• Blade dicing, laser dicing, and stealth dicing available on bare silicon, patterned, SOI wafers and other non-silicon materials.
  • Dicing services are available for all wafer diameters ranging from 50mm to 300mm.
  • Patterned and non-patterned wafer substrates.
  • We specialize in processing very thin substrates with maximum yield.

SVM provides pick and place and a large selection of die packaging options including tape/ring, gel and waffle packs.

Wafer Dicing Methods

Wafer dicing is the process of sawing a wafer into its smaller parts, called die. SVM dices silicon and other various types of wafer substrates to any size required by using precision diamond dicing blades.

There are a few different ways to slice wafers into die. While each of these processes are similar, each has it’s unique advantage for different applications.

Stealth Dicing

Stealth dicing is a laser cutting method that uses light at a semi-transparent wavelength to penetrate the substrate surface and cut it from the inside out. To start, the wafer is mounted to an adhesive to prevent any unwanted movement. The process begins by targeting the midpoint of a wafer to make a small crack that does not reach the surface. Because the wafer dicing begins within the wafer, finding the correct starting point is imperative to the success of this method. Initiating the cut from the inside also prevents silicon dust and particles from potentially damaging the substrate surface. Once the laser process is complete, the wafers need to be broken up into individual die. Stealth dicing may not work on wafers that have films or patterns that interfere with the laser, and is generally recommended for bare Si.

To separate the die, mounting tape that holds the wafer in place is pulled from either side and tensile stress is applied to the wafers. The process begins on the inside of the wafer, so there are no silicon particles that can contaminate the substrate during cutting. There is also minimal heat transfer, so it does not require any water or cooling agents.

Due to process availability, the minimum order quantity for stealth dicing may be higher than other dicing methods. Please contact us if you have any questions about this.

Blade Dicing

Traditional blade dicing requires mounting wafers to an adhesive film inside a metal frame. From there, engineers situate the frame and wafer onto a chuck for dicing. A diamond blade rotating between 15,000 and 30,000 RPM slices the wafer into the respective die. While the blade slices the wafer, water or another cooling agent sprays along the cutting lines. The cooling agent helps control temperature and prevents dust particles and the saw blade from contaminating the wafer.

Scribing

Scribing is another form of blade dicing that uses a scribe (usually diamond) which moves across the crystal plane surface of a wafer with just enough pressure to scratch it. After scratching the wafer, pressure to the backside breaks the wafer along the scribe lines. This method works better for certain applications because the process is very quick and adds minimal residual stress. Since this generates no heat during cutting, coolants are not necessary.

Laser Ablation Dicing

In contrast to scribing and blade dicing, laser dicing does not use a physical blade to dice the substrates. Laser ablation dicing is a process that removes material with a highly concentrated laser. Most applications use a pulse laser to perform the cutting, although continuous wave lasers are used when a higher intensity beam is necessary. The dicing process is performed by directing the beam at the surface of a wafer, where it cuts along a pattern that has been scribed. During dicing, water cools the substrate to protect it from thermal damage and particle contamination.