Capillary self-alignment assisted hybrid robotic handling for ultra-thin die stacking

Abstract

Abstract-Ultra-thin dies are difficult to package because of their fragility and flexibility. Current ultra-thin die integration technology for 3D microsystems relies on robotic pick-andplace machines and machine vision, which has rather limited throughput for high-accuracy assembly of fragile ultra-thin dies. In this paper, we report a hybrid assembly strategy that consists of robotic pick-and-place using a vacuum microgripper, and droplet self-alignment by capillary force. Ultrathin dies with breakable links are chosen as part of the assembly strategy. Experimental results show that we can align ultra-thin (10µm) dies with sub-micron accuracy without machine vision. A fully automatic sequence of stacking several of these dies is demonstrated. Up to 12 ultra-thin dies have been stacked. These early results show that die-to-die integration of ultra-thin dies with higher throughput than the current industry robot is possible by applying both robotic handling and droplet self-alignment to ultra-thin die assembly.

Surface tension-driven self-alignment

“…12 ultra-thin 10 mm chips were successfully stacked and precisely aligned on top of each other using robotic pick-and-place and capillary self-alignment. 79 Capillary forces were also combined with magnetic alignment, mediated by magnetically-susceptible metal interconnects, for the templated integration of 20 mm-thick components onto polymer foils. 80…”

Closed-Loop Control of a Magnetic Particle at the Air–Liquid Interface

“…To pick-up the objects from the liquid surface a vacuum gripper can be used as in [61] where they handled 100 µm sized diamonds or in [62] where they work with ultra-thin 10 µm dies provided that the objects are not porous. For example, to pick up a cubic object with a side length d with a vacuum gripper with an outer diameter d, the necessary pressure p is defined as follows:…”

An Overview on Gripping Force Measurement at the Micro and Nano-Scales Using Two-Fingered Microrobotic Systems

“…A mechanical contact between the object and the system allows a controllable gripping force. Typically, capillarity-based systems [16], adhesion effectors [17] [18], vacuum microgrippers [19][20] [21] and two-fingered micromanipulation systems 1 [22] are based on such a manipulation strategy. Vacuum microgrippers are nowadays the most widely used micromanipulation systems.…”