Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

We request funding to purchase a wafer bonding system which allows the alignment and bonding of wafer or chips together to form advanced microsystems. Wafer bonding has become an enabling microfabrication process in the areas of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), microfluidics, photonics, and advanced microelectronics by allowing increased functionality through the integration of novel materials and the creation of 3D architectures. The process first consists of precisely aligning the substrates to be bonded by mechanically holding the wafers in close proximity to allow relative positioning of the substrates with optical observation. Then, the substrates are brought together and pressed with a large force is a controlled fashion. During the process, the substrates are heated and a controlled gas can be provided. This process can be used for direct silicon-to-silicon bonding, anodic bonding of glass-to-silicon (with an applied electric field), and interlayer bonding with metallic and polymer films. The tool requested has unique low temperature bonding capabilities with plasma activation, allowing the integration of sensitive materials and electronics. Furthermore, this tool reduces thermal stresses by independently controlling the temperature of each substrate and provides high accuracy since alignment and bonding are combined in the same tool. The research projects that will directly benefit from access to this tool are numerous: the fabrication of multi-layer stacked microturbines and micro fuel cells for portable power production, the fabrication of piezoelectric sensors and energy harvesting devices, the creating of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices, the integration of III-V lasers onto photonic waveguides, and 3D IC integration for biomedical sensors, among others. All these innovative projects require a wafer bonder to fabricate the devices. This wafer bonder will be an essential fabrication tool as it allows the mix of different technologies and materials that could not be assembled together without a layer transfer or wafer bonding approach, and will be an instrumental training tool to prepare HQP for the next semiconductor revolution, that of multi-functional and integrated microsystems.