Semiconductor device manufacturing: process – Making device or circuit responsive to nonelectrical signal – Responsive to electromagnetic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-31
2001-11-20
Chaudhari, Chandra (Department: 2813)
Semiconductor device manufacturing: process
Making device or circuit responsive to nonelectrical signal
Responsive to electromagnetic radiation
C438S118000, C438S119000, C438S113000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06319745
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and structure for manufacturing Charge-Coupled-Device (CCD) image pick-up devices.
2. Related Art
Charge-Coupled-Device (CCD) image pick-up devices have been manufactured by: forming a wafer having a thin (e.g., 20 micron) CCD layer on a much thicker (e.g., 300 microns) silicon layer, dicing the wafer into individual dies, removing the silicon layer from the die, and bonding the resultant CCD layer to additional structure to form a complete chip. The preceding process is expensive and prone to fabrication failures because of the thinness of the CCD layer coupled with the fact that the CCD layer is unsupported mechanically while the silicon layer is removed from the die. Additionally, removing the CCD layer from each die individually is inherently inefficient.
There is a need for an inexpensive, efficient, and reliable method of manufacturing CCD image pick-up devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method for forming Charge-Coupled-Device (CCD) image pick-up devices, comprising:
forming a first wafer having a first substrate, a CCD layer on the first substrate, and first conductive pads arranged in a pattern on a surface of the CCD layer, wherein the CCD layer includes a plurality of CCD image pick-up arrays, and wherein each CCD array of the CCD layer is conductively coupled to a plurality of the first conductive pads;
providing a second wafer having a second substrate that includes a semiconductor material, and second conductive pads arranged in the pattern on a surface of the second substrate;
bonding the first wafer with the second wafer to form a wafer composite, wherein the first conductive pads are joined to the second conductive pads in alignment according to the pattern;
removing a portion of a thickness of the first substrate, after the bonding step, wherein the second wafer provides mechanical support for the CCD layer during said removing; and
dicing the wafer composite, after the removing step, to form a plurality of the image pick-up devices such that each image pick-up device includes a CCD array of the CCD layer.
The present invention provides a wafer structure, comprising:
a first wafer having a Charge-Coupled-Device (CCD) layer, and first conductive pads arranged in a pattern on a surface of the CCD layer, wherein the CCD layer includes a plurality of CCD image pick-up arrays, and wherein each CCD array of the CCD layer is conductively coupled to a plurality of the first conductive pads; and
a second wafer having a semiconductor substrate that includes a semiconductor material, and second conductive pads in the pattern on a surface of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the first conductive pads arc joined to the second conductive pads in accordance with the pattern.
The present invention provides a method for forming Charge-Coupled-Device (CCD) image pick-tip devices, comprising:
forming a first wafer having a first substrate, a CCD layer on the first substrate, and first conductive pads arranged in a pattern on a surface of the CCD layer, wherein the CCD layer includes a plurality of CCD image pick-up arrays, and wherein each CCD array of the CCD layer is conductively coupled to a plurality of the first conductive pads;
providing a second wafer having a second substrate that includes a semiconductor material, and second conductive pads arranged in the pattern on a surface of the second substrate;
bonding the first wafer with the second wafer to form a wafer composite, wherein the first conductive pads are joined to the second conductive pads in alignment according to the pattern; and
dicing the wafer composite, after the bonding step, to form a plurality of the image pickup devices such that each image pick-up device includes a CCD array of the CCD layer.
The present invention provides an inexpensive, efficient, and reliable method of manufacturing CCD image pick-up devices.
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Bertin Claude L.
Tonti William R.
Zalesinski Jerzy M.
Chaudhari Chandra
International Business Machines - Corporation
Kielin Erik
Walter, Jr. Howard J.
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