ORC Manufacturing has developed next-generation technology that achieves higher resolution and alignment accuracy than conventional systems through direct exposure equipment that transfers circuit patterns onto semiconductor substrates without using photomasks. It has also manufactured a mass production prototype of exposure equipment incorporating this technology. This was implemented as a project commissioned by NEDO.
Deputy Director Kenji Nakazawa, who was responsible for equipment development, explained: "Due to the recent rise in demand for semiconductors, requirements from the semiconductor manufacturing market have accelerated, and we achieved the development of mass production prototype equipment nine months ahead of our original development schedule. We have already started accepting orders for our first full-panel mass production product 'SDi-1050h/2050i' in July and are aiming to ship within this fiscal year. Furthermore, we will introduce compact equipment to the market in fiscal year 2026 and will develop a series of second-generation products (for 300 mm diameter wafers) and third-generation products (for 310×310 mm panels): 'SDi-1030hi/1030h/2030i'."
As conventional semiconductor miniaturization technologies reach their physical and economic limits, chiplet integration technology, which divides semiconductor circuits into small functional units and manufactures each with optimal technology, has gained attention. For this, semiconductor back-end packaging technology that combines semiconductors for horizontal mounting and vertical stacking for high integration is essential. The required advanced manufacturing technologies include alignment technology that precisely aligns each layer, bonding technology for seamless stacking, and technology for high-precision interconnection of stacked chips.
To advance semiconductor manufacturing equipment, NEDO has been jointly advancing development with ORC Manufacturing toward the advancement of direct exposure equipment - i.e., a type of exposure equipment that transfers fine circuit patterns that does not use photomasks, which are the master patterns for transferring circuit patterns. Direct exposure equipment reduces the time and cost required for photomask design and manufacturing, enabling shortened development periods for advanced packages and improved process efficiency during mass production. However, improving resolution for wiring miniaturization and alignment accuracy were challenges for its application to advanced package manufacturing.
In direct exposure, instead of using photomasks, a planar display device called a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) with hundreds of thousands to millions of mirrors of approximately ten micrometers in size arranged vertically and horizontally is used to directly pattern photomask exposure data onto photosensitive materials to form fine structures. The equipment developed for this project can be applied to the fine wiring layers (interposers) of advanced packages and forms fine wiring (RDL) and microvias.
Meanwhile, in recent years, the individual size of fine wiring layers has become larger, organic materials are being used instead of silicon, and the format for forming fine wiring layers has shifted from circular wafers to square panels. On this occasion, development was advanced to adapt direct exposure to such changes.
As a result, technology for the high-speed control of DMD in accordance with photomask data and high-resolution optical systems were developed, successfully forming circuits with line widths of 1-µm on photosensitive materials on circuit boards. It was confirmed that the formation of copper plating wiring with line widths of 2-µm on organic materials is achievable through this miniaturization technology.
Alignment accuracy requirements become more stringent as wiring becomes finer. For advanced packages using organic materials, data correction technology to perform exposure according to substrate expansion and contraction is required.
Therefore, along with a main stage with high precision and excellent repeatability, real-time position correction technology using high-precision cameras that read alignment marks on substrates was developed, enabling circuit pattern placement with 0.5-µm accuracy across the entire 510×515-millimeter exposure area.
This article has been translated by JST with permission from The Science News Ltd. (https://sci-news.co.jp/). Unauthorized reproduction of the article and photographs is prohibited.