Rapid Detection of Cleanliness on Direct Bonded Copper Substrate by Using UV Hyperspectral Imaging

Abstract

In the manufacturing process of electrical devices, ensuring the cleanliness of technical surfaces, such as direct bonded copper substrates, is crucial. An in-line monitoring system for quality checking must provide sufficiently resolved lateral data in a short time. UV hyperspectral imaging is a promising in-line method for rapid, contactless, and large-scale detection of contamination; thus, UV hyperspectral imaging (225–400 nm) was utilized to characterize the cleanliness of direct bonded copper in a non-destructive way. In total, 11 levels of cleanliness were prepared, and a total of 44 samples were measured to develop multivariate models for characterizing and predicting the cleanliness levels. The setup included a pushbroom imager, a deuterium lamp, and a conveyor belt for laterally resolved measurements of copper surfaces. A principal component analysis (PCA) model effectively differentiated among the sample types based on the first two principal components with approximately 100.0% explained variance. A partial least squares regression (PLS-R) model to determine the optimal sonication time showed reliable performance, with R2cv = 0.928 and RMSECV = 0.849. This model was able to predict the cleanliness of each pixel in a testing sample set, exemplifying a step in the manufacturing process of direct bonded copper substrates. Combined with multivariate data modeling, the in-line UV prototype system demonstrates a significant potential for further advancement towards its application in real-world, large-scale processes.