Quantitative Evaluation Method for Etch Sidewall Profile of Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs)

Through-silicon via (TSV) technology provides much of the benefits seen in advanced packaging, such as three-dimensional integrated circuits and 3D packaging, with shorter interconnection paths for homo- and heterogeneous device integration. In TSV, a destructive cross-sectional analysis of an image from a scanning electron microscope is the most frequently used method for quality control purposes. We propose a quantitative evaluation method for TSV etch profiles whereby we consider sidewall angle, curvature profile, undercut, and scallop. A weighted sum of the four evaluated parameters, nominally total score (TS), is suggested for the numerical evaluation of an individual TSV profile. Uniformity, defined by the ratio of the standard deviation and average of the parameters that comprise TS, is suggested for the evaluation of wafer-to-wafer variation in volume manufacturing.