Helia Photonics: the ultimate innovators in thin film optical coatings

In response to high demand for precise thickness optoelectronic wafers we have expanded our services & now offer wafer back-grinding, thinning and polishing with a range of precision lapping and polishing systems. We can process many different materials, including; InP, GaAs, GaN, GaP, Sapphire, Silicon & Glass with diameters up to 4’’ (100mm). Automatic plate flatness control & end point thickness control are utilised to produce superior results:

• Flatness of ± 2 μm over a 4’’ (100mm) diameter wafer
• Total thickness variation (TTV) of ± 3 μm over a 4’’ (100mm) diameter wafer
• End point to within 1 μm of the operator’s target thickness

Our automated wafer-substrate bonding system secures the wafer surface to protect from damage during back-grinding & helps prevent surface contamination. An eco-clear cycle follows the thinning process & ensures the safe de-bonding of the wafer from the carrier substrate, removing residues from the front side of the wafer.

Laser Scribing

Helia’s new laser-scribe facility enables us to cleave & singulate devices regardless of substrate crystal orientation. This is a great tool for the accurate scribing of non-orthogonal materials such as sapphire & GaN, or devices where the crystal plane does not match photolith-defined orientations.

This tool can also be used to define regular or irregular features within metals, glass & semiconductor materials.

Thinning & Polishing

We have a range of systems for uniformly removing material from planar substrates to reduce their thickness (e.g. coarse removal ~100’s μm) & polish (e.g. fine removal at μm scale). Materials such as silicon, GaAs, InP & glass can be processed at Helia’s facility. We can handle substrates with diameters up to 6″/150mm.

In addition, these facilities can be used to polish facets on solid state laser rods, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) & arrayed-waveguide gratings (AWG).