Parametric Study of Picosecond Laser Hole Drilling for TSV

피코초 레이저의 공정변수에 따른 TSV 드릴링 특성연구

Today, the most common process for generating Through Silicon Vias (TSVs) for 3D ICs is Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE), which allows for high aspect ratio blind holes with low surface roughness. However, the DRIE process requires a vacuum environment and the use of expensive masks. The advantage of using lasers for TSV drilling is the higher flexibility they allow during manufacturing, because neither vacuum nor lithography or masks arc required and because lasers can be applied even to metal and to dielectric layers other than silicon. However, conventional nanosecond lasers have the disadvantage of causing heat affection around the target area. By contrast, the use of a picosecond laser enables the precise generation of TSVs with less heat affected zone. In this study, we conducted a comparison of thermalization effects around laser-drilled holes when using a picosecond laser set for a high pulse energy range and a low pulse energy range. Notably, the low pulse energy picosecond laser process reduced the experimentally recast layer, surface debris and melts around the hole better than the high pulse energy process.