ASYNTIS GmbH, a supplier of plasma etch equipment for semiconductor backend manufacturing, introduces the Silicon Star 12 Plasma Etch system for stress relief and surface conditioning of 12” wafers in high-volume production.

The company claims this is the first production-level plasma etch system to operate at near room temperature, allowing wafers to be processed with polymeric B/G (back grinding) tape attached.

“The new Silicon Star 12 provides wafer stress relief by removing damaged silicon layers—increasing individual die breaking strength by a factor of 10,” said Roland Busch, VP of sales and marketing. “But of note to our customers is the minimal impact the addition of our stress relief system will have to their current wafer process flow.”

It removes the micro cracks and dislocations from thinned wafers, reducing wafer stress and enhancing the fracture strength of single dies. High etch rates provide throughput advantages compared to polishing or etch solutions.

Features include:

Etch rates up to 3 µm/min;

Low process temperatures for taped wafer processing;

Process control provides consistent quality for mirror-like and matte surfaces;

Processing wafer sizes up to 300 mm.

ASYNTIS GmbH, www.ASYNTIS.com