2010-2016 Permanent Wafer Bonding Applications & Markets
A Yole 2011 Report on Technologies & Market Trends for Permanent Bonding
Wafer Bonding will be a Key Enabling Technology for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
Historically developed for MEMS & SOI substrates, wafer bonding technology is today becoming a key processing technology for a wide range of applications: MEMS, CMOS Image Sensors, LEDs, Power Devices, RF and Advanced Packaging.
The wafer bonding market is very complex, crossing different wafer sizes (from 2’’ to 12’’), different applications (Advanced Substrates such as SOI, MEMS, LEDs, CMOS Image Sensors, Power Devices, RF Devices & Advanced Packaging) and different bonding technologies (Adhesive, Anodic, Fusion, Direct Oxide, Eutectic, Glass Frit, Metal Diffusion).
Our report provides a vision of what the wafer bonding technologies will become over the 2010-2016 time line.
MARKET TRENDS
Wafer bonding is usually defined as a process that temporarily or permanently joins two wafers or substrates using a suitable process. Historically developed for MEMS and then SOI wafers, wafer bonding technology has shifted to specific IC applications in recent years. Our report aims at analyzing the market perspectives and technical trends for permanent bonding.
MEMS has been the first application where wafer bonders have been massively used (the wafer bonding step is mostly used to protect the MEMS sensitive element). And CMOS Image Sensors is also a very promising application for wafer bonders. Indeed, up to two different wafer bonding steps can be necessary for next-generation CMOS Image Sensors: one for Back-Side Illumination and the second for WLCSP.
But besides MEMS and CIS, wafer bonding can be also used for LEDs or Power Devices. Indeed, in a typical LED active region, spontaneous emission scatters photons in all directions. If the substrate material has a smaller band gap than the active region, approximately half of the light is absorbed in the substrate; significantly reducing device performance. So, one of the manufacturing solutions for photon loss involves bonding a wafer containing an array of devices to another wafer that provides both a reflective surface for maximum light extraction and a heat sink for thermal management. And of course, over the 5 past years, much attention has been given to this technology for 3D integration of memories for example.
TECHNICAL TRENDS
For MEMS, there is today a shift from Glass Frit for eutectic/metal-based bonding mainly to increase real estate by smaller bond frames. Metal direct bonding also gives good hermeticity and mechanical stability for many MEMS applications. For example, Nasiri process is using eutectic bonding of the MEMS directly on the aluminum layer of the CMOS wafer. This leads to smaller package footprints & package heights. STMicroelectronics’ latest 3-axis accelerometer (LIS3DH) also shows a different sealing technique compared to what is usually done: gold eutectic sealing allows a dramatic die size reduction.
For CMOS Image sensors, the advent of the BSI (Back Side Illumination) technology has raised a competition between Molecular Bonding and adhesive bonding. Here, cost and final application will drive the technology final choice.
We foresee that the wafer bonder will have substantial growth in the forecast period. The growth will be driven small size wafer for LEDs and 12” wafer for 3D stacking and CIS.
Although EVGroup is market leader in permanent bonding, the growth of the bonding equipment market is attracting challengers.
KEY FEATURES OF THE STUDY
The report will analyze in detail the technical & economic evolution of the permanent wafer bonding process. It will give:
– 2010-2016 Market Forecasts for permanent bonding in MUS$ value and number of equipment
• By technology (Adhesive, Anodic, Fusion, Eutectic, Glass Frit, Direct Bonding …)
• By application (MEMS, CMOS Image Sensors, LEDs, RF, Power, 3D TSV, SOI)
• By wafer size
– Overview of the different bonding approaches, e.g.:
• Thermo-Compression
• Direct Oxide / Molecular / Fusion
• Glass Frit
• Metal Eutectic / Solder
• Polymer / Adhesive
• Anodic
• Hybrid bonding Metal/polymer , micro bumping & Metal/oxide
– Trends for permanent bonding
– W2W vs. C2W analysis for 3D integration
– Description of the applications for wafer bonding with main characteristics, challenges
– Equipment players market shares and competitive information
WHO SHOULD BUY THIS REPORT ?
- Wafer bonder manufacturers
o Identify and evaluate permanent bonding markets with market size, growth and key customers
o Analyze the threads and opportunities
o Monitor and benchmark your competitor’s advancements
- Foundries & chip manufacturers
o Get an overview of the large panel of accessible permanent wafer bonding technologies
o Spot the important permanent wafer bonding technologies in the future for your application
- Financial & Strategic investors
o Understand the main market dynamics and main technological trends
o Get the list of the key players
COMPANIES MENTIONED IN THE REPORT
Acreo, AML, APM/UMC, Avago, Ayumi, Bosch, Colibrys, Dalsa, Discera, EVGroup, FhG IMS, FLIR, IBM, Icemos, IMEC, IMT, Infineon, Invensense, KTH, Leti, Lumileds, MEMStech, Micralyne, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Okmetic, Omron, Osram, Qualcomm, Raytheon, RPI, Sand9, Semefab, Sensonor, Silex, SOITEC, STM, SUSS MicroTEC, Tezzaron, TI, tMt, Tohoku University, TowerJazz, Tracit, Triquint, Tronic’s, TSMC, VTI, Xcom, Ziptronix
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Wafer Bonding will be a Key Enabling Technology for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing