Ultra-thin glass from SCHOTT for use in the semiconductor
and electronics industries
SCHOTT enables innovation in applications such as chip packaging,
carrier wafers and touch sensors
Mainz (Germany) / Taipei (Taiwan), September 2, 2015 – The Germany-based technology
group SCHOTT is one of the few specialized glass experts worldwide that is capable of
reliably producing ultra-thin glass that is thinner than 100 microns – and that from
several types of glasses with different material properties. The semiconductor
industry is increasingly designing products with thin glass substrates for chip
packaging and interposer applications. SCHOTT is also the only company in the world
to offer ultra-thin glass in chemically cured form, for example for use in sensor
applications in electronic devices. SCHOTT will be presenting its innovative
applications involving ultra-thin glass at SEMICON Taiwan from September 2 – 4, 2015,
in Taipei (booth 2853).
Glass as inorganic material offers technical advantages with respect to chip packaging
compared to conventional organic materials. The performance of microprocessors is
increasing continuously; their thickness is decreasing from product generation to product
generation. The locally generated heat of the small core elements of mobile devices causes
deflection and even reliability problems when organic substrate materials are used. Ultra-thin
glass has very high dimensional stability over a wide temperature range and, at the same
time, provides the basis for extremely flat form factors of the chip package.
With its AF 32® eco, SCHOTT offers a glass whose coefficient of thermal expansion is
equivalent to that of silicon and thus is compatible with the material base of processors. This
ultra-thin glass is also ideally suited for use in interposer applications. “We are speaking with
relevant suppliers in the industry who are showing great interest in our solutions. We are
convinced that our ultra-thin glass will soon establish a firm foothold in the mass production
processes of the semiconductor industry," said Dr. Rüdiger Sprengard, Director of New
Business for Ultra-Thin Glass at SCHOTT Advanced Optics.
For reliable processing of thin glass substrates, it is possible to use temporarily bonded
carrier systems. Here, a carrier consisting of thin glass with a thickness of 400 micrometers,
for example, is temporarily bonded with a wafer made of ultra-thin glass that is approximately
100 microns thick, by either using or not using adhesives. After the machining process, the
two elements can be separated from one another again.
SCHOTT is also the only company in the world that offers chemically hardened ultra-thin
glass. Because the D 263® glass contains alkali ions, it can be reliably cured by way of ion
exchange. This makes it possible to use wafer-thin, yet robust ("tough") glass as a cover
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glass. The chemically hardened extremely thin glass offers 4 times greater strength
compared to non-hardened glasses.
"Ultra-thin glass will play an important role in the smartphone of the future, for example, to
make fingerprints readable and thereby enable a detection system for online payment
systems," said Sprengard. With its D 263® that is manufactured using a proprietary
downdraw method, SCHOTT now offers a glass solution that delivers the performance that
the industry demands and takes the cost pressure in the electronics industry into
consideration due to its high dielectric constant.
SCHOTT is also working on other applications for the Internet of Things (IoT): ultra-thin glass
can also be used to manufacture next-generation batteries, so-called thin-film batteries or
solid-state batteries. These are micro batteries that must offer very good charging capacity,
long service lives, particularly compact designs and low production costs. Because very high
temperatures are used in the manufacturing process, glass is ideally suited as a substrate
material. Rechargeable micro batteries can be found in everyday objects that have Internet
connections, such as wearables, small security cameras or smart cards with displays such as
push-Tan generators for online banking applications. "Here, our D 263® glass is an ideal
substrate because it has a thermal expansion coefficient equivalent to that of the sputtered
cathode materials in battery cores," Sprengard explains.
For additional Information:
http://www.schott.com/advanced_optics/english/syn/advanced_optics/products/wafers-andthin-glass/glass-wafer-and-substrates/ultra-thin-glass/index.html
Photo download link: http://www.schott.com/english/news/press.html?NID=com4768
SCHOTT produces ultra-thin glass in its proprietary down-draw process. Photo:
SCHOTT
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Flexible glass, thinner than a human hair, enables many new applications in the
electronics and semiconductor industries. Photo: SCHOTT
SCHOTT offers ultra-thin glass in sheet or wafer form, depending on customers’
requirements. The photo shows a wafer. Photo: SCHOTT
SCHOTT is a leading international technology group in the areas of specialty glass and glassceramics. The company has more than 130 years of outstanding development, materials and
technology expertise and offers a broad portfolio of high-quality products. SCHOTT is an innovative
enabler for many industries, including the home appliance, pharmaceutical, electronics, optics,
automotive and aviation industries. SCHOTT strives to play an important part of everyone’s life and is
committed to innovation and sustainable success. The group maintains a global presence with
production sites and sales offices in 35 countries. With its workforce of approximately 15,400
employees, sales of 1.87 billion euros were generated in fiscal year 2013/2014. The parent company,
SCHOTT AG, has its headquarters in Mainz (Germany) and is solely owned by the Carl Zeiss
Foundation. As a foundation company, SCHOTT assumes special responsibility for its employees,
society and the environment. www.schott.com
Press contact:
SCHOTT AG
Dr. Haike Frank, Public Relations Manager
Hattenbergstr. 10, 55122 Mainz, Germany
+49 (0)6131/66-4088
haike.frank@schott.com
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