Takatori will have a booth at the International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials in Kyoto, Japan September 29 to October 4, 2019.

The ICSCRM is the premier forum for technical discussion in all areas of silicon carbide (SiC) and other wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors. The topics covered in the ICSCRM include bulk and epitaxial growth, fundamental physical properties, defect characterization and engineering, quantum technology, surfaces and interfaces, device fabrication processes, devices (high-power, high-temperature, RF power, radiation-resistant devices, etc.), packaging, modular and circuit technologies, and system applications for SiC and related materials including other WBG semiconductors such as III-nitrides, oxides, and diamond.

For more information visit their website: https://www.icscrm2019.org/BACK TO NEWS

Takatori Multiwire Saws are designed for years of high-volume production with many customers are running their machines around the clock.

The machines require regular attention to maintain this high level of productivity and here are a few tips on what to do.

 

1. GTI Engineering and Service Visits
   Every new technology purchase has a learning curve; think about a new computer, a new phone, anything new. When you are new to your wiresaw, the best way to take advantage of Takatori’s great technologies is to have regular service visits scheduled. Training is included with every new Takatori wiresaw, but spending additional time with an experienced GTI engineer after you’ve had some time to work with the machine is always valuable. These visits can include preventative maintenance, training, process advice and simply answering the myriad of questions that always arise as the machine is put into production.

 

2. Keep Your Machine Clean
   Cleanliness is always important in the manufacturing area but don’t forget the inside. Saws don’t really require a lot of skilled trade maintenance support on a regular basis; however, it is important that the skills of a trained operator include cleaning the interior of the saw, particularly behind the wall where most of the saw’s mechanical systems are. Not only does this avoid problems, it also makes working inside the machine much easier (and more pleasant) if a problem occurs that requires access to the innards of the tool.

 

3. Use the Recommended Pulley Bearings
   Yes, you may find bearings that last longer, you may also find cheaper bearings, but they will not have the same internal fit. The wire management system on these machines is finely tuned to minimize wire breaks. Putting non-standard bearings into the pulleys may seem like a minor change, but it can lead to more frequent wire breaks. Putting thousands of dollars of material at risk to save a few dollars on pulleys is not a good idea.

 

4. Tune Your Slurry
   If you’re looking to increase productivity, don’t just look at speeding up the wire to increase cutting speed, look at your slurry. All mechanical parts have an expected life span and increasing wire speed can negatively effect the lifespan of spindles, bearing and pulleys. To speed up, consider changing the abrasive rather than the speed. With slurry saws, data shows that increasing spindle speeds to slice quicker is not as effective as grain loading (increasing the amount of cutting ability of the slurry). Ask a GTI engineer; he can help you optimize your process.

 

5. Check Your Wire Reels
   Before putting them on the machine, check your wire reels for wear, damage and debris. Wire reels are made to a close tolerance. If the distance between the edges becomes larger (wider), you can adjust the traverser to the larger width and reduce the tension of the wire coming onto the reel. Takatori has advanced the software so the software you slice with doesn’t have to be the tension you wind on your collect reel.

GTI participated in Semicon West 2018 in San Francisco, marking almost 30 years in the semiconductor industry.

We met with numerous new customers, spent time with some of our most important existing customers, and met with our regional reps and other business partners.

As always, Semicon West this year was packed with innovative products from companies all over the world. A number of keynote speakers hit on the key technologies driving our industry today, including AI (artificial intelligence), self-driving cars, IoT, and the ever-growing pace of data generation in today’s world. IBM’s Senior VP of Cognitive Solutions, John Kelly, noted that the total volume of data will DOUBLE every 12 to 18 months and that this massive store of information will require new approaches to organize and access.

Overall, the forecast for the semiconductor equipment industry is strong, with future revenues in excess of $500 billion expected by 2020, and $1 trillion by 2030 (or earlier, according to SEMI).

We look forward to seeing you at next year’s Semicon West.

Many semiconductor devices particularly those made with gallium arsenide (GaAs) or indium phosphide (InP), require the removal of metal layers by etching. Gold, for example, difficult and expensive to remove by etching due to its inertness. Lift off provides an alternative to etching. A pattern is first created in a sacrificial layer of photoresist before the gold is the deposited. The gold adheres strongly to the underlying device layers of GaAs (or deposited insulating layers,) and also to the photoresist which does not adhere as strongly to the device layers.

Standard lift-off processes use solvents to remove the resist, and often take the gold with it. The main problems with this process are:

• redeposition of the gold from the solution onto the wafer,
• disposal of the solvent is expensive, and
• reclaiming the gold from the solvent is not easy and it is too costly to throw away.

Takatori’s AMR-2200G system provides an effective alternative that does not use solvents! The system applies an adhesive tape to the wafer surface and then lifts it off in a controlled manner designed to match the specific device requirements. The gold on the photoresist is removed with the resist, while the gold adhered to the underlying device layers remains on the wafer surface undisturbed.

Benefits of this lift off with tape are:

• eliminates potential for gold being redeposited on the wafer surface,
• lowers overall cost since no solvent disposal is need, and
• makes it easy to reclaim the gold from the roll of tape.

This process is used successfully by many GaAs device fabricators. It can be used with many different metals; including gold, indium, and aluminum.

Contact GTI today to learn more about Takatori’s tape-based liftoff solution and how it can improve your bottom line.

In the constantly evolving world of semiconductor manufacturing, customers often seek special machines for new applications.

For decades GTI and Takatori have provided customers with special machines customized to meet their specific needs. Takatori is able to add many optional features to their machines, including Bernoulli-type end effectors, OCR/BCR, special cassettes for thin wafers and more, but our ability to customize goes far beyond adding options.

Recently, a customer came to GTI seeking a solution for laminating the backside of a wafer. Takatori made extensive modifications to its TEAM-100ARF vacuum laminator to meet their needs, including low-contact end-effectors, wafer flipping, and an edge-contact lamination chuck. The TEAM-100ARF’s unique low-force lamination process allow for high-quality lamination with very low force; this unique lamination method makes it possible to laminate a wafer held only on the very edges and unsupported in the middle, protecting the patterned active side of the wafer.

Oftentimes, customer modifications yield solutions that become standard process for a number of applications industry-wide. Such is the case with dry film lamination, which began in the 1990s as a customized solution for a customer requiring special tape handling, more robust lamination pressure control, and a special heated chuck. What started as a custom machine became a standard solution as more customers approached the same challenge.

We have built special laminators, detapers, mounters and more. How can we help with your challenge? Contact GTI to learn about Takatori’s customized machines.

Tape lamination has moved far beyond the standard backgrinding application, as companies have created new films for MEMS, TSV, bumps, pillars, and other advanced packaging applications.

The Takatori TEAM approach provides the most innovative and capable solution for laminating these films, providing the highest quality lamination for the most demanding applications.

Vacuum Lamination:

Standard tape lamination generally rolls tape onto a wafer, but to achieve the highest quality lamination it is often better to laminate using vacuum. The Takatori TEAM-series of machines laminate wafers in a vacuum chamber without rollers and with very low force. The result is even lamination that fills in even deep features and all but eliminates micro bubbles. The lamination can be done at such low force that backside lamination is also possible, even using a non-contact chuck.

Pre-Cutting Tape:

Tape laminators usually laminate tape onto a wafer and cut the tape along the edge of the wafer, but the Takatori TEAM-series uniquely separates tape cutting from lamination. Tape is pre-cut on a separate stage, and then is transferred to a vacuum chamber where it is laminated onto a wafer. This not only provides for zero-tension lamination, it also allows for “inner cutting,” a technique where the tape circle is cut to a slightly smaller diameter than the wafer. This avoids any overhanging edges and applies the film only where it is needed.

Multi-Layer Lamination:

The tape pre-cutting capability of the TEAM-series opens the door to multi-layer lamination, allowing customers to layer multiple layers of tape onto a wafer.

Conclusion:

The Takatori TEAM-series of lamination machines provides a unique capability to customers looking for an advanced lamination solution. Contact GTI today to learn more.

GTI Technologies is pleased to announce the hiring of Daniel Gillis as our newest Field Service Technician. Dan will primarily be responsible for servicing our multi-wire saw customers, focusing on new machine installations and field service.

Dan joins GTI after working as a Field Service Technician at Doosan Fuel Cell America and as an Aircraft Electrician for the Connecticut Army National Guard.

Dan will spend the next few months working closely with our experienced Field Service Engineers to learn more about Takatori multi-wire saws, as well as training at the Takatori factory in Japan.

Welcome to the team Dan!

 

 

 

Get Maximum Productivity from your Takatori Wire Saw with these 5 Best Practices

You’ll get the most out of your Takatori wire saw when you follow this guide to best maintaining and repairing these five crucial parts. The result will be faster changeovers and maximum machine run time. A key concept to remember is that the cycle time on a multi-wire saw is often quite long and operator intervention is rarely required, so you should take advantage of this time to prepare for the next run.

1. Workrollers

Have your new work rollers out and ready when it’s time to turn the machine around. Use a work roller cart to safely remove the old rollers and to place the new ones onto the machine. Make sure to follow the detailed instructions for disassembling and reassembling the front yoke bearing assemblies – seating the work rollers and bearings is critical for proper operation of the machine.

2. Pulleys

Pulleys need to be changed occasionally as they wear during the slicing process. Overly worn pulleys can lead to wire breaks, so make sure to inspect them for wear frequently when a process is new to determine the best replacement schedule. Pulleys closer to work box may wear faster, so make sure to check all pulleys.

In order to speed up replacement, you can purchase a second set of pulley assemblies and bearings, meaning that you can set up a new pulley on each assembly while the machine is running. Switching out the assemblies is then quite fast, speeding up your turn around.

3. Re-winding

Takatori wire saws are uniquely self-winding, with a program managing the placement of wire onto the work rollers. Up to 100 different winding programs can be stored on the machine. Use block winding programs to leave gaps in the wire web if desired, or use skip winding to slice different thicknesses using the same set of work rollers. Save your programs to more quickly set up the machine.

4. Loading

If your work is heavy make sure to a cart to safely remove the cut pieces and place the new workpiece into the machine. Make sure to have multiple mounting plates so that you can mount new workpieces with enough time for the epoxy to cure while the machine is running.

5. Slurry Preparation

Slurry needs time to ensure proper mixing. Once again, this can be done while the machine is running in order to save time. A dedicated slurry mixing tank can be as simple as an appropriately-sized container and an impeller, allowing you to pre-mix abrasive and the vehicle (generally oil or glycol).

Your GTI engineer can also work with you on progressive slurry replacement, which allows for a more stable process by replacing only a small amount of the slurry from time to time.

If you have any questions please contact GTI at +1 203 929 2200.

For 40 years, GTI has been evolving to provide advanced manufacturing solutions to its customers. When the company opened its doors on Oct. 1, 1978, Grinding Technology Inc. focused not only on importing leading-edge metalworking equipment from Europe to the United States; but also on supporting customers once their machines were up and running.

About 10 years later, the company began to branch out into the semiconductor industry, working with GMN to sell wafer grinders. This included the MPS-T500, the first fully automatic, cassette to cassette wafer backgrinder brought to market. In order to provide a complete solution to semiconductor companies, GTI entered a partnership with Takatori to provide tape, detape, and mounting equipment in 1989.

As the business evolved and the semiconductor industry continued to grow, Grinding Technology Inc. re-branded itself as GTI Technologies, Inc., in 1997 reflecting its diversification. The partnership with Takatori also grew deeper as GTI began to offer their new multi wire saws.

By 2000 GTI’s business was almost solely focused on the semiconductor and advanced materials businesses, and this remains our focus today.

GTI led the way to develop wire slicing of mono-crystalline sapphire and silicon carbide. Working together with customers, GTI helped to pave the way for the blue and white LED revolution, and played a key role in the rapid growth of today’s advanced power devices. The company continues to provide advanced solutions for leading semiconductor companies in North America and Europe.

We thank our customers and our suppliers for their support over the last 40 years, and we look forward to working together to make a better future.