High die strength semiconductor wafer processing method and system
AssigneeNXP B.V.
InventorsHARTMUT BUENNING, SASCHA MOELLER, MARTIN LAPKE, GUIDO ALBERMANN, THOMAS ROHLEDER
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Abstract
Embodiments of methods and systems for processing a semiconductor wafer are described. In one embodiment, a method for processing a semiconductor wafer involves performing laser stealth dicing on the semiconductor wafer to form a stealth dicing layer within the semiconductor wafer and after performing laser stealth dicing, cleaning the semiconductor wafer from a back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer with a blade to remove at least a portion of the stealth dicing layer. Other embodiments are also described.
Claims18
A method for processing a semiconductor wafer comprising:
- performing laser stealth dicing on a semiconductor wafer to form a stealth dicing layer within the semiconductor wafer, comprising applying a laser beam through a substrate material of the semiconductor wafer at a focus point that is within the semiconductor wafer to change the substrate material around the focus point and propagate a crack in the semiconductor wafer;
- thinning the semiconductor wafer to a predefined thickness before performing laser stealth dicing;
- after performing laser stealth dicing, cleaning the semiconductor wafer from a back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer with a blade to remove at least a portion of the stealth dicing layer, comprising cutting through the back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer along the crack without cutting entirely through and separating the semiconductor wafer;
- and
- separating the semiconductor wafer into individual dies using tape expansion after cleaning the semiconductor wafer.
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A system for processing a semiconductor wafer comprising:
- a laser stealth dicing system configured to perform laser stealth dicing on a semiconductor wafer to form a stealth dicing layer within the semiconductor wafer, wherein the laser stealth dicing system includes a focusing lens configured to apply a laser beam through a substrate material of the semiconductor wafer at a focus point that is within the semiconductor wafer to change the substrate material around the focus point and to propagate a crack in the semiconductor wafer;
- a wafer thinning system configured to thin the semiconductor wafer to a predefined thickness before performing laser stealth dicing;
- a blade cleaning system configured to, after performing laser stealth dicing, clean the semiconductor wafer from a back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer with a blade to remove at least a portion of the stealth dicing layer, wherein the blade cleaning system is further configured to cut through the back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer along the crack without cutting entirely through and separating the semiconductor wafer;
- and
- a wafer separation system configured to separate the semiconductor wafer into individual dies using tape expansion after cleaning the semiconductor wafer
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A method for processing a semiconductor wafer comprising:
- performing laser stealth dicing on a semiconductor wafer to form a stealth dicing layer within the semiconductor wafer, wherein performing laser stealth dicing comprises applying a laser beam through a silicon substrate of the semiconductor wafer at a focus point that is within the silicon substrate to change a monocrystalline silicon structure around the focus point into a polycrystalline silicon structure and to propagate a crack in the semiconductor wafer;
- thinning the semiconductor wafer to a predefined thickness before performing laser stealth dicing;
- after performing laser stealth dicing, cleaning the semiconductor wafer from a back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer with a blade to remove at least a portion of the stealth dicing layer, wherein cleaning the semiconductor wafer includes cutting through the back-side surface of the semiconductor wafer at the stealth dicing layer using the blade without cutting entirely through the semiconductor wafer;
- and
- separating the semiconductor wafer into individual dies using tape expansion after cleaning the semiconductor wafer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.