However laser ablation has its own problems.
Laser cutting silicon wafer.
Laserod s systems division builds and integrates a full line of diode and fiber laser micromachining equipment for uses that include silicon wafer resizing resistor trimming cutting thin metals and plastics scribing substrates of alumina and silicon resistor trimming and patterning thin films such as ito on glass or plastic.
Cut features are round holes with no cracking or rough edges.
The same system can be used to downsize larger silicon wafers for use in smaller format processing tools.
The figure shows 700 µm wafer downsizing top view and side view.
For silicon wafers less than 100 μm thick laser ablation offers an alternative to the blade technique which is too powerful for the delicate thin wafers.
All that is required is a drawing to getting started.
Due to the reflection it only made slight scratch and could not cut.
Material thickness up to 1mm.
Blackstar is a wafer dicing system utilizing fantom width laser dicing technology fwldt invented and patented by laser photonics and modified to accommodate the requirements of a silicon wafer singulation process without affecting the existent dicing method processes or procedures.
Vaporizing the wafer with a laser along the dicing path creates molten debris and microcracks.
In addition complex features such as channels and pockets and channels can be machined in silicon wafers.
Sapphire silicon wafer cutter.
Laser cutting of silicon wafers is possible in all sizes and thicknesses with feature sizes as small as 20 microns.
Solutions are available for machining smaller diameter wafers from larger ones solar cell downsizing or silicon stencil cutting.
Dicing of silicon wafers may also be performed by a laser based technique the so called stealth dicing process.
It works as a two stage process in which defect regions are firstly introduced into the wafer by scanning the beam along intended cutting lines and secondly an underlying carrier membrane is expanded to induce fracture.