MEMS Silicon Wafer Thinning, Backlapping and Polishing

For critical thin film and thick film microelectronic applications, thin Ceramic substrates are mandatory. These substrates may be 99.6% Alumina, 96% Alumina, Aluminum Nitride, Steatite or other similar materials. Shapes may be square, round or rectangular and as large as 300 mm. Valley Design Corp. has developed processes to lap and polish various substrates down to 0.001″ thickness. The surface finish may be rough lapped in the 30 to 40 microinch Ra range or micro-fine, mirror smooth, polished to better than 0.5 microinch Ra.

A popular capacitor plate material is a 96% Alumina substrate thinned to 0.004″ (0.1 mm). Valley Design stocks these thin 96% Ceramic substrates with a surface finish of 15 to 20 microinch Ra. Steatite and 99.6% substrate materials in various thickness are also available for immediate delivery.

Substrate size does not always limit thinness. Valley Design can supply 0.004″ thick substrates 1″to 4″. square. Valley provides precision grinding, lapping and polishing of all substrate materials – hard and soft and specializes ultra-thin, ultra-flat, super polishing and tightness tolerances.

Related Ceramic Web sites:

· www.acers.org  American Ceramic Society
· valleydesign.com/ultra-thin/chip-capacitors  Ceramic substrates for thin chip capacitors
· valleydesign.com/substrate  Aluminum Nitride and Alumina Ceramic substrates
· valleydesign.com/custom-dicing/capacitors  Chip capacitors dicing, prototype and production