TLS-Dicing – The Key to Higher Yield and Throughput for Thin Wafers

Thermal Laser Separation (TLS)-Dicing is a fast, clean and cost effective alternative to known dicing technologies. The process uses thermal induced mechanical forces to separate brittle materials such as Silicon, GaAs. Thermal stress is introduced in a well defined region via a laser beam. Cooling is applied via a Di-waterspray. The induced forces separate brittle materials by cleaving. TLS is a true cleaving process which results in an edge with excellent quality, without chipping or micro cracks. This high edge quality results in a significantly higher mechanical breaking strength and an increased blocking voltage for vertical integrated devices. TLS Dicing is a zero kerf process which has the potential to reduce street width and increases yield. The maximum TLS-dicing speed of 300 mm/s is much faster than any other dicing technology for thin wafers. This paper will discuss the theory, benefits and limits of TLS. A comparison of TLS with other laser dicing technologies will also be presented. To conclude, this paper will provide the latest results achieved by TLS and an overview of the JENOPTIK TLS tool.. TLS is a interesting alternative for sawing and ablative laser dicing technologies as well as an enabling technology for new products. TLS is especially well suited for RFID, dies for 3D-stacking, flexible products (chip cards), MEMS, optical devices and thin dies (e.g. power devices or solar wafers.)