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PI is a leading manufacturer of precision motion control and automation systems, hexapod 6-axis parallel robotic stages, air bearing motion systems, Gantry Systems, 3D printing, laser machining, and piezoelectric nano-positioning solutions. Applications include photonics, semiconductor technology, medical engineering, assembly, inspection,

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Motion Control, Wafer Stages for Wafer Stealth Dicing

POSTED 07/01/2022

Multi-Axis Air Bearing Nanopositioning Wafer Stages, High Performance Motion Controllers and Laser Control Software for Wafer Stealth Dicing

Stealth laser dicing (SLD) requires high performance focus control to focus a laser with high accuracy below the wafe surface. The chips can then be separated with a tape expander. It is important to use precision motion systems with no particle generation to avoic contamination risks to the wafer. Also, the position accuracy in the nanometer range is very critical for both XY axes, enablling the narrowest possible streets (minimizing losses), and to have very fast, highly precise and dynamic focus control to maintain the focus within the wafer and actively track and compensate for wafer distortions. For maximum throughput, the the fastest scanning speed is required. High velocity direct drive stages and piezoelectric nanopositioning systems are required to meet the demand in stealth laser dicing. This advanced technique is becoming the first choice for high-volume MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) dicing, and especially small and complex dies. Accordingly, laser-dicing processes also demand highly accuraty motion systems with extreme geometric performance, i.e. straightness, flatness and minimum yaw deviation, all at high velocy. PI's 5-axis wafer stage with fast focus Z-axis for wafer dicing is explained here. A complete overview of precision motion control for semiconductor wafer stages will be shown at PI's Booth at Semicon West.

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