Stealth Dicing technology is a laser dicing technology that uses lasers, with a completely new concept. The range of devices to which this technology applies will be expanding to include MEMS devices and memory devices and others, due to such features as the "completely dry process", "no kerf loss", "no chipping", "high bending strength" and the like.
SDBG (Stealth Dicing Before Grinding) is a wafer dicing process we offer to improve the structural strength of ultra-thin chip devices less than 50 µm thick. In the SDBG process, a laser beam is first irradiated on a wafer to form modified layers (Stealth Dicing layers or SD layers) and cracks inside the wafer and the wafer is then thinned by grinding and polishing. Since the SD layers are also removed by grinding and polishing, potentially harmful factors that lower the structural strength of chip devices can be eliminated to allow fabricating ultra-thin chips with high quality and high strength.
The SDBG process is also ideal for wafers with DAF (Die Attach Film) as well as Si wafers with stacked patterns including low-k (low dielectric constant) films.
2. Laser irradiation
SD layers are in BHC (*4) state.
3. Grinding and polishing
SD layers are also removed by grinding and polishing.
5. Expansion
DAF (*3) is also split during expansion.
(No DAF(*3) processing is needed.)
NOTE: Processes may vary depending on devices.
To make the SDBG process more practical and useful, Stealth Dicing technology utilizes an optical system called LBA (Laser Beam Adjuster) designed specifically for Stealth Dicing using an LCOS-SLM (Liquid Crystal on Silicon - Spatial Light Modulator) that we developed in-house. LCOS-SLM is a reflective type spatial light modulator that can freely modulate the phase of light and display any desired pattern on its liquid crystal surface, allowing high-quality and high-throughput laser processing according to user applications.
The laser beam is expanded to an optimal shape by the beam expander and irradiated onto the LCOS-SLM with any desired pattern displayed. The laser beam is next phase-modulated by the voltage-controlled liquid crystal in LCOS-SLM and passes through the image transfer optical system where an image of the wavefront shape is transferred onto the objective lens surface. The beam then passes through the objective lens and is focused internally within the wafer.
LBA can correct the laser beam focused internally within a wafer or split it into multiple beams for optimal laser dicing. For example, aberration correction improves the beam focusing performance, which extends the cracks stemming from SD layers and so reduces the number of required SD layers. Multipoint simultaneous processing allows forming multiple SD laser beams at the same time along the wafer thickness direction by splitting the laser beam emitted from the objective lens into multiple beams. Each of the split laser beams can be controlled to make aberration corrections and to adjust the laser output ratio according to the dicing depth. When needed, the laser beam can also be split into multiple beams in the laser beam scan direction, making it possible to perform high-speed processing by low frequency laser or to improve the dicing quality during simultaneous processing.
(Red: SD layer / White: Crack)
(Red: SD layer / White: Crack)
NOTE: The laser beam focusing diagram is an image.
Stealth Dicing technology was developed about 20 years ago. Since then its applications have expanded to cover a wide range of devices and materials due to continuous improvements in lasers and optical systems. More recently, mass production of memory devices has started using the SDBG process, which was the goal from the very start of developing Stealth Dicing technology.
When employing our sophisticated Stealth Dicing technology, please be aware that there are also a host of patents for value-added processing that should be checked out in advance. The table below shows patents we currently hold for the SDBG process and related LBA optical systems designed specifically for Stealth Dicing.
Country | SDBG process (Stealth Dicing Before Grinding) Patent No. |
Stealth Dicing dedicated optical system LBA (Laser Beam Adjuster) Patent No. |
---|---|---|
Japan | 4995256, 4358762, 3762409, 4781661, 4563097 | 5863891, 6258787, 5575200, 5255109, 5479925, 5148575, 5692969, 5599563, 4402708, 5775265, 5844089 |
United States | 8268704, 7566635, 8304325, 8314013, 8518800, 8518801, 8519511, 8889525, 9142458, 9287177, 9711405, 9553023, 9548246, 9543207, 9543256, 10068801, 10622255, 7939430, 8058103, 8551817 |
8134099, 9428413, 10622254, 10328521, 8755107, 8526091, 9415461, 9488831, 10324285, 8610993, 8441709, 9001411 |
South Korea | 10-0715576, 10-0848408, 10-1283294, 10-0827879 | 10-1013286, 10-1212936, 10-1302336, 10-1402475, 10-1711247, 10-1564523, 10-1711311, 10-2303178, 10-1839439, 10-1708066, 10-1708161, 10-1605219, 10-1577096 |
China | ZL03805866.9, ZL200510085444.0, ZL200610164347.5, ZL200610164346.0, ZL200710182348.7, ZL200580038895.7, ZL200480026066.2 |
ZL200880101826.X, ZL201010525444.9, ZL201210046724.0, ZL201410002145.5, ZL201580028164.8, ZL201180007586.9, ZL200980134183.3, ZL201410406348.0, ZL200980152729.8, ZL200980152900.5 |
Taiwan | I278027, I363665, I321828 | I394627, I573649, I595953, I638697, I515065, I524958 |
Germany | 60339137.0, 60337873.0, 60313900.0, 60350530.9, 60350449.3, 60352263.7, 602005045636.8, 602004031963.5 |
602008044635.2, 602009051537.3, 602009041607.3, 602009041757.6 |
It looks like you're in the . If this is not your location, please select the correct region or country below.
You're headed to Hamamatsu Photonics website for US (English). If you want to view an other country's site, the optimized information will be provided by selecting options below.
In order to use this website comfortably, we use cookies. For cookie details please see our cookie policy.
This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in this cookie policy. By closing the cookie warning banner, scrolling the page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to the use of cookies.
Hamamatsu uses cookies in order to enhance your experience on our website and ensure that our website functions.
You can visit this page at any time to learn more about cookies, get the most up to date information on how we use cookies and manage your cookie settings. We will not use cookies for any purpose other than the ones stated, but please note that we reserve the right to update our cookies.
For modern websites to work according to visitor’s expectations, they need to collect certain basic information about visitors. To do this, a site will create small text files which are placed on visitor’s devices (computer or mobile) - these files are known as cookies when you access a website. Cookies are used in order to make websites function and work efficiently. Cookies are uniquely assigned to each visitor and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to the visitor. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to a visitor’s device.
Cookies do various jobs which make the visitor’s experience of the internet much smoother and more interactive. For instance, cookies are used to remember the visitor’s preferences on sites they visit often, to remember language preference and to help navigate between pages more efficiently. Much, though not all, of the data collected is anonymous, though some of it is designed to detect browsing patterns and approximate geographical location to improve the visitor experience.
Certain type of cookies may require the data subject’s consent before storing them on the computer.
This website uses two types of cookies:
This website uses cookies for following purposes:
Cookies help us help you. Through the use of cookies, we learn what is important to our visitors and we develop and enhance website content and functionality to support your experience. Much of our website can be accessed if cookies are disabled, however certain website functions may not work. And, we believe your current and future visits will be enhanced if cookies are enabled.
There are two ways to manage cookie preferences.
If you don’t want to receive cookies, you can modify your browser so that it notifies you when cookies are sent to it or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set.
If you wish to restrict or block web browser cookies which are set on your device then you can do this through your browser settings; the Help function within your browser should tell you how. Alternatively, you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of desktop browsers.
Occasionally, we may use internet tags (also known as action tags, single-pixel GIFs, clear GIFs, invisible GIFs and 1-by-1 GIFs) at this site and may deploy these tags/cookies through a third-party advertising partner or a web analytical service partner which may be located and store the respective information (including your IP-address) in a foreign country. These tags/cookies are placed on both online advertisements that bring users to this site and on different pages of this site. We use this technology to measure the visitors' responses to our sites and the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns (including how many times a page is opened and which information is consulted) as well as to evaluate your use of this website. The third-party partner or the web analytical service partner may be able to collect data about visitors to our and other sites because of these internet tags/cookies, may compose reports regarding the website’s activity for us and may provide further services which are related to the use of the website and the internet. They may provide such information to other parties if there is a legal requirement that they do so, or if they hire the other parties to process information on their behalf.
If you would like more information about web tags and cookies associated with on-line advertising or to opt-out of third-party collection of this information, please visit the Network Advertising Initiative website http://www.networkadvertising.org.
We use third-party cookies (such as Google Analytics) to track visitors on our website, to get reports about how visitors use the website and to inform, optimize and serve ads based on someone's past visits to our website.
You may opt-out of Google Analytics cookies by the websites provided by Google:
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en
As provided in this Privacy Policy (Article 5), you can learn more about opt-out cookies by the website provided by Network Advertising Initiative:
http://www.networkadvertising.org
We inform you that in such case you will not be able to wholly use all functions of our website.
Close