Paper
12 April 2005 Particle-free semiconductor cutting using the water jet guided laser
Delphine Perrottet, Akos Spiegel, Frank Wagner, Roy Housh, Bernold Richerzhagen, John Manley
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
For many years, wafer cutting has posed a challenge to laser-based cutting techniques because of the brittle nature of semiconductors and the exacting requirements for cleanliness. Since conventional laser cutting generates a strong heat-affected zone and a large amount of particles, abrasive sawing is currently the standard process for semiconductor wafer dicing. However, abrasive sawing can no longer fulfill the demands of new, emerging types of semiconductor devices like those based on thin wafers and compound semiconductors. New separation methods are investigated here. The water jet guided laser is a relatively recent technology that offers not only a significantly reduced heat-affected zone but also a cleaner wafer surface. This is due, first, to the water jet, which cools the material between the laser pulses and removes a significant amount of molten material generated by laser ablation. However, the system has recently been upgraded by adding a device that covers the entire wafer surface with a well-controlled thin water film throughout the cutting process. The few generated particles are thus kept in suspension and will not deposit on the wafer surface.
© (2005) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Delphine Perrottet, Akos Spiegel, Frank Wagner, Roy Housh, Bernold Richerzhagen, and John Manley "Particle-free semiconductor cutting using the water jet guided laser", Proc. SPIE 5713, Photon Processing in Microelectronics and Photonics IV, (12 April 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.585748
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CITATIONS
Cited by 6 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Laser cutting

Semiconducting wafers

Particles

Semiconductor lasers

Semiconductors

Contamination

Silicon

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