Semiconductor Manufacturing with Glass Wafers

Glass wafers have advantages over silicon wafers and are growing in popularity in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

What are glass wafers?

Glass wafers are thin discs of precision glass, usually made of borosilicate glass, quartz, or fused silica, and are used as a substrate carrier for bonding silicon and other substrates for MEMs (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems).

Glass wafers are also used for engineering of displays and display glass inspection systems. The screens/displays you see in TVs, vehicles, phones and other smart devices consist of a “glass stack”—several layers of thin glass, each with a different function, including a protective layer, encapsulation glass, and a glass TFT (thin-film transistor) backplane. Functioning together, all these layers produce the images you see on the screen.

What are the advantages of using glass wafers?

Glass wafers have numerous advantages over traditional silicon wafers. Some advantages include:

• Low electrical loss (glass is an insulator)
• Better warp management (thermal expansion/stability and increased stiffness helps to minimize warping)
• More cost effective
• Potential to optimize processes (glass wafers can be as thin as 100µm)

As our integrated devices become more and more connected (and the Internet of Things (IoT) expands), the semiconductor industry will continue to push its limits. And, the glass/transparent wafers market is expected to continue growing. 

How can we help?

MSP, a Division of TSI, provides a variety of semiconductor manufacturing equipment for both traditional (silicon) wafers and glass wafers. Our 2300G3 Particle Deposition System deposits PSL spheres, NanoSilica™ Size Standards, other SiO2 spheres, and Process Particles™ Suspensions to produce wafer calibration standards with SI traceability. We also produce contamination standards—wafers and reticles used to improve the overall performance of your inspection systems and reduce inconsistencies within your inspection tool fleet.