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Terms used in the Semiconductor industry. These include terms relating
to micropositioners, inkers, testing terms, interfacing terms, etc.
Inker Terms
- Adhesion
- The state in which an ink dot is
held to a substrate by interfacial forces.
- The degree of adhesion varies
depending on the composition of the ink,
- composition of the substrate, amount of
surface contamination, and ink
- cure temperature. The degree of adhesion can be
determined by measuring
- the amount of force per unit area required to remove the
ink from the
- substrate.
-
- Air Dry
- An ink that does not require heat
curing. Air drying ink formulations
- supplied by Xandex are the 7824, 8103, and
8104 types. Drying times vary
- depending on dot size, ink type, and ambient
temperature.
-
- Appearance
- General term relating to the
quality and consistency of the ink dots.
- Examples: Round shape vs. irregular
shape, transparency vs. opacity,
- consistent dot to dot size vs. inconsistent dot
to dot size.
-
- Contamination
- Any material present on the
substrate that affects the ink adhesion and/or
- spreading behavior. Contamination
may be organic or inorganic. Indicators
- of possible contamination problems are
inconsistent dot size/shape and
- poor adhesion.
-
- Curing
- The mechanism by which liquid ink
is transformed into a solid. The two
- curing mechanisms associated with Xandex
inks are polymerization and
- solvent evaporation.
-
- Donut
- Reference to a dot that is greater
in thickness at the edges than at the
- center. Usually associated with an
improper inker Z-height adjustment.
-
- Dot Profile
- A description of the dot
dimensions. Included in the dot profile are dot
- diameter, dot height, and any
height irregularities (e.g. donut shaped).
-
- Dry Time
- For air drying inks, the amount
of time required for an ink dot of a given
- size to dry. Small dots have a faster
dry time than larger dots.
-
- Dye
- Organic colorants used in the
majority Xandex ink formulations. Most dyes
- are soluble synthetic organic
materials, as opposed to pigments which are
- generally insoluble inorganic
materials. Inks made from dyes are less
- opaque than those made from pigments.
-
- Epoxy
- Resin type used in the 7224 ink
formulations. Inks made with epoxy resin
- cure by polymerization, and the result
is a very hard ink film with good
- solvent resistance and adhesion.
-
- Flash Point
- Temperature above which
vapors of a substance become sufficiently
- concentrated to cause an explosion
when exposed to a spark or open
- flame.
-
- Grind
- A measure of the level of undispersed particles in the ink as measured
- using a grind gauge.
-
- Ink
- A liquid blend of materials used to
impart color to a substrate. The basic
- components of an ink are colorant (dye or
pigment), solvent, and resin.
-
- Ink Performance Characteristics
- The
characteristics inherent in a particular ink formulation. Adhesive
- strength,
degree of solvent resistance, cure rate, and shelf life are all
- examples of ink
performance characteristics.
-
- Ink Balling
- Phenomenon in which ink works
it’s way up the exterior of the cartridge
- needle and forms a mass. If the mass
becomes large enough it can drop
- onto the substrate being inked. Ink balling can
result from repeatedly
- actuating the inker when the Z setting is too high to
allow ink droplets to
- deposit onto the substrate normally. When ink balling
occurs, simply
- wiping all the excess ink from the outside of the needle is
usually an
- effective solution to the problem.
-
- Ionic
- Relating to charged atomic species.
Low ionic levels of Chloride (Cl) and
- Sodium (Na) are an important
characteristic of inks used in Xandex ink
- cartridges.
-
- Mobil Ions
- Ions which are not bound to
any other atomic species and are free to move
- under the influence of an electric
charge. At high enough concentrations,
- mobil ions will cause shorts in
semiconductor devices. To avoid the
- potential of ionic contamination, many Xandex inks are certified to have
- low ionic levels of Chloride (Cl) and Sodium
(Na).
-
- Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
- Detailed reference sheet that outlines the hazards, physical properties,
- required precautions, first aid measures, and regulatory information
- associated
a chemical or chemical mixture. An MSDS is required for all
- chemicals and
chemical mixtures sold commercially.
-
- Opacity
- The optical density of a
material; the opposite of translucency. An ink
- droplet of high opacity does not
transmit much light and is able to hide the
- patterning of the wafer beneath it.
-
- Opaque
- A substance is said to be opaque
if it possesses a high optical density that
- prevents the transmittance of light.
-
- Open Time
- After priming, the amount of
time an ink cartridge can remain viable before
- clogging begins to occur at the
needle tip.
-
- Permanency
- The relative degree of difficulty
involved in ink dot removal. For example,
- hard cured ink dots have more
permanency than soft cured ink dots.
-
- Phenolic
- Relating to a class of aromatic
organic compounds in which one or more
- hydroxy groups are attached directly to
the benzene ring. The majority of
- the inks supplied by Xandex are phenolic in
character.
-
- Pigment
- A substance that imparts color to
another substance or mixture. Most
- pigments are insoluble inorganic powders, the
coloring effect being a result
- of their dispersion in a solid or liquid medium.
-
- Polymerization
- A chemical reaction,
usually carried out with a catalyst, heat, or light, in
- which a large number of
relatively simple molecules (monomers) combine
- to form a chain-like
macromolecule (a polymer). Epoxy type inks cure via
- polymerization.
-
- Resin
- A semisolid or solid complex
amorphous mix of organic compounds. Resins
- are one of the main component in all
inks. They are sometimes referred to
- as the "body" of the ink since the
composition of the cured ink film is
- primarily resin. Choice of resin has a
large effect on characteristics of the
- ink such as ink film hardness,
permanency, and tolerance to high
- temperatures.
-
- Rheology
- Science of the deformation and
flow of materials in terms of stress, strain,
- and time. Has important bearing on
the behavior of viscous liquids.
-
- Shear
- The ratio between a stress
(force/unit area) applied laterally to a material
- and the strain resulting from
this force. Determination of this ratio is one
- method of determining the
viscosity of an ink.
-
- Shelf Life
- The maximum amount of time a
material will last before there is a
- noticeable degradation in physical
characteristics and performance in an
- application.
-
- Solvent
- The liquid component of an ink.
Solvents used in Xandex inks are primarily
- various types of glycols and
alcohols.
-
- Specific Gravity
- The ratio of the density
of a substance to the density of some reference
- substance, usually water.
-
- Splatter
- Phenomenon that sometimes occurs
in DM-1 cartridges in which a small (1
- to 5 mil) ink dot splatters onto the
substrate at the same time as the
- primary ink dot. The cause is not fully
established, but may be related to
- improper z-height adjustment and/or certain
defects in the "fishline"
- portion of the cartridge needle tip.
-
- Strength
- A measure of the level of
colorant present in the ink. Strength is usually
- measured against a standard of
known colorant level.
-
- Surface Energy
- The attractive force exerted by a
surface. The higher the surface energy,
- the greater the tendency of a liquid to
spread across the surface. Inks will
- generally have better adhesion on high
surface energy substrates.
-
- Surface Tension
- In any liquid, the attractive force
exerted by molecules below the surface
- upon those at the surface/air interface,
resulting from the high molecular
- concentration of a liquid compared to the low
molecular concentration of a
- gas. Inks with a high surface tension have less
tendency to spread across
- the surface of a substrate.
-
- Thermosetting
- Mechanism by which some epoxy inks
cure via polymerization under the
- influence of heat. Mode of curing for Xandex
epoxy inks.
-
- Thickener
- Ink component added to increase the
ink viscosity. Usually a combination
- of fumed silica, resin, and solvent.
-
- Thixotropy
- The ability of certain inks to liquefy
when agitated (as by shaking or
- ultrasonic vibration) and to return to a more
gelled form when at rest. An
- important ink performance characteristic in some
applications.
-
- Translucency
- The ease with which light can be
transmitted through a substance. The
- greater the translucency of a substance,
the more light can be transmitted.
-
- Viscometer
- A device for measuring the viscosity
of a liquid. The Brookfield viscometers
- used for ink qualification at Xandex
measure the amount of resistive force
- encountered by a rotating spindle when
immersed in the ink.
-
- Viscosity
- The internal resistance to flow
exhibited by a fluid, the ratio of shearing
- stress to rate of shear. Achieving
the proper viscosity specification is
- important in ensuring good ink
performance.
- Inker Hardware Terms
- Actuate
- To put into action or motion. In
an inker application, the firing of either the
- solenoid or pneumatic shuttle on
a signal from the prober.
-
- Actuator
- See solenoid.
-
- Cartridge Body
- The main plastic portion
of the cartridge.
-
- Coil
- See solenoid.
-
- Connector
- A mechanical device, which
provides a link between individual apparatus
- for the purpose of transferring
electrical signals, gases, and fluids between
- the apparatus.
-
- Filament
- A fine threadlike component that
passes through the center of the
- cartridge and acts as a carrier for the ink to
the wafer surface.
-
- Fishline
- See filament.
-
- Holder
- That portion of the inker
mechanism that retains the ink cartridge.
-
- Holder Base Assembly
- The assembled
holder, solenoid, plunger, and cartridge clip.
-
- Inker Kit
- A complete inker setup
including everything necessary to install and
- operate the inker. Including, but
not limited to the inker, controller,
- regulator, cartridge wrench, cartridge
opening tool, product manual, etc.
-
- Inker Base
- The main inker mechanism which
the holder or shuttle mounts to and which
- provides positional adjustment.
-
- Main Guide
- The cartridge component which
retains the filament and attaches to the
- solenoid plunger allowing transfer of
ink to the wafer surface when the
- solenoid is actuated.
-
- Manipulator
- A mechanism that facilitates
the control of position.
-
- Mounting Plate
- A metal plate (usually
aluminum or steel) for mounting the inker to the
- prober.
-
- Needle
- The stainless steel component of
the cartridge, which retains and supports
- the Teflon tube.
-
- Plunger
- The portion of the solenoid that
actuates the filament component of the
- cartridge resulting in the dispensing of
ink dots.
-
- Retrofit
- To substitute existing equipment
or components with up to date
- replacements.
-
- Solenoid
- The part of the inker that
actuates the plunger, utilizing the flow of an
- electric current, corresponding
with a signal from the prober.
-
- Tungsten
- A fine metal wire, which passes
through the center of the cartridge and
- acts as a carrier for the ink. It is
used in place of the filament when there
- is a requirement for making smaller
dots than the filament is capable.
- Runout
- The linear (versus angular) portion of off-axis error. It is the
deviation between ideal straight line motion and actual measured motion in a
translation stage. Runout has two orthogonal components, straightness, a measure
of in-plane deviation, and flatness, the out-of-plane deviation.
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