Laser-Assisted Mist Capillary Self-Alignment.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Micro/Nano Manufacturing
• Robotics and Automation

Background:

• Accurate and efficient microchip assembly is critical for microelectronic device fabrication.
• Existing methods often face challenges in achieving both high throughput and high precision.
• The integration of laser-based transfer and self-alignment techniques offers a potential solution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize a hybrid method combining laser die transfer and mist capillary self-alignment for microchip assembly.
• To investigate the key parameters influencing both the transfer and alignment processes.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of high-accuracy, parallel self-alignment of microchips.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing laser die transfer to pick and place microchips from a thermal release tape onto a substrate.
• Employing mist-induced capillary forces for self-alignment of microchips to receptor sites.
• Investigating and optimizing low-power laser parameters (e.g., 100 mW) for efficient transfer.
• Analyzing forces and estimating critical volumes for capillary self-alignment theoretically and experimentally.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated microchip transfer in 300-400 ms using low-power laser settings.
• Achieved parallel self-alignment of microchips to receptor sites with high accuracy (1.4 ± 0.8 μm).
• Validated the effectiveness of mist capillary forces in guiding microchip placement.

Conclusions:

• The combined laser die transfer and mist capillary self-alignment technique enables rapid and precise microchip assembly.
• This method shows significant potential for high-throughput and high-accuracy manufacturing of microelectronic devices.
• The optimized process parameters contribute to the advancement of micro-assembly technologies.