About Featured Expert: Brewer Science

Brewer Science are global industry experts in advanced semiconductor materials and processes, developing and manufacturing enabling materials for lithography, thin-wafer handling, advanced packaging and microdevice fabrication.  Founded in 1981 by Dr. Terry Brewer, the company established its semiconductor industry presence through its development of antireflective coating materials. Its current lithography portfolio spans top and bottom antireflective coatings, extreme ultraviolet materials, spin-on-carbon and silicon-containing hardmask materials, gap-filling and planarization materials and multilayer patterning systems.

Brewer Science’s OptiStack® multilayer systems combine a carbon-rich underlayer, silicon hardmask and thin photoresist to support pattern transfer at high aspect ratios. The multilayer architecture provides the etch selectivity required when thin photoresist layers used in advanced lithography cannot withstand direct pattern transfer into the underlying substrate. Available materials support substrate planarization, optical control and pattern fidelity across increasingly complex device topographies.

For advanced packaging applications, Brewer Science provides temporary bonding, debonding and protective coating materials used in thin-wafer handling, 3D integration, MEMS, fan-out wafer-level packaging, compound semiconductor processing and power device manufacturing. Its WaferBOND® and BrewerBOND® material systems support wafer thinning, TSV reveal, redistribution layer formation, passivation, metallization and other backside processes using standard semiconductor equipment.

Brewer Science Featured Expert Profile logo on Semiconductor Industry MonthlyThe BrewerBOND 305 series is comprised of organic temporary wafer bonding materials engineered for BEOL processing at temperatures of up to +300°C, depending on downstream process parameters. These materials support low-force mechanical or laser debonding when paired with a compatible release layer and can achieve post-thinning total thickness variation below 2 µm. In addition, BrewerBOND 701 laser release material offers thermal stability up to +400°C and supports laser debonding across wavelengths from 248 to 355 nm. Its low-stress separation characteristics are designed for high-throughput production environments, including applications where mechanical loading during carrier separation could damage thinned device wafers.

For mechanical debonding, both BrewerBOND 510 and 530 release materials provide compatibility with bonding materials processed at temperatures up to +300°C. The 530 material is designed for higher-stress temporary bonding applications across fan-out wafer-level packaging, 3D integrated circuits and power semiconductor devices, while supporting low-force separation and carrier substrate reuse.

WaferBOND HT-10.11 material supports temporary bonding and backside processing of wafers thinned below 75 µm at temperatures up to +250°C. It is compatible with thermal slide, chemical, mechanical and laser release methods, allowing process engineers to match bonding and debonding behavior to the device structure, carrier material and downstream process conditions.

Beyond its materials, Brewer Science also provides temporary bonding and debonding process development and analysis for wafer sizes from 100 to 300 mm. The company’s capabilities include wafer and film thickness measurement, uniformity analysis and bonded-wafer bond-line quality evaluation, supporting feasibility work and subsequent transfer into automated high-volume manufacturing environments.

With its headquarters in Rolla, Missouri, Brewer Science is an employee-owned and Certified B Corporation. Its combination of materials development, analytical capabilities and semiconductor process integration expertise supports device manufacturers addressing lithographic scaling, ultrathin wafer handling and the increasingly demanding material requirements of heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging.

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(Editor’s Note: All trademarks mentioned in this article, including company names, product names, and logos, are the property of their respective owners. Use of these trademarks is for informational purposes only and does not imply any endorsement.)

Molly Bakewell Chamberlin
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