Decoding Why Silicon Reclaim Wafer is Widely Adopted and its Process Flow

The semiconductor industry in an urge to improve the efficiency of semiconductor equipment at improved quality is where the need for reclaim wafer was introduced. Silicon wafers also known as Reclaimed grade wafers, are recycling and treating the used wafer into a functioning test wafer. Here we discuss, why silicon reclaim wafer is having wide-scale adoption in the semiconductor industry and the best-in-class reclaim wafer process flow to consider.

Why Silicon Reclaim wafers are Gaining Huge Attention

 The test wafers offer similar capabilities as that of virgin test wafers at a much lower throughput cost without degrading device performance and ensuring that the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International`s (SEMI) conditions to test wafers are met. Reclaim wafer is typically less than one-third to one-fourth of the cost of new prime wafers and most wafers can be reclaimed several times for additional cost savings.  Wafers reclaim is used for both 200 and 300 mm by manufacturing companies to substantially lessen the costs associated with procuring a new wafer, which needs to be tested and qualification has to be verified.

This the reason why reclaim wafers gained wide popularity.  Another notable reason that resulted in the drastic rise of reclaim wafers is the drastic upswing in investments in sustainability, clean energy, and the renewable sector. This led to larger investments to flow in the solar energy sector. The solar photovoltaic systems use silicon wafers. To bring down the costs of solar photovoltaic systems, reducing the cost of silicon wafers and improving the efficiency of it is critical. Here reclaim wafers can be of great help to manufacturers to wafers at marginal cost and technology. The worldwide Silicon Wafer is found wide adaptability in electronics components, that Reclaim Market is approximated to be USD 1,254.04 million by 2024, states Market Research Future.

Best-in-Class Reclaim Wafer Process Flow

1. The supplied wafers are inspected using various equipment to verify the wafers are suitable to achieve the client’s needs.
2. The primary application for reclaim wafers is to diagnose the process conditions of the equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing.
3. The reclaim process starts with the inspection of incoming wafers for significant defects such as damaged edges or scratches.
4. Once the reclaim wafers clear the testing process, then the thickness is assessed to make certain that adequate material exists to allow effective reclaim.
5. Then the chemical stripping process is done to eliminate thin films on the material
6. This is followed by a series of progressively finer polishing steps, which restores the surface of the wafer to prime levels. In the two-step polish process, the focus is on surface planarization to remove scratches, pits, and surface defects. In the second step, the final process buffs the wafers and eliminates haze.
7. RCA clean processes employ a combination of SC-1 and SC-2 processes, which includes a mega sonic cleansing step to lessen the surface of the metals and particle impurity.
8. A quality check is executed with automated metrology equipment and results are recorded.
9. Reclaim wafers are securely relocated to vacuumed cassettes, double bagged, and labeled.
10. Append certificate elucidating the analysis performed and quality of the product to validate the product.

Conclusion

The rate of success of the reclaim wafer process depends on the tools and systems involved in the wafer reclaim process: cleaning, polishing, testing, and packaging. To ensure efficiency and transparency in the overall reclaiming wafers process, the reclaim wafer must ensure best-in-class industry-proven and standardized facilities and processes. To choose the right reclaim wafers vendor, the organization needs to understand the quality of the process, tools, and facilities existing.