-Technology the safe handling and transport of the
thinnest substrates for the semiconductor, photovoltaic and display industries can
also be guaranteed during the individual processing phases, in particular under vacuum
and high temperature conditions.
Applications in which the advantages of thin substrates can be exploited, e.g. 3-D
integration, are on the threshold of mass production. Hence the manufacturers of
semiconductors require fully automated systems with which thin wafers can be safely
transported and processed. Therefore PCS and mechatronic systemtechnik have developed
the fully automatic Chucking/De-Chucking System ACU 3000. The system is now intended
to be comprehensively tested and demonstrated at LFoundry in Landshut, Germany within
the framework of the "SEAL" project which is funded by the European Community.
The ACU 3000 System is able to assemble up to 120 carrier packets per hour, i.e.
to fix or remove a wafer on a carrier by means of the electrostatic holding force.
The electrostatic charging / discharging unit of the ACU 3000 is also available as
an individual module. On the basis of standardized interfaces it can thereby also
be integrated into other systems, e.g. process tools. In this way existing systems
can be used for processing thin substrates without the necessity of any system- or
process-related modifications.
"Collaboration with mechatronic systemtechnik leads to an ideal symbiosis and it
creates crucial competitive advantages for both of the companies " explains Roland
Raschke, CEO of PCS GmbH. "One great advantage of T-ESC®-Technology lies in the fact
that customers can process thin substrates quite simply with their existing equipment
and without major investments" adds Walter Schober, CEO of mechatronic systemtechnik
gmbh.
