Laser Scribing of Copper/Low-k Dielectric Semiconductor Materials by Nanosecond and Ultrafast Pulsewidth Lasers

The adoption of copper/low-k technology into semiconductor devices has created new challenges for mechanical dicing. Low-k dielectrics are less mechanically strong compared to SiO2, making these layers susceptible to chipping, cracking, and delamination during saw dicing. Laser scribing or dicing of these devices offers a possible solution. Because the absorption of laser energy is dependent on the materials and layer thicknesses in a semiconductor stack, careful selection of the laser parameters are important for laser processing. This presentation provides a comparison of laser processing of copper/Black Diamond low-k materials using nanosecond and ultrafast pulsewidth lasers.