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MTI Instruments Whitepaper: Capacitance Guide for Industrial Applications

Capacitance Guide for Industrial Applications This guide from MTI Instruments explains what you need to know about using electrical capacitance for measurement in industrial applications, including advanced manufacturing. Basic Principles Capacitance is the ratio of the change in an electric charge to the corresponding change in its electrical potential (i.e., voltage). Capacitors, components that that have the “capacity” to store an electric charge, consist of conductive parallel plates that don’t touch or connect with each other. Instead, these metal plates are electrically-separated by air or a layer of insulating material (i.e., the dielectric). MTI’s [...]

Whitepaper: Why Capacitance? Benefits and Applications of Digital Capacitive Sensors

Industry applications illustrate the versatility and benefits of today's digital capacitive sensor technology. The electrical capacitance formed between a capacitance probe and target surface varies as a function of the distance, or gap, between those two surfaces.

Whitepaper: Semiconductor Wafer Measurement for Increased Productivity

Semiconductor Wafer Measurement for Increased Productivity This three-part article describes how manufacturers leverage capacitance-based inspection systems for semiconductor wafers. The article reviews best-practices, consequences of failing to inspect semiconductor wafers and benefits of using semi-automated, fully-automated and manual systems for wafer metrology and inspection. Part 1: Why Disc Geometry Matters in Wafer Production Semiconductor wafers are cut from cylindrical silicon crystals, or ingots. The flatness of these disc-shaped wafers is controlled to tight tolerances to ensure that the entire wafer surface is suitable for integrated circuit (IC) production. If disc geometry is out-of-spec [...]

By |August 14th, 2023|Categories: Brand-GaGe, Brand-MTI, Brand-Vitrek, Brands-All, Industry-Consumer Products, Industry-Electronics, Industry-Manufacturing, Industry-OEM, Industry-Semiconductor, Industry-Semiconductor-MTI, Knowledge Center-MTI, News-Industry, News-MTI, Whitepapers-MTI|Comments Off on Whitepaper: Semiconductor Wafer Measurement for Increased Productivity

The Cost of Failing to Inspect Semiconductor Wafers

This is the second of three articles in Semiconductor Wafer Measurement for Increased Profitability. The first article in this series explains why disc geometry matters. The third article describes the benefits of using semi-automated, fully-automated, and manual systems for wafer metrology and inspection. Most semiconductor wafers are made of silicon, the second most common element in the Earth’s crust. Yet, silicon’s abundance does not mean that wafers are inexpensive. The pure form of silicon that’s used in semiconductors does not occur naturally and must be refined and mixed with a dopant that alters material properties and electrical characteristics. Silicon ingots are formed, wafers [...]

By |August 3rd, 2023|Categories: Application Notes-MTI, Brand-MTI, Industry-Semiconductor, Industry-Semiconductor-MTI, Whitepapers-MTI|Comments Off on The Cost of Failing to Inspect Semiconductor Wafers

Capacitance Sensors Facilitate 3D IC Construction

Capacitance Sensors Facilitate 3D IC Construction Semiconductor, Research & Development 3D IC Construction Distance, Positioning, Displacement Description [Application Note 70518] To boost device performance, today's semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturers are building three-dimensional integrated circuits featuring vertically-stacked silicon wafers and dies. The rationale is simple. Exploiting the Z-axis avoids the power and footprint penalties associated with two-dimensional processes. Implementing the rationale, however, is not so simple. Going vertical requires coplanar surfaces to make contact with all pins, pads, and pillars. Problem Typically, manufacturers measure the angle and gap between two planes [...]

Semiconductor Wafer Lapping and Displacement Measurement

Semiconductor Wafer Lapping and Displacement Measurement Semiconductor Semiconductor Wafer Manufacturing Displacement Description Semiconductor Wafer Lapping and Displacement Measurement This application note explains how MTI's Accumeasure technology was used with a lapping machine to measure displacement (wafer material removal) and determine the new semiconductor wafer thickness. Changes in electrical capacitance (displacement) were measured and then directly converted into a 24-bit digital reading to obtain precise digital thickness measurements. During lapping, a wafer of known start thickness is placed on a rotary lapping table. The backside of the wafer faces downward and [...]

Thickness Gauge Measurement With Conductive Wafers and Thin Films

Thickness Gauge Measurement With Conductive Wafers and Thin Films Consumer Electronics Electronics Parts Profiling Thickness Description Using MTI's capacitive thickness gauge Proforma 300i with conductive wafers and thin films G = (a+b+t1+t2 ) Where G is the fixed gap between two probes When making the thickness measurement t2 can appear as t2 (film thickness) when it is a conductor, or 0 thickness when t2 is just air. So t2 will vary between the actual film thickness t2 if it's a conductor all the way down to 0 thickness if [...]

MTI’s Accumeasure HD Amplifier vs. SmarAct’s PicoScale Interferometer

MTI's Accumeasure HD Amplifier vs. SmarAct's PicoScale Interferometer Research & Development Piezoceramic, 1-3 Pzt / Polymer Composite And Pvdf Film Amplitude Description This application note compares MTI's Accumeasure HD amplifier to SmarAct's Picoscale interferometer in terms of resolution and accuracy for very small displacement measurements. Specifically, this comparison focuses on minimum expected resolution and the effects of noise on accuracy. High resolution interferometers are widely regarded as the instrument of choice for the type of measurements described in this application note, but MTI's technology provides exceptional accuracy and stability. Moreover, [...]

Connecting Encoders to MTI’s Digital Accumeasure

Connecting Encoders to MTI's Digital Accumeasure MTI's Digital Accumeasure D has the ability to accept one or two digital quadrature encoders. The encoders can be linear slide-type or rotary. Digital encoders allow for tracking the position of capacitive probes such that you can synchronize a probe's position with the probe's displacement data. Two common examples are: Rotary shaft runout: shaft (radial) displacement vs. angular encoder position X/Y position of probes measuring wafer thickness (map wafer thickness) Accumeasure software (basic and measurement) allows the display of instantaneous encoder counts as well as probe displacement data; however, [...]

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