Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Wafer-to-wafer hybrid bonding is emerging as a key enabler for dense three-dimensional integration, yet its progress is constrained by misalignment between bonded wafers. Here we present a comprehensive, decade-long analysis of bonding overlay performance across multiple generations of bonding equipment and test vehicles, revealing how systematic and stochastic distortions limit alignment accuracy. Advancement in bonding hardware and integration flow have reduced total overlay errors by nearly an order of magnitude. Additionally, the application of lithography pre-compensation can halve the dominant residual distortion, enabling a practical route toward sub-25-nanometre bonding overlay without relying solely on next-generation bonders. Principal component analysis links remaining variation to incoming wafer shape and recipe-dependent scaling control, defining the fundamental limits and guiding a roadmap for achieving high-yield, nanometre-accurate hybrid bonding in future three-dimensional systems</p>