Precision Under Pressure: Ensuring Quality in a Globalized and Miniaturized Semiconductor Industry

By ROBERT HILLINGER, Business Development Manager Semiconductor, Kistler

Semiconductor manufacturing today is a globally distributed process, with wafers passing through multiple facilities, countries, and suppliers before becoming finished devices — and every one of those handoffs is a point where an undetected defect can propagate downstream and erode yield. Robert Hillinger of Kistler makes the case that as devices continue to miniaturize below 10 nanometers, traditional measurement approaches like strain gauges and LVDT displacement sensors are reaching their limits for detecting the minuscule forces and rapid dynamics involved.

The article focuses on two process steps where piezoelectric force sensors are becoming indispensable. In chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), where a rotating pad and abrasive slurry must apply uniform pressure across a wafer to avoid over-polishing, dishing, or residue, real-time force monitoring enables dynamic control of downforce, alignment, and zone pressure to catch stick-slip effects and pad wear as they happen. In wafer probing, where needles as narrow as 20 to 30 microns must land precisely on bond pads without cracking metal layers underneath, multi-axis piezoelectric sensors capture vertical and shear forces at bandwidths up to 10 kHz to fine-tune overdrive and touchdown force.

Hillinger’s conclusion ties the two examples together: as architectures grow more complex and supply chains more geographically dispersed, high-resolution force measurement is becoming a core part of how manufacturers maintain yield, reliability, and consistent quality under the combined pressure of miniaturization and global competition.

Click here to read the full article in Semiconductor Digest magazine.

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