SCHOTT solutions no. 1/2011 > Machine Vision

The machine vision system that is being put to use in the BEANS Device Center was custom built specifically to check for defects in MEMS components. It allows for high-quality and yet relatively cost-effective inspection of the surfaces of wafers. Photo: Moritex/H.Murakami
Unlimited Possibilities
MORITEX, the company that belongs to SCHOTT Group, manufactures highly advanced inspection systems. One example is a machine vision inspection system, which allows for cutting edge research to be performed in the area of MEMS technology.
Yutaka SuzuKi & Takeshi Harada
MEMS, or Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, are used in all types of everyday devices, such as automobiles, mobile telephones and home game consoles. MEMS use a variety of micromachining technologies to place micron-scale parts on a single substrate. MEMS devices are tiny, highly precise, and offer superior energy-saving features. They make it possible to manufacture ultra-small actuators and many other types of sensors. They are key devices in next-generation manufacturing, with cooperative industry-university research proceeding as a national R & D project. The Japanese company MORITEX, a member of SCHOTT’s Lighting and Imaging Business Unit, uses its expertise in optics to manufacture and market a wide variety of specialized devices, including inspection equipment. One of these devices was selected by the BEANS G Device Center in Tsukuba that conducts MEMS research as a national R & D project: ”Our machine vision inspection system makes use of the fact that silicon transmits infrared light and can automatically check MEMS devices for defects. The unit we delivered to the BEANS G Device Center is customized to automatically perform surface inspection of a 200 mm wafer using visible light. If this equipment works out well, we anticipate a considerable up-tick in adoption of this machine vision inspection system in MEMS device manufacturing and by semiconductor makers,” says Junya Inoue, the sales representative in charge of the inspection system.

The BEANS G Device Center does research on further developing MEMS. An intelligent clean room that includes an 8-inch MEMS production line was completed in December 2010. Photo: Moritex/H.Murakami
”We anticipate a considerable up-tick for machine vision inspection systems in the production of mems and semi-conductors.”
Junya Inoue · MORITEX Vertriebsmanager8-Inch MEMS line benefits from an innovative automatic optical wafer inspection system
The BEANS project is an R & D project devoted to performing research into the micro- and nano-scale integrated manufacturing technology necessary to create the innovative devices of the future. The project started off as an enterprise consigned by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Development Organization) in 2008. The goal is to develop three processes – processes that enable the fusion of bio and organic materials, processes for forming 3D nanostructures, and processes for continuous large-area manufacturing of micronano structures – but also to build related knowledge databases. The project has been run by the BEANS Research Center, a technology research cooperative, since 2009. Notable results include a robot with olfactory sensors, implantable blood sugar sensors, bile canaliculi fabrication technology, and thermoelectric material which have all been widely reported on in the media.
Takeshi Harada, General Manager of the Research Department at BEANS Laboratory, and his team perform research on advanced sensor network systems and environmentally friendly processes for manufacturing three-dimensional Photo: MORITEX/H. Murakami
The optical microscope automatic inspection system is based on the machine vision technology at Moritex. This system is used to automatically inspect the MEMS devices at wafer level, and evaluate yield and manufacturing variation. Being able to acquire such equipment in an order of magnitude lower in cost than semiconductor equipment was very attractive. The center is convinced that this unit will play a major role in inspection on its 8-inch MEMS line. <|
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Lighting and Imaging Machine Vision
Lighting and Imaging Machine Vision
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andreas.uthmann@schott.com
andreas.uthmann@schott.com