The use of lasers for semiconductor scribing/singulation applications

摘要

Semiconductor manufacturing, is dominated by the relentless demand for electronic products with greater performance, minimized dimensions, increased sophistication, and higher speed, all at reduced process cost. Logic device manufacturers need to satisfy this demand by producing integrated circuits that meet the predicted density increase encapsulated in Moore's law. This has led to the use of low-κ dielectrics. For memory devices, thinner wafers are used to enable close stacking of multiple dies in a single low-profile package. And in a third market segment, newer photonic devices are using novel materials such as GaAs, SiC, GaN and sapphire. Traditional mechanical methods are struggling to meet the singulation needs in all three of these device types. Yet at the same time, market realities dictate that the effective cost for increased processing power, novel photonic performance, and higher memory density all continue to fall. As a result, laser-based methods are being adopted in all three areas. In this overview paper, we examine the drivers for each of these market segments and see how laser technology is meeting the singulation demands of current and future devices.