Characterization of metal pad condition after vapor HF release process for MEMS packaging application

This paper reports the characterization of metal pad condition after vapor hydrofluoric (VHF) release process for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) packaging application. There was a few different stacks of dielectric materials with metal layer been proposed as the test vehicle for the characterization analysis. The surface micrograph, roughness and bond ability of metal pad been studied in order to characterize the of metal pad condition after VHF release. The bond ability of aluminium (AlSiCu) pad after VHF released been analyzed through different metrology measurement such as Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Auger Spectroscopy Electron (AES), bond shear and wire pull test after wire bonding process. The analysis results were summarized and reported in this paper.