Measuring device and method for ascertaining a pressure map

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10024741-B2
Application number	US-201314894709-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 5, 2013
Priority date	Jun 5, 2013
Publication date	Jul 17, 2018
Grant date	Jul 17, 2018

Abstract

A measuring device for determining a pressure map during application of pressure to at least one measurement layer between a first pressure body and a second pressure body the measuring device comprising: (i) at least one transmitter located on one peripheral edge of the measurement layer for emission of signals in the form of electromagnetic waves along a first signal route which runs through the measurement layer and at least one other signal route which runs through the measurement layer, and (ii) at least one receiver located on the peripheral edge for reception of the signals of the first signal route and other signal route(s), which signals are sent by the transmitter through the measurement layer and can be changed when pressure is applied. Furthermore this invention relates to a corresponding method.

First claim

Having described the invention, the following is claimed:

1. A measuring device for determining a pressure map before and/or during a bond process, the measuring device comprising:
a sensor comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, and a measurement layer by which the first substrate and the second substrate are permanently connected, the measurement layer being disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, the measurement layer including an optical material having optical properties that are configured to change when exposed to pressure applied to the measurement layer, the sensor being disposed between a first pressure body and a second pressure body, the first pressure body being separated from the measurement layer by the first substrate, the second pressure body being separated from the measurement layer by the second substrate, the pressure bodies being configured to apply said pressure to the measurement layer,
a transmitter located on a peripheral edge of the measurement layer for emission of signals in the form of electromagnetic waves along a first signal route which runs through the measurement layer and at least one other signal route which runs through the measurement layer, the emitted signals being configured to change when exposed to changes in pressure applied by the pressure bodies to the measurement layer,
a receiver located on the peripheral edge of the measurement layer, the receiver being configured to receive the emitted signals of the first signal route and the at least one other signal route through the measurement layer and record the received signals, and
an evaluation unit configured to evaluate the received and recorded signals along the signal routes and form the pressure map by determining localized pressure values from the evaluated signals by reconstruction of the evaluated signals.

2. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the measuring device is used in a wafer processing device.

3. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitter and/or the receiver are/is moved along the peripheral edge of the measurement layer.

4. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitter is one of a plurality of transmitters distributed on the peripheral edge of the measurement layer.

5. The measuring device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein each of said transmitters emits several signal routes.

6. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the receiver acquires optical properties of the signal.

7. The measuring device as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the optical properties of the signal include one or more of the following properties:
double refraction, index of refraction, mode of signals shaped as transverse electromagnetic waves, transit time, and spectral coding.

8. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the receiver is one of a plurality of receivers distributed on the peripheral edge of the measurement layer.

9. The measuring device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the transmitter is one of a plurality of transmitters distributed on the peripheral edge of the measurement layer, and
wherein said receivers are assigned to one of said transmitters at a time.

10. The measuring device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the transmitter is one of a plurality of transmitters distributed on the peripheral edge of the measurement layer, and
wherein two or more of said receivers are assigned to each of said transmitters.

11. The measuring device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein each of said receivers is assigned to one single signal route at a time.

12. The measuring device as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the transmitter is one of a plurality of transmitters distributed on the peripheral edge of the measurement layer, and
wherein each of said transmitters emits several signal routes.

13. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said evaluation unit determines the localized pressure values by a transform for the reconstruction of the evaluated signals.

14. The measuring device as claimed in claim 13 , wherein said transform is a Radon transform.

15. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first substrate is permanently cemented to the second substrate by the optical material.

16. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pressure is applied to the measurement layer only by the first pressure body and the second pressure body.

17. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the measurement layer bonds the first substrate to the second substrate.

18. The measuring device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sensor constitutes a wafer stack.

19. A method for determining a pressure map before and/or during a bond process, the method comprising:
arranging a sensor of a measuring device between a first pressure body and a second pressure body, the sensor comprising a first substrate, a second substrate, and a measurement layer by which the first substrate and the second substrate are permanently connected, the measurement layer being disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate, the measurement layer including an optical material having optical properties that are configured to change when exposed to pressure applied to the measurement layer,
applying said pressure to the measurement layer by the pressure bodies, the first pressure body being separated from the measurement layer by the first substrate, the second pressure body being separated from the measurement layer by the second substrate,
emitting, using a transmitter of the measuring device, signals in the form of electromagnetic waves along a first signal route running through the measurement layer and at least one other signal route which runs through the measurement layer such that the emitted signals are changed when exposed to changes in pressure applied by the pressure bodies to the measurement layer, the transmitter being located on a peripheral edge of the measurement layer,
receiving, using a receiver of the measuring device, the emitted signals of the first signal route and the at least one other signal route, the receiver being located on the peripheral edge of the measurement layer,
recording, using the receiver, said received signals,
evaluating, using an evaluation unit of the measuring device, the received and recorded signals along the signal routes, and
forming, using the evaluation unit, the pressure map by determining localized pressure values from the evaluated signals by reconstruction of the evaluated signals.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the first substrate is permanently connected to the second substrate by the optical material.

21. A measuring device for determining a pressure map before and/or during a bond process, the measuring device comprising:
a measurement layer disposed between a first substrate and a second substrate, the measurement layer including an optical material permanently cementing the first substrate to the second substrate, the optical material having optical properties that are configured to change when exposed to pressure applied to the measurement layer, the sensor being disposed between a first pressure body and a second pressure body, the first pressure body being separated from the measurement layer by the first substrate, the second pressure body being separated from the measurement layer by the second substrate, the pressure bodies being configured to apply said pressure to the measurement layer,

Assignees

• Ev Group E Thallner Gmbh

Inventors

• Povazay Boris
• Peic Antun

Classifications

• H10P74/203

  Structural properties, e.g. testing or measuring thicknesses, line widths, warpage, bond strengths or physical defects · CPC title

• G01L1/247 Primary

  using distributed sensing elements, e.g. microcapsules (along a single optical fibre G01L1/242) · CPC title

• G06F3/042

  by opto-electronic means · CPC title

• G01L11/02

  by optical means · CPC title

• G01L9/0076

  using photoelectric means · CPC title