Laser Drilling of High-Density Through Glass Vias (TGVs) for 2.5D and 3D Packaging

Thin glass (< 100 microns) is a promising material from which advanced interposers for high density electrical interconnects for 2.5D chip packaging can be produced. But thin glass is extremely brittle, so mechanical micromachining to create through glass vias (TGVs) is particularly challenging. In this article we show how laser processing using deep UV excimer lasers at a wavelength of 193 nm provides a viable solution capable of drilling dense patterns of TGVs with high hole counts. Based on mask illumination, this method supports parallel drilling of up over 1,000 through vias in 30 to 100μm thin glass sheets. (We also briefly discuss that ultrafast lasers are an excellent alternative for laser drilling of TGVs at lower pattern densities.) We present data showing that this process can deliver the requisite hole quality and can readily achieve future-proof TGV diameters as small 10μm together with a corresponding reduction in pitch size.