VILLACH, Austria & SIEGEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The two specialists in thin wafer handling systems, mechatronic systemtechnik and ProTec Carrier Systems (PCS), are intensifying their collaboration in the field of handling thin substrates by means of T-ESC^®-Technology

T-ESC^®-Technology is based on using an electrostatic field to apply an electrical force on materials of even lower conductivity. The mobile electrostatic carriers (T-ESC^®) developed by PCS can build up such a field and lock in especially thin substrates (< 50µm) for a long period of time (up to 50 hours) by applying the so-called Coulomb force. The release at the end of the process takes only a short amount of time and leaves absolutely no traces on the substrate. Organic residues caused by the use of tapes or by bonding - and thereby involving additional cleaning processes - are avoided. By using T-ESC^®-Technology the safe handling and transport of the thinnest substrates for the semiconductor, photovoltaic and display industries can also be guaranteed during the individual processing phases, in particular under vacuum and high temperature conditions.

Applications in which the advantages of thin substrates can be exploited, e.g. 3-D integration, are on the threshold of mass production. Hence the manufacturers of semiconductors require fully automated systems with which thin wafers can be safely transported and processed. Therefore PCS and mechatronic systemtechnik have developed the fully automatic Chucking/De-Chucking System ACU 3000. The system is now intended to be comprehensively tested and demonstrated at LFoundry in Landshut, Germany within the framework of the “SEAL” project which is funded by the European Community.

The ACU 3000 System is able to assemble up to 120 carrier packets per hour, i.e. to fix or remove a wafer on a carrier by means of the electrostatic holding force. The electrostatic charging / discharging unit of the ACU 3000 is also available as an individual module. On the basis of standardized interfaces it can thereby also be integrated into other systems, e.g. process tools. In this way existing systems can be used for processing thin substrates without the necessity of any system- or process-related modifications.

"Collaboration with mechatronic systemtechnik leads to an ideal symbiosis and it creates crucial competitive advantages for both of the companies" explains Roland Raschke, CEO of PCS GmbH. “One great advantage of T-ESC^®-Technology lies in the fact that customers can process thin substrates quite simply with their existing equipment and without major investments” adds Walter Schober, CEO of mechatronic systemtechnik gmbh.

About mechatronic systemtechnik gmbh

mechatronic systemtechnik is a fast-growth high-tech company headquartered in Villach, Austria. Since 2004 the company has been developing and manufacturing specialized machines for handling thin or warped wafers in the semiconductor industry such as TAIKO, MEMS, film frame, eWLB etc. mechatronic's fully automated handling systems are used for non-contact transport of wafers. For this, various procedures and equipment have been developed – such as the Bernoulli and also the vacuum technology – which are applied individually according to customer requirements. mechatronic is the world's only company able to handle thin and ultra-thin wafers both on the chip side and on the back side of the wafer.

About ProTec Carrier Systems GmbH (PCS)

PCS is a young, highly innovative company which is involved in the development, production and marketing of systems and components for the transport and processing of thin and ultrathin substrates. These applications are designed for the semiconductor, solar and display industries in the form of the worldwide patented Transfer-Electro-Static Carrier (T-ESC^®)-Technology. Hereby great emphasis is placed on applications in which conventional, temporary bonding systems fail or do not function adequately. Thanks to T-ESC^®-Technology some processes for thin substrates become possible for the very first time, such as Back Side Gas Cooling. The company, which was founded in 2008, has its premises in Siegen, Germany.

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