Application Note: Monitoring Wafer Thickness During Backside Processing for AI and Advanced Packaging
Introduction AI accelerators, high-performance computing systems, high bandwidth memory and chiplet-based devices increasingly rely on 2.5D and 3D advanced packaging processes that combine logic, memory, interposers and specialized dies within tightly controlled structures. Before stacking or bonding, wafers may undergo coarse grinding, fine grinding, polishing and other backside processes. These operations must remove substantial material while maintaining the thickness and geometry required by the package design. This application note explains how the MTI Instruments Proforma 300i and Proforma 300iSA can be used at defined process checkpoints to verify wafer thickness, evaluate uniformity and identify process changes before wafers proceed [...]
Application Note: Wafer & Thin-Film Stress Characterization Using the Proforma 300iSA
Introduction Thin films are essential to modern semiconductor devices, but every deposited, grown, bonded, or processed layer can introduce mechanical stress into the wafer. When that stress becomes excessive or inconsistent, the effects can extend well beyond the deposition step—contributing to wafer bow, cracking, delamination, overlay error, handling problems, yield loss, and downstream process instability. The MTI Instruments Proforma™ 300iSA semi-automated metrology system provides the full-wafer thickness and shape data needed to evaluate these risks. By measuring wafer geometry before and after a process step, engineers can quantify curvature change and use established film-stress relationships to calculate and trend [...]
Whitepaper: Thickness Metrology for AI Accelerators, HBM and Chiplet-Based Advanced Packaging
Introduction Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing are reshaping semiconductor design and manufacturing. Instead of relying exclusively on increasingly large monolithic devices, manufacturers are integrating logic, memory and specialized functions through chiplets, 2.5D packaging, 3D stacking and high-bandwidth memory. These architectures improve computing density, bandwidth and energy efficiency, but they also place greater demands on wafer thinning and backside processing. Individual wafers and dies may need to be made significantly thinner before stacking, bonding or package assembly. As thickness decreases, however, wafers become more susceptible to breakage, warpage, handling damage and non-uniform material removal. Thickness metrology therefore becomes more than [...]
Understanding Semiconductor Wafer Stress: A Practical Guide to Thin-Film Stress, Wafer Curvature Measurement & Process Control
Introduction Every semiconductor device begins with a nearly perfect wafer. Yet throughout fabrication, that wafer is repeatedly transformed by dozens of manufacturing processes including thin-film deposition, oxidation, implantation, annealing, polishing, and packaging. While each process is designed to modify the electrical properties of the device, it also alters something far less visible—its mechanical condition. The addition of every thin film introduces internal mechanical forces that can subtly change the shape of the wafer. These changes, often measured in only a few micrometers across a 200 mm or 300 mm substrate, may appear insignificant. However, as semiconductor devices continue to [...]
Press Release: Vitrek Highlights Growing Importance of Wafer Stress Characterization for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing GalleryPress Release: Vitrek Highlights Growing Importance of Wafer Stress Characterization for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
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Press Release: Vitrek Highlights Growing Importance of Wafer Stress Characterization for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
Vitrek Highlights Growing Importance of Wafer Stress Characterization for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing MTI Instruments Proforma™ non-contact wafer metrology systems help manufacturers optimize thin-film processes, improve process control, and increase production yield. Lockport, IL — July 28, 2026— Vitrek, a leading manufacturer of precision test and measurement equipment, highlighted the growing importance of wafer stress measurement in semiconductor manufacturing as advanced packaging, heterogeneous integration, silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), MEMS, and photonics applications continue to drive demand for tighter process control, improved manufacturing consistency, and higher device reliability. As semiconductor manufacturing processes become increasingly complex, engineers are [...]
News Release: Vitrek Highlights Critical Role of Wafer Thickness Metrology in AI and Advanced Packaging Manufacturing GalleryNews Release: Vitrek Highlights Critical Role of Wafer Thickness Metrology in AI and Advanced Packaging Manufacturing
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News Release: Vitrek Highlights Critical Role of Wafer Thickness Metrology in AI and Advanced Packaging Manufacturing
Vitrek Highlights Growing Importance of Wafer Stress Characterization for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing MTI Instruments Proforma systems help semiconductor manufacturers monitor backside processing for HBM, chiplets and next-generation computing devices LOCKPORT, Il — September 23, 2026 — Vitrek is highlighting the growing importance of precision wafer-thickness measurement as semiconductor manufacturers expand production of GPU/AI Engines, high-bandwidth memory, Traditional CPUs, Programmable logic, and Power Semiconductors. Advanced packaging technologies combine logic, memory, interposers and specialized dies within tightly controlled structures. To meet package-height and integration requirements, wafers often undergo backside grinding, polishing and other thinning operations. As wafers become thinner, [...]
Press Release: MTI’s Proforma 300iSA Combines SEMI and ASTM Standard Compliance in Space-Efficient Benchtop Design GalleryPress Release: MTI’s Proforma 300iSA Combines SEMI and ASTM Standard Compliance in Space-Efficient Benchtop Design
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Press Release: MTI’s Proforma 300iSA Combines SEMI and ASTM Standard Compliance in Space-Efficient Benchtop Design
MTI's Proforma 300iSA Combines SEMI and ASTM Standard Compliance in Space-Efficient Benchtop Design The Proforma 300iSA combines ASTM and SEMI standard measurements in a compact, desktop system for flexible semiconductor metrology. Lockport, IL, November 18, 2025 – Vitrek, a leading U.S. designer of precision measurement systems, has introduced the MTI Instruments Proforma 300iSA Semi-Automated Metrology System. The benchtop system delivers full SEMI and ASTM compliance in a compact footprint—offering laboratory-grade precision without the space demands of traditional floor-mounted equipment. “The Proforma 300iSA represents a fundamental shift in how manufacturers approach precision metrology,” said Todd Stukenberg, President at [...]
Precision Control in Semiconductor Wafer Lapping
Application Overview Wafer lapping is a critical semiconductor thinning process that demands tight control to avoid over-removal of material, which can lead to costly yield loss. This application note details how MTI Instruments’ Accumeasure™ capacitive sensing technology enabled precise, real-time displacement and thickness measurement during lapping operations, ensuring consistent wafer quality. Challenge During lapping, wafers are thinned from the backside using a rotating abrasive surface. As the process proceeds, precise feedback is essential to monitor how much material is removed and to determine the wafer's final thickness. Traditional mechanical methods or visual inspections are not sensitive or fast enough [...]
Video: MTI Products for the Semiconductor Industry GalleryVideo: MTI Products for the Semiconductor Industry
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MTI Instruments Whitepaper: Capacitance Guide for Industrial Applications GalleryMTI Instruments Whitepaper: Capacitance Guide for Industrial Applications
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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 [...]