Electro-Optical and Semiconductor Material Processing

Precision vacuum chucks are manufactured to extreme flatness and parallelism, and some have mirror-like surface finishes. Porous chucks have Ceramic, Quartz or metal inserts which can loosen. Dicing chucks are often damaged during blade set up procedures as well as from blade or flange height/depth miscalculations. Eventually, the chuck’s vacuum seal surface may become scratched and pores may become clogged. Continuing to use a damaged chuck limits your company’s capabilities and compromises quality. Replacing a damaged chuck can cost thousands of dollars.

Valley Design’s chuck reconditioning service will restore your part to its original flatness and surface quality, giving years of added use at a fraction of the cost of replacement. Our turnaround time of one to several days (depending on size and complexity of the part) will keep your machine downtime to a minimum. Click here for more information on wafer chuck reconditioning.

300mm Thin Film Ceramic Substrates

Valley Design Corp. announces a breakthrough in large geometry Ceramic substrate manufacturing and now has as-fired 300 mm diameter, 0.060″ thick 99.6% tape cast substrates available for immediate delivery in prototype quantities. These large substrates can be manufactured in thicknesses from 0.010″ to 0.080″ thick. For critical applications where superior surface finish is needed, these same Ceramic substrates can be polished to better than 1 microinch and as thin as 0.005″. Typical applications are for thin film circuits and some new uses like dielectric material in electrostatic wafer chucks. Valley Design products conform to tight dimensional tolerances and specifications as well as rigorous quality standards. Click here for more information on 300mm Alumina thin film Ceramic substrates..

99.6% Alumina Substrates

Valley Design Corp. now offers 99.6% Alumina tape cast substrates in all sizes and thicknesses up to 12″ in diameter. These substrates can be polished on one or both sides and come in square, rectangular and round shapes. Lasered and diamond-machined custom shapes are also available. Plates range in standard sizes from 2″ sq., 2 1/4″ sq., and 4 1/2″ sq.; disks from 2″ to 12″ diameters follow SEMI specifications. Standard thicknesses range from .005″ up to .100″; on special orders thicker substrates can be specified. Click here for more information on 99.6% Alumina substrates for thin films..

Low Kerf Crystal and Glass Wafering

Valley Design Corp. has recently expanded their wafering capabilities to include Crystals and glasses such as Quartz, Fused Silica, Silicon, infrared materials like ZnSe, along with numerous other materials.

The best yields and tightest tolerances are achieved using I.D. sawing technology. By maintaining kerf loss as low as .011″, more pieces per inch of material are yielded, an important consideration when dealing with expensive materials. Other techniques are used on harder materials where the I.D. technology is not suitable.

Technology transfer and consulting are offered to facilities that require in-house operations. Click here for more information on wafering, sawing, and cutting of crystals..

Precision Dicing of Metallic Materials

Valley Design Corp. has broadened its precision dicing capability to include metallic materials. Rods and substrates can be diced to custom specifications, with chips as small as .005″x.005″. In addition to Sapphire, Silicon, Ceramics, Glass and Quartz, we have the ability to dice Silicon Carbide, Iridium, Copper, Tungsten Carbide, Brass, Hafnium, Stainless Steel and many other materials. Characteristics such as rounded or chamfered corners and edges, along with good perpendicularly can be specified on any order. Click here for more information on precision dicing of metallic materials..

Silicon Carbide – Mirror Finish

Valley Design Corp. has recently completed orders for polishing Silicon Carbide. This material shows promise in many applications, especially as scan mirrors and moveable optics for space telescopes due to its light weight, high flexure strength, rigid structure and thermal characteristics. Substrates and mirrors up to twelve inches in diameter are being lapped and polished to surface finishes better than 10 angstroms while maintaining a ¼ wave flatness. Silicon coatings are also available which may be polished for an improved finish. Click here for more information on mirror finishes on silicon carbide..

Substrate Machining Techniques

Through years of process development Valley Design Corp. has mastered machining techniques such as V-grooves, chamfering, edge rounding, laser slag removal, pyramids, slots and steps on many hard materials including Silicon Carbide, Ceramics, Quartz, Ferrites, Sapphire, Silicon and Glass. Each of these surface designs are available in an extensive selection of angles, depths, widths and surface finishes, with tight tolerances. Click here for more information on substrate machining techniques..

300mm Imitation Silicon Wafers from Valley Design

With the advent of 300mm Silicon wafer technology, Valley Design Corp. is introducing a line of imitation Silicon wafers to be used for testing and demonstrating by semiconductor equipment manufacturers. These Silicon-on-Glass wafers look just like standard Silicon wafers and follow parameters of SEMI specifications. The edges are rounded and have a notch, if required. These wafers have a single-sided Silicon coating that is sufficient to block visible light, but coating on both sides is also available. Valley Design can supply glass wafers in SEMI sizes with Silicon coating or without. Present standard thicknesses are 0.56mm (0.022″), 0.89mm (0.035″) and 1mm (0.040″), but custom thicknesses are also available as well. These wafers can be made from BK7, Quartz, Borosilicate glasses such as 7059 and Pyrex, and many other materials to accurately suit your needs. Click here for more information on 300mm imitation silicon wafers..

Carrier Plates for Semiconductors

Valley Design Corporation now offers an array carrier plates that are the perfect mounting tools for dicing, lapping and polishing semiconductor wafers. They can be manufactured out of a number of different materials ranging from Pyrex, BK7, Soda-Lime Glass and Quartz, to Alumina, Sapphire, Graphite or Fused Silica. These wafers are made to SEMI Silicon standard sizes and are available from 2″ to 300mm diameter and as this as 0.001″. Surfaces may be lapped or polished to meet all optical specifications. Click here for more information on carrier plates for semiconductors..

Thinning of Silicon

Valley Design Corporation has developed a process and is supplying on a regular basis, ultra-thin Silicon precision lapped, polished or chemically etched. Substrates as thin as 10 microns thick with circuitry were completed. A recent order called for 5″ pieces of 3 mil thickness (polished on both sides). Valley Design offers a complete line of lapped, polished and diced substrates, Sapphire, Glass, flat optical pieces and other materials.

Optical Glass Disks, Flat Glass, Precision Polished Glass

A variety of glasses are available from Valley Design. This is an outline of optical, mechanical, thermal and electric properties of the most commonly requested glass types: Soda Lime, Pyrex, Borosilicate and Borofloat glasses. Click here for more information on the properties of optical glass..

Polishing Ends of Long Rods and Tubing

Valley Design Corp. announces a new service for fiber optics and light transmission applications, an outgrowth of its precision lapping, polishing and dicing capabilities. The company’s process for polishing glass wafers to SEMI standards has been expanded to accommodate long, rigid tubing and rods. Valley Design is equipped to polish the ends of long rods made of various types of Glass, Quartz, Sapphire, Alumina and other materials. Recently, Valley Design has polished the ends of 48″ rods and has the capacity to polish even longer rods to a 10/5 optical finish. Valley Design is ready to meet the customer’s most rigorous specifications. Click here for more information on the polishing of long rods and tubing..

Dicing of Wafer Stacks for High Voltage Rectifiers

A recently developed process allows us to dice thick wafer stacks. This new service is now being offered by Valley Design Corp. Beyond our normal services for dicing Silicon, Ceramics, Glass, Quartz and other Electro-optical materials, Valley Design has developed a process for dicing multi-layer Silicon stacks up to 0.170″ thick. A typical stack might consist of 16 layers of Silicon — diced into chips as small as 0.062″ sq. This could produce a voltage rectifier up to 2400 volts. Kerf loss is kept to the absolute minimum with thin blades, .010″ to .025″ The most rigorous customer standards are maintained. Click here for more information on the dicing of wafer stacks for high voltage rectifiers..

Polishing of Large Geometry Silicon

Valley Design Corp. has expanded their precision polishing of semiconductor materials to include large Silicon substrates. In a recent job,6 Silicon strips were sliced to 2″ wide x 12.5″ long ,lapped, and polished to a 10/5 surface finish. Strips up to 14″ long can be accommodated, as well as wafers up to 14″ in diameter with a 10/5 surface finish or better. Round 2″ to 6″ Silicon wafers are polished routinely. This service is the company’s latest addition to their precision lapping, backlapping and dicing capabilities. Similar processes are available for other semiconductor materials. Valley Design is equipped to meet the tightest thickness tolerance and parallelism specifications. Click here for more inflammation on the polishing of large geometry silicon..

Substrate Slag Removal and Chamfering

Valley Design Corp. has developed a proprietary process utilizing precisely graded pure Aluminum Oxide micro-abrasive powder as the vehicle for laser slag removal and edge rounding on substrates and laser holes. By various asking techniques, more material can be removed from one side than from the other, and on substrate edges, it is possible to round one or more edges and leave other edges sharp. The degree of rounding is controllable as well. This process can be used to clean slag from either or both sides of lasered parts and to chamfer square or round holes or any shapes. Each of these benefits is available without the usual risks associated with high velocity lasting techniques. Valley Design engineers believe that this process is adaptable to most materials including 99.6%, AlN, BeO, Fused Silica, Quartz, Glass and various other hard and semi-hard materials. Click here for more information on substrate slag removal and chamfering..

Large Sapphire Blank Polishing

Valley Design Corp. is now tooled up to lap and polish large sapphire blanks, limited only by the availability of Sapphire. Blanks 12″ diameter or 12″ square can be processed. Keeping precise thickness tolerances as well as flatness and parallelism, Valley Design can polish all common orientations, including “A”-plane, “M”-plane, “C”-plane and “R” plane. Sapphire blank applications include covers, substrates, wafers, windows, flats and spacers. On “A” plane material, we routinely process pieces to 0.002″, however for special applications we have made parts as thin as .0005″. Valley Design has many years of experience processing materials of large geometry including metal, glass and Ceramic plates as large as 36″x36″. Click here for more information on large sapphire blank polishing..

Silicon Lapping Service

Valley Design Corp. now offers precision lapping and backlapping of Silicon and other semiconductor materials in prototype and production quantities. Customer supplied wafers in sizes up to 12″ diameter, can be lapped on one or both sides. During backlapping, the circuit side of the wafer can be protected by various compatible processes. The finished wafers can be returned in wafer boats or even mounted on individual carriers for further processing by the customer. Thickness tolerances as close as ±0.0001″ are possible, and parts can be lapped to as thin as 0.001″. This service is an extension of Valley Design’s custom Ceramic, Quartz, glass and metal polishing business. Click here for more information on silicon lapping services..

Flat Lapping Large Metal Chucks and Plates

Valley Design Corporation, a company specializing in the precision lapping and polishing of large items continues serving manufacturers and users of precision machined parts. Valley Design is expanding its services to accommodate large metal chucks and plates up to 36″ x 36″ square, large diameter valve seats and similar items, in addition to Aluminum, hard coated Aluminum, and various reference surfaces for critical wafer processing applications. Working to your specifications, Valley Design will meet the most demanding requirements. Flatness can be held to less than 1/4 lightband and parallelism to .000050″. Click here for more information on flat lapping large metal chucks and plates..

Polished Glass Wafers Made to SEMI Standards

Valley Design Corporation announces a new product, glass wafers (Soda-Lime, BK7, 7059, Quartz and other glasses) made to SEMI specifications for Silicon. Available sizes range from diameters for 76mm (3″) up to 300mm (12″) with options for one or two flats. The surfaces can be opaque or polished one or both sides with chamfered edges. We can supply custom wafers made to special thicknesses with tight tolerances including “Ultra-Thin”–.001″ thick. These wafers are excellent for monitors, for testing automated systems, or your specific applications. Click here for more information on polished glass wafers made to SEMI standards..

96% Alumina Product Literature

To meet a growing interest in 96% Alumina substrates, Valley Design Corporation offers lapped and laser-shaped 96% Alumina substrates as large as 12″x12″. Valley can also produce round substrates, 50mm – 150mm in diameter meeting SEMI M1 STD specifications with flatnesses as good as .001 TIR. Depending on substrate thickness and size, on special orders, Valley Design can hold flatness to .1 mil over any square inch area, and surface finish can be made as smooth as 2µ” Ra, or controlled to any finish required. For lasered 96% Alumina parts, Valley Design has developed a process for laser slag removal as well as edge rounding. On substrates and laser holes, this process can remove slag from one or both sides and chamfer square or round holes without the risks associated with blasting techniques. Click here for more information on 96% alumina product literature..

Wafer Chuck Reconditioning

Valley Design Corporation now offers a wafer chuck reconditioning service to restore these precision parts to their original specifications and even tighter, if necessary. Wafer chucks, with or without porous inserts, up to 8″ or more in diameter can be accommodate. Some of these vacuum chucks have been manufactured to extreme limits of flatness, parallelism and surface finish with constant use, the surface becomes damaged and unusable. In the past, once the surface became damaged, the only recourse was to purchase a new chuck. Our service can save your company thousands of dollars and give your vacuum chuck years of additional use. Our quick turnaround policy of twenty-four hours to several days, depending on size and complexity (36″ x 36″ maximum) will keep your machine’s down time to a minimum. Click here for more information on wafer chuck reconditioning..

Electro-Optical Materials Processing

Valley Design Corporation now has available, a new brochure describing their full line of products and services. Valley Design Corp. specializes in the lapping, polishing and dicing of substrates. Valley Design Corp. also manufactures flat polished optical pieces in addition to substrates and windows from Sapphire, Quartz, 96% and 99.6% Alumina, Glass, Aluminum Nitride and other materials. Their best polish for optics is 10/5. Ultra-thin materials as thin as .0005″ are available. Click here for more information on electro-optical materials processing..

Fused Silica, Natural Quartz Substrates and Windows

Valley Design Corporation has recently supplied Fused Silica substrates 200mm in diameter and .030″ thick, as well as natural Quartz substrates 3.00″ in diameter and .001″ and .003″ thick, to research facilities in the electro-optical field. Most optical materials can be processed in sizes as large as 12″ x 12″ square or 12″ in diameter. Tolerances can be as tight as ± .0001″, with flatness to 1/4 lightband, and parallelism to 50 millionths of an inch. Custom windows in any size, shape, thickness or surface finish are available on special order. Valley Design offers a complete line of lapped, polished and diced substrates, flat polished optical pieces, Sapphire, glass and other materials. Our best polish for optics, 10/5; thinnest parts, .0005″. Valley Design also wafers optical materials and performs precision lapping and polishing of metals. Click here for more information on Fused Silica, natural Quartz, and windows..

Precision Lapping of Metal Components

Valley Design Corporation continues to expand its role as a precision lapping and polishing facility for ultra-flat metal components requiring tight tolerances. Flatnesses to 1/4 lightband and parallelism to 50 millionths are achievable at Valley Design. We process materials such as Stainless Steel, Aluminum, exotics, plastics, and Ceramics using Planetary, Double Disk, and Free Abrasive lapping machines. Valley has the capability to process parts as small as a few thousandths of an inch and up to 32″ in diameter. Valley Design also offers turnkey systems, technical consulting services, and special process development for businesses which desire to do in-house lapping and polishing. Customized lapping equipment, which can be seen in operation at our facility, is also available. Click here for more information on the precision lapping of metal components..

Dicing of Electro-Optical Materials

Valley Design Corporation has expanded their materials processing department and is now offering dicing services to the electro-optical industry. Valley Design Corp. can deliver parts in 24 hours, when necessary. Whether it is Silicon (up to 6″ diameter), Quartz, Ceramic, Sapphire, Alumina, Titanium, Carbide, Ferrite or any other material that is diceable, Valley Design has the latest state of the art equipment for the job. Chips as small as .005 ” square can be diced from substrates as large as 6″ square. Valley even has dicing saws that can accommodate parts that are 6″x18″. The dicing saws are equipped with microprocessors and closed circuit TV microscopes, all coordinated in the hands of skilled operators. Valley Design also excels in lapping and polishing Quartz Substrates. Click here for more information on the dicing of electro-optical materials..