Semiconductor substrate having increased facture strength and method of forming the same
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsDavid O. Ramos, Martin Bresciani
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Abstract
A method of processing a semiconductor substrate to increase fracture strength and a semiconductor substrate formed by that method. In a preferred embodiment, the semiconductor substrate is utilized in a printhead. The semiconductor substrate has a feature such as an ink feed channel machined therein, and following machining the die is processed to remove material adjacent the machined feature to reduce micro-cracks or other defects that may have been created during the feature machining process. The crack containing material may be removed by several procedures. A preferred procedure is etching with a solution containing TMAH.
Claims17
A method of processing a semiconductor substrate, comprising the steps of:
- machining the semiconductor substrate to define a feature therein, a machining process forming cracks that reduce a fracture strength of the substrate;
- and
- removing portions of the said semiconductor substrate proximate said cracks so as to improve the fracture strength of the substrate;
- wherein said removing step comprises increasing a radius of at least one of the cracks.
A method of manufacturing a printhead, comprising the steps of:
- fabricating printhead circuitry on a semiconductor substrate;
- machining an ink feed channel in that substrate proximate the printhead circuitry,the machining process forming cracks that reduce a fracture strength of the substrate;
- mounting a barrier layer over said substrate;
- removing portions of said substrate proximate said cracks so as to improve the fracture strength of the substrate;
- and
- attaching a nozzle plate on said barrier layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.