Packaging

Photoresist used to protect the surface during the dicing process can be hard to remove because the cut dies are sitting on a tape mounted on a stainless steel frame. SicOzone Strip makes it possible to remove it without damaging the surface or dies.

Plasma dicing is the latest technology for dicing wafers. It is commonly used for wafers with very small dies and a large number of dicing traces. The dicing procedure creates polymers and hardens the photoresist. Both can be difficult to remove, especially when they are mounted on a wafer frame. The PDC/PPDC process solves both problems, allowing for the stripping of the resist and the removal of polymers.

Backside etching is the process of removing microns from the back side of a substrate. The process is often used for thinning materials such as Silicon (Si), Gallium Arsenide (GaAs), Germanium (Ge), and Glass in a wet environment. Maintaining uniformity is critical, with targets of 5% within a wafer, 10% from wafer to wafer, and batch to batch, in terms of „total thickness variation.“ Precise equipment control is essential to manage the exothermic etching reaction and ensure consistent results.

Stress relief is a key process used to reduce substrate stress resulting from grinding-induced cracks. This is achieved by removing a few microns from the substrate, typically in the range of 5 to 15µm. The goal is to ensure uniformity, with targets of <3% within a wafer and 5% from wafer to wafer. Effective equipment control manages the exothermic reaction involved in this process.

RCA Clean is a conventional method used in semiconductor processes for cleaning organics, metals, and performing oxide etches. It meets industry standards with particle counts consistently below 20 @ 0.12µm, minimal metal contamination below 1E10, and uniformities consistently less than 1%. This well-established technique remains effective in chip manufacturing for maintaining cleanliness and performance.