Debonding Temporarily Bonded Semiconductor Wafers

A method for debonding a device wafer from a carrier wafer comprising:

• temporarily bonding a first side of a carrier wafer to a device wafer using an adhesive layer, the device wafer having a thickness of less than 10 microns;
• initiating a crack near an edge of the adhesive layer by applying a perturbation with a crack initiator;
• and
• applying a controlled force perpendicular to a first side of the carrier wafer, the controlled force flexing the first side of the carrier wafer away from the device wafer to control propagation of the crack.

A method for debonding a device wafer from a carrier wafer, a first side of the carrier wafer temporarily bonded to the device wafer by an adhesive layer, the method comprising:

• initiating a crack near an edge of the adhesive layer by applying a perturbation using a crack initiator;
• contacting the carrier wafer with a holdback device at (1) a circumferential edge of the carrier wafer and at (2) the first side of the carrier wafer;
• and
• applying, with the holdback device, a controlled force perpendicular to the first side of the carrier wafer, the controlled force flexing the first side of the carrier wafer away from the device wafer to control propagation of the crack.