This seems to be one of the most popular questions in our industry these days. Here at Entegris, we've been working with the SEMI® standards committee and top chipmakers to make this new technology a reality. This week, SEMI standards will most likely be adopted during SEMICON® West. After these standards are adopted, it's just a matter of finalizing designs and securing capital investments.
Entegris has representatives co-chairing some of the SEMI standards committees, and are seeking to develop a methodology for shipping and transporting such large wafers to cut die costs in half. One of the biggest challenges is the sheer size of the wafer. Not only are the wafers larger and heavier, they require larger carriers as well. These sizes increase the cost of shipping and may mandate the use of automation—design challenges we are committed to solve. See our
single and multiple 450 mm wafer carriers.