1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to semiconductors, and more specifically, to semiconductors having a vacuum cavity.
2. Related Art
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are implemented in a variety of products such as micro-gyroscopes and micro-accelerometers. Micro-gyroscopes require a sealed cavity or enclosure that is at a known atmospheric condition. Implementing a suitable package for very miniature devices with a sealed cavity is problematic, particularly when the chamber needs to be at vacuum. In one process a device wafer with edge standoffs formed of a sealant is placed on a heated chuck or platform. Once the device wafer is sufficiently heated, the chuck is moved toward a suspended cap wafer which also has standoffs formed of a sealant. When the standoffs of the two wafers contact, a cavity next to devices on the device wafer is formed. Radiation heat must be used from the heated chuck to sufficiently heat sealant of both the cap wafer and the device wafer. The required radiation heat can damage and modify the electrical properties of the device wafer which cause incorrect operation. The reliability of the sealing capability of two pressed sealing materials that are compressed when heated is an issue as the strength of the bond does not hold a vacuum long term.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and is not limited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.
There is herein disclosed a semiconductor device having a device wafer connected to two overlying cap wafers to create a sealed cavity for forming a vacuum in the cavity. A vent is formed in the two overlying cap wafers by using non-aligned openings in the two overlying cap wafers. At least one opening is present in each cap wafer. A vacuum is applied to the cavity by placing the semiconductor device in a vacuum chamber. The non-aligned openings are used during the application of the vacuum as a vent pathway. The vent pathway permits contaminants from a surface of the device wafer to be outgassed external to the semiconductor device as a vacuum is established in the cavity. The at least one opening in an uppermost overlying cap wafer is sealed from above, thereby creating a semiconductor device having a cavity with a vacuum. In one form the semiconductor device may be used to implement a miniaturized gyroscope for a micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) system product.
The semiconductor device wafer described herein can be any semiconductor material or combinations of materials, such as gallium arsenide, silicon germanium, silicon-on-insulator (SOI), silicon, monocrystalline silicon, the like, and combinations of the above. In one form the cap wafers described herein are formed of silicon but may also be formed using any of these materials.
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By now it should be appreciated that there has been provided a semiconductor structure and method for forming a vent pathway using a wafer cap structure that is applied to a die-level cavity device. A vent pathway is covered or sealed while the semiconductor device is under vacuum and after two wafer caps have been attached via a wafer bond to a functional semiconductor wafer having active devices formed therein. At least one hole is formed in each of the two wafer caps and the holes of the two wafer caps do not vertically align. As a result, a sealing layer that is used to seal the at least one hole of the uppermost wafer cap settles on an exposed surface of the underlying wafer cap. The openings in the two wafer caps and an interconnecting vent path permit the application of a vacuum and a sealing of the device after bonding of the two wafer caps has occurred and after the two wafer caps have been bonded to a device wafer. The pre-fabrication of the wafer caps to have openings or vents allows parallel processing of many semiconductor wafers and improves the volume manufacture through-put while having reliable yields.
In one form there is herein provided a method for forming a semiconductor device. A first cap wafer is provided having a first opening extending through the first cap wafer. A second cap wafer is bonded to the first cap wafer, wherein the second cap wafer has a second opening extending through the second cap wafer. The first opening is misaligned with respect to the second opening. After providing the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer is bonded to the first cap wafer, the second cap wafer is bonded to a device wafer. A cavity is formed between the device wafer and the second cap wafer. The device wafer has at least one semiconductor device exposed to the cavity. After bonding the second cap wafer to the device wafer, a vacuum is applied to the first cap wafer, the second cap wafer, and the device wafer. During the applying the vacuum a sealing layer is formed over the first cap wafer, wherein the sealing layer seals the first opening.
In another form the providing of the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer that is bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that the first cap wafer has a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface. The second cap wafer has a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface. The second major surface of the first cap wafer is between the first major surface of the first cap wafer and the first major surface of the second cap wafer. The first major surface of the second cap wafer is between the second major surface of the first cap wafer and the second major surface of the second cap wafer. The second major surface of the first cap wafer is bonded to the first major surface of the second cap wafer.
In another form providing the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that the second major surface of the first cap wafer is bonded to the first major surface of the second cap wafer with a bonding layer. The second major surface of the first cap wafer is spaced apart from the first major surface of the second cap wafer such that a vent path is present from the first opening to the second opening, between the second major surface of the first cap wafer and the first major surface of the second cap wafer.
In another form providing the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that at least one of the second major surface of the first cap wafer or the first major surface of the second cap wafer includes a trench such that a vent path is present from the first opening to the second opening via the trench. In yet another form providing the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer are laminated together. In another form providing the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that the first cap wafer has a first plurality of openings, each extending through the first cap wafer, wherein the first plurality of openings includes the first opening, and the second cap wafer has a second plurality of openings, each extending through the second cap wafer, wherein the second plurality of openings includes the second opening. In another form the providing the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that each opening of the first plurality of openings is misaligned with respect to each opening of the second plurality of openings. In yet another form during the applying the vacuum, the forming the sealing layer over the first cap wafer is further characterized in that the sealing layer seals each opening of the first plurality of openings. In one form the semiconductor device is a micro-electro-mechanical (MEM) device. In another form during the applying the vacuum, the forming the sealing layer over the first cap wafer further includes forming the sealing layer within the first opening.
In another form there is herein provided a method for forming a semiconductor device by providing a first cap wafer having one or more openings extending through the first cap wafer. A second cap wafer is bonded to the first cap wafer, wherein the second cap wafer has one or more openings extending through the second cap wafer. Each of the one or more openings in the first cap wafer is misaligned with respect to each of the one or more openings in the second cap wafer. After the providing the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer, the second cap wafer is bonded to a device wafer, wherein a cavity is formed between the device wafer and the second cap wafer. A vent path is present from the cavity through the at least one opening in the second cap wafer and through the at least one opening in the first cap wafer. The device wafer has at least one semiconductor device within the cavity. After the bonding of the second cap wafer to the device wafer, a vacuum is applied to the vent path, wherein during the applying the vacuum, a sealing layer is formed over the first cap wafer. The sealing layer seals each opening of the one or more openings in the first cap wafer, and the first cap layer is located between the sealing layer and the second cap layer.
In another form the providing of the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that the first cap wafer is spaced apart from the second cap wafer. The vent path is present from the cavity through the at least one opening in the first cap wafer, between the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer, and through the at least one opening in the second cap wafer. In another form the providing of the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that at least one of the first cap wafer or the second cap wafer includes a trench. The vent path is present from the cavity through the at least one opening in the first cap wafer, through the trench, and through the at least one opening in the second cap wafer.
In another form the providing of the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer bonded to the first cap wafer is further characterized in that the first cap wafer and the second cap wafer are laminated together. In yet another form the semiconductor device is a MEM device. In yet another form during the applying of the vacuum, the forming of the sealing layer over the first cap wafer further includes forming the sealing layer within the one or more openings in the first cap wafer. In another form the device wafer, the first cap wafer, and the second cap wafer are singulated.
In another form there is provided a semiconductor device having a first cap layer having one or more openings extending through the first cap layer. A second cap layer is bonded to the first cap layer, the second cap layer having one or more openings extending through the second cap layer. Each of the one or more openings in the first cap layer are misaligned with respect to each of the one or more openings in the second cap layer. A sealing layer is formed over the first cap layer, wherein the first cap layer is located between the sealing layer and the second cap layer, and wherein the sealing layer seals each of the one or more openings in the first cap layer. A device layer is bonded to the second cap layer and includes a MEM device. A vacuum cavity is formed between the device layer and the second cap layer, wherein the MEM device is in the cavity. The semiconductor device further includes a vent path from a first opening of the one or more openings in the second cap layer to a second opening of the one or more openings in the first cap layer, the vent path being located between the second cap layer and the first cap layer. A vent path extends from a first opening of the one or more openings in the second cap layer to a second opening of the one or more openings in the first cap layer. The vent path is located in at least one of the first cap layer or the second cap layer.
The terms “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.
Although the invention is described herein with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. For example, various materials other than silicon may be used for the cap wafers and the wafer device. The thickness of the cap wafers may be varied. Generally, each cap wafer may have a minimal thickness which is sufficient to provide sufficient rigidity to the semiconductor device. In one form the cap wafer thickness of each cap wafer is within a range of one hundred microns to two hundred microns. The thickness of the device wafer may vary, but illustrative values are between three hundred and four hundred microns. Therefore, a total height of five hundred microns or less may be achieved and provide a semiconductor device that is rigid for varied applications, such as for a gyroscope or accelerometer implemented as a MEM device.
Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. Any benefits, advantages, or solutions to problems that are described herein with regard to specific embodiments are not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims.
The term “coupled,” as used herein, is not intended to be limited to a direct coupling or a mechanical coupling. Furthermore, the terms “a” or “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. Also, the use of introductory phrases such as “at least one” and “one or more” in the claims should not be construed to imply that the introduction of another claim element by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an.” The same holds true for the use of definite articles.
Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12750929 | Mar 2010 | US |
Child | 13160137 | US |