Atatchment 1- Statement of Requirement (Revised).pdf

STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENT (Revised 8/19/24) Automated High Placement Accuracy Flip-Chip Die Bonder Requesting

Lab/Division: 681

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The semiconductor supply chain is global, specialized, and interconnected. Chipmakers do business with thousands of individual suppliers that provide the highly complex materials and tools used to produce semiconductors. To address the lack of full visibility into the semiconductors markets supply chain and R&D ecosystem gaps NIST will conduct the measurement science, or metrology, critical to the development of new materials, packaging, and production methods in chip manufacturing.

Advanced packaging has emerged as an effective and increasingly important approach for achieving cost-effective performance gains in microelectronics and photonics. Wafer bonding is a critical element of advanced packaging, as it enables complex integration of multiple materials and sophisticated prefabricated components on a single substrate. Achieving strong bonds between two wafer surfaces is the crux of the technique, a goal that is typically pursued through extensive trial-and-error, generally relying on a limited set of characterizing measurements. Such an approach is inefficient, costly and time-consuming, and in addition provides only limited understanding of universal chemical and physical processes leading to good bonds.

The Microsystems and Nanotechnology Division (MND) within the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Physical Measurement Lab (PML) develops integrated microsystems by advancing the state of the art in nanofabrication, thereby enabling the transfer of NIST measurement technologies to the industrial, academic, and government communities. In conjunction with the Quantum Measurement, Quantum Sensors and Nanoscale Device Characterization within the PML, the MND is developing methods to better understand, characterize, and predict the strength of directly bonded dielectric, semiconductor and metallic plasma-treated wafer surfaces that are relevant for current industrial electronic and photonic device fabrication processes. To achieve this goal, a wide range of analytical and metrological techniques will be applied to pre- and post-bond surface-treated wafer pairs and correlated with results from bond strength measurements. New standardized methods for characterizing chip-to-chip bond strength tests will, in addition, be developed.

The investigation will cover parings of various semiconductor, dielectric and metallic surfaces, and is expected to require, for each surface pair combination, a wide range of parameter variations. To support this investigation, an automated flip-chip die bonder is required for performing die-do-die and die-to-wafer bonding in the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology cleanroom in Gaithersburg, MD. The equipment shall be compatible with a class 100 cleanroom environment and allow manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic operation, with precise control, measurement and recording of parameters such as temperature, force and process duration. Such features will ensure that bonding with consistent, stable, precisely controlled and quantified parameters between multiple samples, experimental runs and facilities can be achieved, as essential for obtaining reliable, consistent and comparable measurements for the envisioned experimental investigation and standards development.

The requested instrument shall also feature placement accuracy equal to or less than one micron, consistent with that necessary for advanced integrated microelectronic and photonic devices.

II. SCOPE

The goal of this purchase order is to supply, install and train new users on an automated flip-chip die bonder system for the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. The Contractor shall deliver a quantity of one (1) automated flip-chip die bonder, inclusive of delivery, installation, training, warranty and optional line items for extended warranty/service contract.

III. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide a system that meets all technical specifications identified below, with all accessories needed to run the system. All items shall be new. Experimental, prototype, or custom items will not be considered. The use of “gray market” components are not authorized. All line items shall be shipped in the original manufacturer’s packaging and include all original documentation and software, when applicable.

Technical Specifications:

BASE - Line Item 0001:

Description: Automatic Die Bonder System Quantity: One (1)

1. MECHANICAL

a. The automatic die bonder system shall be constructed of materials compatible with an ISO 14644 class 5 (FED 209 class 100) cleanroom.

b. The footprint of the main system shall be less than 5 feet by 6 feet. This footprint does not need to include auxiliary components such as chillers. The specified dimensions are limited by the amount of space available for it to reside inside the CNST nanofabrication facility.

Better consideration will be given to systems with smaller footprints.

c. To fit through the CNST nanofab doors, the height of the main system shall be less than 7 feet 6 inches tall.

d. Bonding shall take place in an enclosed, protected environment with an automated access door, to isolate the user and external environment from the process area. The enclosure shall support a clean inner environment. A clean environment is necessary to minimize bond failure due to particle contamination of the substrates prior to contact.

2. STAGES and TRANSPORT

a. The automatic die bonder system shall have an upper vacuum chuck that can accommodate tooling to a size of 20 mm by 20 mm or more.

b. The automatic die bonder system shall have a lower vacuum chuck that can accommodate tooling up to a size of 100 mm by 100 mm.

c. The lower stage shall be supported by air bearings on a granite reference surface for high positioning accuracy.

d. The substrate stage travel shall be at least 100 mm and above in both the x and y directions with steps down to at least 0.1 microns.

e. The substrate stage shall allow for an angular adjustment range greater than or equal to +/- 5 degrees.

3. DIE TRAY CAPACITY

a. The loading area of the automatic die bonder system shall be able to accommodate H44 (4 inch by 4 inch) format die trays.

b. The loading area of the automatic die bonder system shall be able to accommodate H20 (2 inch by 2 inch) format die trays.

4. CHIP AND SUBSTRATE HEATING

a. The automatic die bonder system shall be capable of providing bonding head stage heating up to at least 350 degrees Celsius independently, with a resolution of 1 degree Celsius or better.

b. The bonding head heating shall be fast with an average heating rate of 20 degrees Celsius per second or higher and an average cooling rate of 1 degree Celsius per second or higher over the entire temperature range.

c. The automatic die bonder system shall be capable of providing substrate chuck heating of 200 degrees Celsius or higher independently for bonding substrates up to 100 mm by 100 mm, with a resolution of 1 degree Celsius or less, and uniformity of 5 degrees Celsius or less. The chuck shall allow an average heating rate of 2 degrees Celsius per second or better and an average cooling rate of 1 degree Celsius per second or better over the entire temperature range.

d. The automatic die bonder system shall be capable of providing substrate chuck heating of at least 350 degrees Celsius independently for bonding substrates up to 50 mm by 50 mm, with a resolution of 1 degree Celsius or better, and uniformity of 5 degrees Celsius or less. The chuck shall allow an average heating rate of 5 degrees Celsius per second or higher and an average cooling rate of 1 degree Celsius per second or higher over the entire temperature range. It is acceptable that the requirement is met with an additional substrate chuck heating unit or by the same chuck heating unit described in III.4.c

5. ALIGNMENT CAPABILITY

a. The automatic die bonder system shall be capable of performing alignment between the chip and the bottom substrate in manual and automatic modes with an integrated, automated alignment microscope with digital camera image capture.

b. The microscope system shall be capable of acquiring images with objective magnification of 10 x or higher, with an equivalent pixel resolution of less than or equal to 0.5 microns per pixel during alignment.

c. For sample illumination, the microscope shall offer individually operable light sources producing light centered at red, green and blue wavelengths in the visible spectrum, to allow for the best imaging contrast to be achieved during alignment for the widest range of device types.

d. The imaging field of view for alignment shall be of 500 microns x 500 microns or greater.

Better consideration will be given to systems offering larger fields-of-view. Larger fields of view are important for larger devices, where alignment fiducials and device features are separated by more than the specified distances.

e. The alignment microscope travel shall be greater than or equal to 100 mm.

f. The alignment accuracy shall be of less than or equal to +/- 500 nanometers, based on repeated measurements of automatically placed dies on a substrate with alignment marks.

Better consideration will be given to systems capable of demonstrating placement accuracies lower than +/ 500 nanometers. High alignment and placement accuracy is required because of hybrid bonding and advanced microelectronic and photonic device integration experiments and fabrication runs that are anticipated.

g. The automatic die bonder system shall be capable of face-up alignment and placement in addition to standard, face-down alignment and placement. The accuracy for face-up placement shall be of 5 microns or less. Better consideration shall be given to systems offering better face-up placement accuracy. High face-up placement accuracy enables a wider range of integrated photonic devices.

6. LEVELING CAPABILITY

a. The automatic die bonder system shall offer the ability to level the bond tool and the substrate chuck prior to bonding.

b. Physical contact between the die and the substrate is not allowable before bonding.

7. BONDING CAPABILITY

a. The automatic die bonder system shall be capable of providing a minimum bonding force of at most 0.1 Newtons.

b. The automatic die bonder system shall be capable of providing a maximum bonding force of at least 2 Newtons. Better consideration will be given to systems offering wider force ranges up to 500 Newtons. The machine will be a shared resource in the CNST nanofab. A wider force range is desirable since it will enable a wider variety of projects where it may be applied.

c. The automatic die bonder shall be capable of reading the applied force within the full offered operating range, with an uncertainty of 2 % or less of the full scale. For example, if the offered force range is between 0.2 N and 10 N, the force readout uncertainty shall be of +/- 0.1 N.

Better consideration will be given to systems that offer lower measurement uncertainties.

Low measurement uncertainty is important to ensure good comparability between samples and runs.

8. PROCESS RECORDING

a. The tool control software shall allow recording of various measured parameters over time during bonding, with a sampling interval to be specified by the user.

b. At a minimum, the following parameters shall be recorded: temperatures of substrate chuck and bond head, bond head z-position and applied force.

c. The system shall allow all logged data to be exported to CSV-based ASCII format.

9. AUTOMATIC OPERATION AND CALIBRATION

a. The system software shall provide a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that:

i) Allows full control of all the automated flip chip die bonder’s functions.

ii) Displays the overall state of the tool and its subcomponents.

iii) Allows microscope imaging of the substrate and chip.

iv) Displays bond parameters such as applied force and temperature as a function of time in real-time during operation.

v) Offers multiple levels of access, for instance, general operator user and system administrator.

vi) Allows the operator to change the state of the tool, for instance: loading and unloading, calibration and operation modes; and selecting and running process recipes.

vii) Runs Windows 10 or newer OS with a USB-based keyboard and mouse.

viii) Allows for manual, automatic and semi-automatic die bonding to be performed.

ix) Allows full automatic calibration of the machine to be performed.

b. The control software shall be able to perform automatic die-to-substrate alignment based on a wide range of alignment mark types. Better consideration will be given to software with alignment based on machine vision techniques, which are known to work for wide-ranging user-provided alignment patterns. Such capability is important to allow high bonding accuracy to be achieved for the widest possible range of device types.

10. UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY

a. The vendor shall provide an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) for the system controls.

Power bumps are reasonably common in the CNST nanofab, and a small capacity UPS is necessary to allow safe operation in such events.

11. INSTALLATION SPACE

a. The equipment shall be installed in an ISO 14644 class 5 (FED 209 class 100) cleanroom space with a raised floor and a VC-C vibration standard subfloor. Nitrogen, compressed air and house vacuum outlets are available in an adjacent chase. The raised floor is 25 inches (62.5

cm) above the subfloor. Because modifications to the cleanroom space, including walls, raised floor and subfloor, and exhaust and electrical installations come at a significant premium, better consideration will be given to systems that require fewer additional facility needs to meet all specifications, beyond what is available in the cleanroom. Better consideration will be given to systems that require no connections to a cleanroom exhaust in order to be operated and meet all specifications without degradation to the surrounding class

100 clean environment. Better consideration will be given to systems that require fewer or no modifications to the cleanroom raised floor and subfloor in order to be operated and meet all specifications, including replacement or modification of raised floor tiles, reinforcement of the raised floor supporting substructure, and installation of vibration isolation pedestals on the subfloor to support the instrument.

12. INTERLOCKING CAPABILITY

a. The system shall include all appropriate interlocks, such as enclosure door locking during operation, to ensure safe operation and to keep NanoFab user community safe.

b. The automated die bonder system shall have inputs that NIST can connect to, which prevents software, recipe, and processing operations. NIST uses an equipment control system that only allows trained users access to equipment. The connection to the automated die bonder system will be a relay closure which takes a DC voltage from the system and switches it on and off at automated die bonder input. This input shall prevent recipe starts and cause an abort condition if disabled during a run.

13. DOCUMENTATION - All documents shall be submitted in electronic format.

a. The contractor shall provide a list of required facility hookups including electrical, process gas, and process cooling water within thirty (30) calendar days from award.

b. The contractor shall provide overview installation mechanical drawings of the system which indicate the system size and required clearances within thirty (30) calendar days from award.

c. Upon delivery, the contractor shall supply instruction manuals for the main system and all subsystems in digital format.

BASE - Line Item 0002:

Description: Chuck Tooling

a. For chuck tooling, materials with a low coefficient of thermal expansion shall be used to closely match silicon.

b. Three (3) sets of upper chuck (bond head) tooling shall be provided (die size to be determined by NIST).

c. One (1) set of lower chuck tooling shall be provided (vacuum groove patterns to be determined by NIST).

BASE - Line Item 0003:

Description: Initial Warranty Quantity: 1 Year The Contractor shall provide, at a minimum, a one-year warranty for the entire system. The warranty shall cover all parts, labor and travel. The warranty shall commence upon formal Government acceptance.

OPTION – Line Item 0004:

Description: Chuck Tooling Quantity: 2

The Contractor shall provide two (2) additional sets of upper chuck (bond head) tooling (die size to be determined by NIST).

Option Line Items 0005 and 0006: are for Extended Warranty/Maintenance Services - The

Contractor shall provide options to extend the initial one (1) year warranty, for up to an additional two

(2) years, to cover all equipment and labor. Option years to be exercised at the Government’s discretion, in one-year increments. The extended warranty shall include the following:

• Two on-site preventive maintenance visits per year.

• One or more emergency call on-site service per year, provided within a period of 72 hours form the initial call.

• System testing against performance metrics, as needed, and optimization.

• Unlimited telephone support and free software upgrade to most recent version for configured system.

• On-site field service (commencing after the one-year warranty). Service shall be provided within 5-15 calendar days of the initial telephone call from the end user and shall cover all costs including parts (parts include general parts for the instrument and consumables), shipping, labor, travel, and other expenses necessary to replace or repair the system.

OPTION – Line Item 0005 Description: Option Year 1 of Extended Warranty/Maintenance Services Quantity: 1 Year

OPTION – Line Item 0006 Description: Option Year 2 of Extended Warranty/Maintenance Services Quantity: 1 Year

IV. INSTALLATION

The system shall be installed by the Contractor and meet contract specifications no later than seven (7) calendar days after delivery. Installation, at a minimum, shall include uncrating/unpackaging of all equipment, rigging, set-up and hook-up of the system, demonstration of all specifications, and removal of trash. Onsite installation and demonstration shall be done at the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, (Gaithersburg, MD, Building 215). All installation requirements are identified below:

• After consultation with the NIST Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), the contractor shall determine if a site inspection is required before delivery.

• The contractor shall be responsible for uncrating and placing the system in the CNST nanofab.

• NIST will install all required facility hookups to the system.

V. TRAINING

The contractor shall conduct an in-person training session for up to 4 users, at NIST, Gaithersburg. The training shall provide a thorough demonstration of all system/solution functions, maintenance, data administration, and basic troubleshooting. Training shall be provided during normal business hours, between 8:00am and 5:00pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays, and will be coordinated with the NIST Contracting

Officers Representative (COR) to ensure maximum availability of NIST personnel. Training is to occur within seven calendar days of installation. The training may be completed on-site at NIST immediately after installation and demonstration of specifications.

VI. DELIVERABLES

Description Quantity Due Date Format

List of facility hookups, Installation mechanical drawings, instruction manuals

1 Within 30 calendar days from award

Electronic

(pdf)

Automated flip-chip die bonder

1 Within 180 calendar days from award

Upper (chip) chuck tools 3 sets Within 30 calendar days from when

NIST provides die size to vendor

Lower (substrate) chuck tools

1 set Within 30 calendar days from when

NIST provides vacuum groove patterns to vendor

Installation and demonstration of specifications

1 Within 7 calendar days from delivery of Automated flip-chip die bonder.

In person

Training 1 session for up to

4 people

Within 7 calendar days of installation and demonstration of specifications.

In person

VII. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

a. All work shall be performed at the 100 Bureau Dr. Building 215, Room B103

Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

b. The government will provide access to Building 215 to the contractor for the entire period of performance of this contract.

c. The day-to-day supervision and direct control over the work performed by the on-site contractor personnel shall be the sole responsibility of the contractor.

VIII. DELIVERY TERMS

Delivery shall be F.O.B Destination and shall occur in accordance with the delivery due dates provided in the above table.

FOB Destination means: The contractor shall pack and mark the shipment in conformance with carrier requirements, deliver the shipment in good order and condition to the point of delivery specified in the purchase order, be responsible for any loss of and/or damage to the goods occurring before receipt and acceptance of the shipment by the consignee at the delivery point specified in the purchase order; and pay all charges to the specified point of delivery. The contractor shall deliver all Line Items to:

DOC/NIST

Shipping & Receiving 100 Bureau Dr. Building 301 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 Attn: Nathali Medina (COR)

***Due to ongoing limited site access of the NIST facilities, the Awardee SHALL confirm with

Initial Warranty 12 Months Upon Government acceptance of

OPTION: Chuck Tooling-

Upper Chuck

2 sets Within 30 calendar days from when

NIST provides die size to vendor

OPTION: Option Year 1 of

Extended

Warranty/Maintenance

Services

12 months Upon exercise of option

OPTION: Option Year 2 of Extended

Warranty/Maintenance

Services

12 months Upon exercise of option the Designated Government Official and the Contracting Officer prior to ANY shipment to

NIST***

IX. INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

In addition to the inspection and acceptance terms articulated in 52.212-4, the Government reserves the right to perform such performance tests and evaluations as defined below to verify specified system performance. Such tests and evaluations, if performed, shall be conducted within the environment that the system is to be operated. The Contractor has the right to be present during the tests and evaluations, if performed, at the Contractor’s expense.

Performance Tests:

1. Test for the specified placement accuracy, based on vendor provided reference samples.

2. Demonstration of fully automated bonding of a set of silicon dioxide test die, to be provided by NIST.

NIST may choose at its discretion to forego this part of acceptance testing.

A visual inspection of the equipment will be performed by the NIST COR to identify surface defects or any form of indication that any equipment was damaged during transport to NIST. The Government shall have sole discretion to require repair or replacement of damaged and/or nonconforming supplies at no cost to the Government. The Government at any time prior to acceptance shall reject the equipment due to defects and/or nonconformance. The vendor is responsible for latent defects discovered any time after final inspection. However, the extent of its liability shall be prorated over the useful life of the equipment.

Ownership of the equipment shall transfer to NIST upon acceptance by the Government.

The Government will test, inspect, and accept or reject the equipment within 7 calendar days of the receipt of the equipment unless otherwise indicated above. The Government reserves the right to conduct quality assurance testing to confirm that a given instrument(s) meets the manufacturer’s and/or the Government’s performance specifications. It is anticipated that the equipment will meet all manufacturer’s specifications and/or the Government’s performance specifications identified in the most recent operations and maintenance manual for each piece of equipment and/or in this document.

X. TRAVEL

a. The contractor shall be responsible for all travel expenses.

XI. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

Safety: The Contractor employee shall be responsible for knowing and complying with all installation safety prevention regulations. Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety, fire prevention, and waste disposal.

Security: NIST is a restricted campus. An identification badge is required for access for entry into buildings and is shown to the armed Security Police when entering the campus.

Regular Business Hours. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays and NIST closures.

Identification Badges: Contractor employees shall comply with NIST identification and access requirements. Each Contractor employee shall wear a visible identification badge provided by the NIST Security Office. The contractor shall provide personnel that pass required government background checks to be issued badges for work on site.

Vehicle Registration: All Contractor employees shall register their vehicles with the NIST Security Office to gain access to the campus. A valid driver’s license, Government-furnished civilian ID, proof of insurance and current registration shall be presented to the NIST Security Office, at which time a NIST vehicle pass will be issued. The pass shall be displayed on the vehicle in accordance with NIST Security Office instructions.