CONTRACT MANUFACTURING


Can 3D printing solve the global semiconductor shortage?


Scott Green, principal solutions leader for semiconductors at 3D Systems discusses the potential of additive manufacturing in semiconductor fabrication


s we’re now more than a year into the pandemic, we’re all too familiar with its impacts – not the least of which is the blow dealt to supply chains. And one of the unexpected side effects of the pandemic has been a global shortage of semiconductors, which is disrupting the production of all sorts of consumer products from cars to electronics.


A


In December, Volkswagen said that semiconductor bottlenecks meant it would produce 100,000 fewer cars in the first quarter of 2021, as its parts makers were unable to secure supplies. Nissan, Renault, Daimler, and General Motors are also struggling with the shortage which may lead to production being reduced by as much as 20% per week. Fixing the problem isn’t as simple as just increasing manufacturing capacity. For these semiconductor fabrication plants (so- called ‘fabs’ or ‘foundries’) to increase production, they need to install new manufacturing lines. These lines require new equipment, and capital equipment manufacturers are innovating to help fabs meet the increased demand. However, these tools are complex and expensive with a long product development cycle; in some cases, lead times are six to nine months – making it difficult for capital equipment manufacturers to pivot their production lines to meet unexpected demand.


When it comes to quickly ramping production, traditional manufacturing workflows are hampered by several limitations – with workflows often lengthy and cumbersome due to the need for tooling. Additive manufacturing (AM) – also known as ‘3D printing’ - removes these limitations, enabling freedom of design, and a seamless transition from prototyping to low volume production of bespoke parts. Let’s explore three applications of AM in particular that have demonstrated advantages to capital equipment manufacturers.


Thermal management Better thermal management of critical semiconductor equipment components, such as wafer tables, can improve semiconductor equipment accuracy by 1– 2nm and simultaneously improve speed and throughput. An increased machine speed and uptime leads to more wafers processed


and higher overall lifecycle value. During lithography, keeping temperatures within milliKelvin (mK) ranges is critical as any system disturbance has an impact. Through design for additive manufacturing (DfAM), it’s possible to optimise internal cooling channels and surface patterns, thus dramatically improving surface temperatures and thermal gradients while reducing time constants. A large semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer using AM to produce their wafer tables realised an 83% decrease in ΔT (13.8 to 2.3 mK), and a 5x reduction in time to wafer stabilisation.


Another benefit of using AM to produce wafer tables is structural optimisation and


a 1–2 nm accuracy improvement. Additive manufacturing gives designers the flexibility to optimise the structural topology of your part (i.e., lightweighting) with a suite of high-strength metal alloys. These designs can more precisely meet the performance requirements of semiconductor capital equipment, improve the strength-to-weight ratio, and deliver a faster time to market. Lightweighting semiconductor components and advanced motion mechanisms reduces inertia and improves lithography and wafer processing machine speed and uptime, leading to more wafers processed. In one example, a semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer was able to employ AM to achieve greater than 50% weight reduction in flexures, and 23% higher resonant frequency, and reduced system vibration.


AM – specifically direct metal printing – is a recognised, validated technology in the semiconductor capital equipment industry. The pressures within the market for optimisation, the demand for more equipment, and the production barriers are requiring a rapid movement towards additive.


tables with reduced part counts and assemblies. Producing parts using traditional technologies relies on brazing to join parts together, which is a lengthy, low-yield process with a 50% rejection rate. Replacing multipart assemblies with monolithic additively manufactured parts increases reliability, improves manufacturing yield, and reduces labour costs.


Manifold fluid flow optimisation Using traditional manufacturing processes to produce complex fluid manifolds results in large, heavy parts that have non-optimal fluid flow due to abrupt transitions between components, and channels with sharp angles that lead to disturbance, pressure drops, stagnant zones, and leakage. When AM is employed to produce these same manifolds, engineers can optimise their designs to reduce pressure drop, mechanical disturbances, and vibration. A 90% reduction in flow-induced disturbance forces reduces system vibration and realizes


If we look at this purely from a lithography perspective, there is currently a large volume of equipment already being used in production to create chips using a ~14nm process. A likely scenario is that AM will significantly enable newer machines that are either shipping today or will be shipping in the next one to two years. With this runway, there is ample time for component and system level redesigns, which will increase productivity and quality. Additionally, the manufacturers will still have enough control over those systems to rigorously test and prove performance gains.


Outside of lithography, there are dozens of other applications in the process chain such as polishing, light sources and etching, sorting, and even metrology. Additive manufacturing is allowing semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers to rethink what is possible and push the boundaries. There is a tremendous opportunity for AM to help overcome the semiconductor shortage, and once again strengthen supply chains 3D Systems uk.3dsystems.com


JUNE 2021 | ELECTRONICS TODAY 19


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50