Miscellaneous fabrication related tools

Surface plasma treatment

Surface plasma treatment is a vacuum-based process that modifies and cleans material surfaces by exposing them to an ionised gas (plasma). This improves surface energy, adhesion and wettability, making the substrates more suitable for subsequent processes such as coating, bonding or lithography. The treatment can also remove organic contaminants and activate surfaces at a microscopic level, thereby enhancing the performance and reliability of microfabrication and photonic device fabrication processes. It is widely used for surface preparation in semiconductor and thin-film application.

TAU: Diener Tetra-30-LF-PC

Specifications:

• Sample size: Suitable for small to medium substrates up to 5 pcs of sheets of size approximately 200 × 300 mm².
• Process gases: Oxygen (O₂) as standard.
• Gas flow control: Mass flow-controlled 10 – 200 sccm.
• Operating pressure: Low-pressure 0.1 – 5 mbar.
• Plasma power: Adjustable RF power, typically used range 100 – 750 W.
• Process control: Programmable recipes for repeatable cleaning, activation, and functionalization steps.

UEF: PE-50 XL plasma cleaner

Specifications:

• Sample size: multiple small samples (chips, small wafers) or one medium wafer up to 175 mm.
• Process gases: Oxygen (O₂) as standard.
• Gas flow control: Mass flow-controlled 0 – 25 sccm.
• Operating pressure: Low-pressure 0.001 – 2 mbar.
• Plasma power: 200 W, 20-80 kHz.
• Process control: Programmable recipes for repeatable cleaning, activation, and functionalization steps.

Substrate thinning and polishing

Substrate thinning and polishing is a precise process that reduces the thickness of substrates and achieves highly smooth, defect-free surfaces. This improves the performance and reliability of devices in micro- and nanofabrication. It combines controlled material removal with fine polishing techniques to ensure uniformity while minimising surface damage.

TAU: Logitech PM5

PM5 precision lapping and polishing machine is a system for semiconductor wafer backside thinning. The machine is equipped with flatness control.

Specifications:

• Typical substrates:GaAs, GaSb, InP, Si, photonic glasses.
• Wafer size:up to 3”. 

Wafer dicing

Wafer dicing is a precise cutting process that involves using a high-precision diamond saw to separate wafers into individual chips. This process enables the accurate and low-damage cutting of semiconductor and photonic materials for use in device fabrication and research applications.

TAU: Disco Automatic dicing saw model DAD3221 and DTU162 water temperature control unit

Specifications:

• Spindle: 2.000 W synchro spindle, speed range 3.000 – 40.000 rpm.
• Chuck table: 6” porous chuck table for 6” frames.
• Cutting range: x-axis 160 mm, y-axis 162 mm; z-axis position repeatability 0.001µ
• Typical materials: Glasses with a thickness of 1–2 mm, silicon with a thickness of 525 µm, and low-cut speed materials such as LiNbO and sapphire glass wafers.