Investigation of Advanced Dicing Technologies for Ultra Low-k and 3D Integration

The introduction and use of ultra low-k dielectric materials in an attempt to achieve better die performance brought new challenges to the wafer singulation / dicing process. Ultra low-k dielectric materials can easily get damaged during conventional blade dicing due to their brittleness. Thus, there is a need to investigate alternative or more advanced dicing techniques that can deliver successful dicing processes without inducing stress or damage. Apart from looking at the compatibility of the different dicing techniques with (ultra) low-k dielectric materials, the integration of these different dicing techniques into the different 3D-technology configurations was also investigated. This paper reports on the post dicing results and the challenges for 3D technology for the following different dicing technologies: blade dicing, laser grooving + blade dicing, laser grooving + plasma dicing, stealth dicing, plasma dicing, and laser full cut dicing.