US-20260130158-A1 - SUBSTRATE BONDING APPARATUS

US20260130158A1US 20260130158 A1US20260130158 A1US 20260130158A1US-20260130158-A1

Abstract

An example substrate bonding apparatus includes a first bonding chuck including a first base, a deformable plate disposed on the first base and configured to support a first substrate, and a lift pin configured to apply pressure to a lower surface of the deformable plate, and a second bonding chuck including a second base configured to hold a second substrate facing the first substrate in a vertical direction.

Inventors

Byeongtak PARK
Siwoong Woo
YongJoo Lee
Kyeongbin LIM
Jiwon Moon
Kazuya Ono
Donggap Shin

Assignees

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250627
Priority Date: 20241101

Claims (20)

1 . A substrate bonding apparatus comprising: a first bonding chuck comprising a first base, a deformable plate, and a lift pin, the deformable plate being disposed on the first base and being configured to support a first substrate, and the lift pin being configured to apply pressure to a lower surface of the deformable plate; a second bonding chuck comprising a second base, an upper pressing unit, and a picker, the second base being configured to hold a second substrate facing the first substrate in a vertical direction, the upper pressing unit being configured to apply pressure to an upper surface of the second substrate, and the picker being configured to load the second substrate; and a pressure and airflow control circuit disposed on the deformable plate and located around an edge of the first substrate, wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to, based on the first substrate being bonded to the second substrate, change a pressure drop location from a first area to a second area, the pressure drop location being a location at which a pressure drop occurs near at least one edge of the first substrate and the second substrate based on the first substrate being bonded to the second substrate, the first area being located in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the second area being configured to have atmospheric pressure.
2 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to increase a length of a route for gas to escape between the first substrate and the second substrate.
3 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to discharge gas having a pressure condition greater than the atmospheric pressure to the first area.
4 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the gas being discharged from the pressure and airflow control circuit has the pressure condition that is greater than the atmospheric pressure by about 20 kPa to about 80 kPa.
5 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a level of an upper surface of the pressure and airflow control circuit is higher than a level of an upper surface of the first substrate.
6 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a vertical thickness of the pressure and airflow control circuit is greater than a first vertical thickness of the first substrate and a second vertical thickness of the second substrate.
7 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a direction of bonding between the first substrate and the second substrate extends from a center of the first substrate to an edge of the first substrate and from a center of the second substrate to an edge of the second substrate, and wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to discharge gas from a third area to thereby decrease a flow speed of the discharged gas in the direction, the third area being located in a gap between the center of the first substrate and the center of the second substrate.
8 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 1 , comprising a controller, wherein the controller is configured to, using the pressure and airflow control circuit, turn gas discharge on or off.
9 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to operate based on bonding between the first substrate and the second substrate being performed from a center of the first substrate to an outer circumferential surface of the first substrate and from a center of the second substrate to an outer circumferential surface of the second substrate.
10 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 1 , wherein gas being discharged from the pressure and airflow control circuit comprises helium (He).
11 . A substrate bonding apparatus comprising: a first bonding chuck comprising a first base, a deformable plate, and a lift pin, the deformable plate being disposed on the first base and being configured to support a first substrate, and the lift pin being configured to apply pressure to a lower surface of the deformable plate; a second bonding chuck comprising a second base, an upper pressing unit, and a picker, the second base being configured to hold a second substrate facing the first substrate in a vertical direction, the upper pressing unit being configured to apply pressure to an upper surface of the second substrate, and the picker being configured to load the second substrate; a pressure and airflow control circuit disposed on the deformable plate and located around an edge of the first substrate; and a controller, wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to, based on the first substrate being bonded to the second substrate, change a pressure drop location from a first area to a second area, the pressure drop location being a location at which a pressure drop occurs near at least one edge of the first substrate and the second substrate, the first area being located in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the second area being configured to have atmospheric pressure, and increase a length of a route for gas to escape between the first substrate and the second substrate, and wherein the controller is configured to, using the pressure and airflow control circuit, turn a first operation of the first bonding chuck and a second operation of the second bonding chuck on or off and to turn gas discharge on or off.
12 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to discharge gas having a pressure condition greater than the atmospheric pressure to the first area, and wherein the gas being discharged from the pressure and airflow control circuit has the pressure condition that is greater than the atmospheric pressure by about 20 kPa to about 80 kPa.
13 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 11 , wherein a level of an upper surface of the pressure and airflow control circuit is higher than a level of an upper surface of the first substrate, and wherein a vertical thickness of the pressure and airflow control circuit is greater than a first vertical thickness of the first substrate and a second vertical thickness of the second substrate.
14 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 11 , wherein a direction of bonding between the first substrate and the second substrate extends from a center of the first substrate to an edge of the first substrate and from a center of the second substrate to an edge of the second substrate, and wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to discharge gas from a third area to thereby decrease a flow speed of the discharged gas in the direction, the third area being located in a gap between the center of the first substrate and the center of the second substrate.
15 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to operate based on bonding between the first substrate and the second substrate being performed from a center of the first substrate to an outer circumferential surface of the first substrate and a center of the second substrate to an outer circumferential surface of the second substrate.
16 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 11 , comprising an image capturing circuit disposed above the second bonding chuck, wherein the image capturing circuit is configured to obtain an alignment image for the first substrate and the second substrate.
17 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the image capturing circuit comprises: a light source; a body; a camera; and a first moving stage.
18 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 11 , comprising a driver coupled to a lower portion of the first bonding chuck and configured to adjust a position of the lift pin.
19 . A substrate bonding apparatus comprising: a first bonding chuck comprising a first base, a deformable plate, and a lift pin, the deformable plate being disposed on the first base and being configured to support a first substrate, and the lift pin being configured to apply pressure to a lower surface of the deformable plate; a second bonding chuck comprising a second base, an upper pressing unit,, and a picker, the second base being configured to hold a second substrate facing the first substrate in a vertical direction, the upper pressing unit being configured to apply pressure to an upper surface of the second substrate, and the picker being configured to load the second substrate; a pressure and airflow control circuit disposed on the deformable plate and located around an edge of the first substrate; and a controller, wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to, based on the first substrate being bonded to the second substrate, change a pressure drop location from a first area to a second area, the pressure drop location being a location at which a pressure drop occurs near at least one edge of the first substrate and the second substrate, the first area being located in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the second area being configured to have atmospheric pressure, increase a length of a route for gas to escape between the first substrate and the second substrate, discharge gas having a pressure condition greater than the atmospheric pressure to the first area, and discharge gas from a third area to thereby decrease a flow speed of the discharged gas in a direction of bonding between the first substrate and the second substrate extends, the third area being located in a gap between a center of the first substrate and a center of the second substrate, and wherein a level of an upper surface of the pressure and airflow control circuit is higher than a level of an upper surface of the first substrate, and wherein a vertical thickness of the pressure and airflow control circuit is greater than a first vertical thickness of the first substrate and a second vertical thickness of the second substrate.
20 . The substrate bonding apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the controller is configured to, using the pressure and airflow control circuit, turn a first operation of the first bonding chuck and a second operation of the second bonding chuck on or off and to turn gas discharge on or off, and wherein the pressure and airflow control circuit is configured to operate based on the bonding between the first substrate and the second substrate being performed from the center of the first substrate to an outer circumferential surface of the first substrate and from the center of the second substrate to an outer circumferential surface of the second substrate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0153789, filed on Nov. 1, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND During a manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a substrate bonding process may be performed to bond two or more substrates to each other. The substrate bonding process may be performed to improve the mounting density of semiconductor chips in the semiconductor device. For example, semiconductor modules with stacked semiconductor chips may be advantageous in shortening wiring lengths between the semiconductor chips and enabling high-speed signal processing, as well as improving the mounting density of the semiconductor chips. When manufacturing semiconductor modules having a stacked semiconductor chip structure, productivity may be increased by performing a bonding process in units of wafers and then performing a cutting process in units of stacked semiconductor chips, rather than performing a bonding process in units of semiconductor chips. The substrate bonding process may be performed in a wafer-to-wafer method in which two wafers are bonded directly without any intermediate materials. In the wafer-to-wafer method, voids may occur due to the difference in pressure caused by the difference in flow rate. SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to a substrate bonding apparatus having improved reliability. Also, the objects of the present disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned object, but other objects not described herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. In some implementations, a substrate bonding apparatus includes a first bonding chuck including a first base, a deformable plate disposed on the first base and configured to support a first substrate, and a lift pin configured to apply pressure to a lower surface of the deformable plate, a second bonding chuck including a second base configured to hold a second substrate facing the first substrate in a vertical direction, an upper pressing unit configured to apply pressure to an upper surface of the second substrate, and a picker configured to load the second substrate, and a pressure and airflow control module disposed on the deformable plate and located around an edge of the first substrate, wherein the pressure and airflow control module is configured to, when the first substrate is bonded to the second substrate, change a location at which a pressure drop near edges of the first substrate and the second substrate occurs, from a first area located in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate to a second area located outside where an atmospheric pressure atmosphere is created. In some implementations, a substrate bonding apparatus includes a first bonding chuck including a first base, a deformable plate disposed on the first base and configured to support a first substrate, and a lift pin configured to apply pressure to a lower surface of the deformable plate, a second bonding chuck including a second base configured to hold a second substrate facing the first substrate in a vertical direction, an upper pressing unit configured to apply pressure to an upper surface of the second substrate, and a picker configured to load the second substrate, a pressure and airflow control module disposed on the deformable plate and located around an edge of the first substrate, and a controller, wherein the pressure and airflow control module is configured to, when the first substrate is bonded to the second substrate, change a location at which a pressure drop near edges of the first substrate and the second substrate occurs, from a first area located in a gap between the first substrate and the second substrate to a second area located outside where an atmospheric pressure atmosphere is created, and increase a length of a route for gas to escape outward from between the first substrate and the second substrate, and wherein the controller is configured to, by using the pressure and airflow control module, turn on or off operation of each of the first bonding chuck and the second bonding chuck and turn on or off discharge of the gas. In some implementations, a substrate bonding apparatus includes a first bonding chuck including a first base, a deformable plate disposed on the first base and configured to support a first substrate, and a lift pin configured to apply pressure to a lower surface of the deformable plate, a second bonding chuck including a second base configured to hold a second substrate facing the first substrate in a vertical direction, an upper pressing unit configured to apply pressure to an upper surface of the second substrate, and a picker configured to load the second substrate, a pressure and airflow control module disposed on the deformable plate and located around an edge of