As global competition in the semiconductor industry intensifies, the third-generation semiconductor material, Silicon Carbide (SiC), is increasingly favored by various industries such as new energy vehicles, electronics manufacturing, and aerospace.
Third-generation semiconductor material, Silicon Carbide (SiC)
15W Infrared Picosecond Laser: A Precision Tool for Silicon Carbide Machining
Compared to traditional silicon electronic devices, silicon carbide (SiC) has become a new semiconductor substrate material due to its multiple advantages. However, due to the significant differences in material properties between silicon and silicon carbide, existing IC fabrication processes cannot fully meet the machining requirements of silicon carbide.
Taking wafer slicing as an example, mechanical sawing, although a traditional method, proves inadequate when dealing with silicon carbide. With a Mohs hardness greater than 9, almost on par with diamond, silicon carbide not only generates a large amount of chips during the sawing process but also causes rapid wear of expensive diamond saw blades. Furthermore, the sawing speed is relatively slow, and the heat generated may adversely affect the material properties.
Silicon carbide wafer
However, the emergence of non-contact ultrashort pulse laser cutting technology has provided a new solution for silicon carbide machining. This technology can significantly reduce or eliminate edge chipping, minimize mechanical changes in the material (such as cracks, stresses, and other defects), and achieve efficient and precise cutting. At the same time, it can minimize the kerf width, greatly increasing the number of chips per wafer, thereby reducing costs.
In processes such as cutting, scribing, and thin film stripping of silicon carbide wafers, picosecond laser technology, with its unique advantages, has become the industry-recognized preferred solution and is playing an increasingly important role in the innovation of material processing technologies.
The 15W picosecond infrared laser developed by BWT is an outstanding example of this technology. This product not only possesses all of the aforementioned advantages but can also be customized according to customer needs. Its wavelength is 1064 nm, with pulse widths ranging from 10 ps to 150 ps, and repetition rates freely adjustable between 5 kHz and 1000 kHz, with average power >15 W at 50 kHz. It supports selectable pulse train numbers from 1 to 10, with M² < 1.4, divergence angle <1 mrad, and a spot size precisely controlled at 2.5±0.2 mm. Its beam pointing accuracy is <50 urad, ensuring precise and flawless processing every time.
BWT 15W Picosecond Infrared Laser
In practical applications, the BWT 15W picosecond infrared laser offers significant advantages, not only greatly improving processing speed but also achieving a qualitative leap in product quality consistency and yield. Image analysis from a scanning electron microscope shows that the edges processed with picosecond lasers are smoother, with almost no microcracks generated.
Processing of Silicon Carbide with BWT Laser
Application Case: Silicon Carbide Wafer Modifying and Cutting
Customer Requirements
To meet the growing demand for power chips in the high-end manufacturing sector, many customers are eager to improve processing efficiency and yield. At the same time, they seek to achieve exceptional processing quality, with invisible cutting effects that leave no ablation marks, superior straightness, and minimal edge chipping. Additionally, reducing material loss and maximizing wafer yield are key concerns for customers.
Processing Challenges
The high hardness of silicon carbide makes it difficult to achieve ideal processing results with traditional mechanical cutting methods. Additionally, the control of parameters during the laser cutting process is highly complex, involving factors such as laser single pulse energy, feed distance, pulse repetition frequency, pulse width, and scanning speed. These parameters significantly affect the width of ablation zones on both the top and bottom surfaces, edge chipping, and cross-sectional morphology, requiring precise control. Furthermore, due to the high refractive index of silicon carbide, the focus position requires high movement accuracy, necessitating the inclusion of a focus tracking function, along with real-time monitoring and compensation for focus variations.
Solution
1. Multi-focus Technology: By using phase modulation technology, the number, position, and energy of the focal points can be flexibly adjusted. Multiple focal points are generated along the optical axis within the wafer, enabling multi-focus modified cutting. This approach significantly increases cutting efficiency and effectively controls the generation of axial cracks.
2. Aberration Correction Technology: To address the spherical aberration caused by refractive index mismatch, advanced aberration correction technology is employed to significantly improve the laser beam energy distribution, ensuring that the laser energy is more focused, thereby enhancing both the quality and efficiency of wafer cutting.
3. Focus Tracking Technology: By monitoring the focus variations caused by surface undulations during processing, real-time compensation is applied to ensure the stability of the focus position during the cutting process, thus ensuring consistent cutting quality.
Microscopic Effects After Laser Modification
Microscopic Effects After Lamination and Splitting
Wafer Cross-Section Microscopic Effects
Looking ahead, by 2030, the silicon carbide market is expected to reach a scale of tens of billions. The BWT 15W picosecond infrared laser, with its advantages in stability, processing flexibility, and material adaptability, is set to become the core equipment in the silicon carbide processing industry, leading the industry's transformation.
As global competition in the semiconductor industry intensifies, the third-generation semiconductor material, Silicon Carbide (SiC), is increasingly favored by various industries such as new energy vehicles, electronics manufacturing, and aerospace.
Third-generation semiconductor material, Silicon Carbide (SiC)
15W Infrared Picosecond Laser: A Precision Tool for Silicon Carbide Machining
Compared to traditional silicon electronic devices, silicon carbide (SiC) has become a new semiconductor substrate material due to its multiple advantages. However, due to the significant differences in material properties between silicon and silicon carbide, existing IC fabrication processes cannot fully meet the machining requirements of silicon carbide.
Taking wafer slicing as an example, mechanical sawing, although a traditional method, proves inadequate when dealing with silicon carbide. With a Mohs hardness greater than 9, almost on par with diamond, silicon carbide not only generates a large amount of chips during the sawing process but also causes rapid wear of expensive diamond saw blades. Furthermore, the sawing speed is relatively slow, and the heat generated may adversely affect the material properties.
Silicon carbide wafer
However, the emergence of non-contact ultrashort pulse laser cutting technology has provided a new solution for silicon carbide machining. This technology can significantly reduce or eliminate edge chipping, minimize mechanical changes in the material (such as cracks, stresses, and other defects), and achieve efficient and precise cutting. At the same time, it can minimize the kerf width, greatly increasing the number of chips per wafer, thereby reducing costs.
In processes such as cutting, scribing, and thin film stripping of silicon carbide wafers, picosecond laser technology, with its unique advantages, has become the industry-recognized preferred solution and is playing an increasingly important role in the innovation of material processing technologies.
The 15W picosecond infrared laser developed by BWT is an outstanding example of this technology. This product not only possesses all of the aforementioned advantages but can also be customized according to customer needs. Its wavelength is 1064 nm, with pulse widths ranging from 10 ps to 150 ps, and repetition rates freely adjustable between 5 kHz and 1000 kHz, with average power >15 W at 50 kHz. It supports selectable pulse train numbers from 1 to 10, with M² < 1.4, divergence angle <1 mrad, and a spot size precisely controlled at 2.5±0.2 mm. Its beam pointing accuracy is <50 urad, ensuring precise and flawless processing every time.
BWT 15W Picosecond Infrared Laser
In practical applications, the BWT 15W picosecond infrared laser offers significant advantages, not only greatly improving processing speed but also achieving a qualitative leap in product quality consistency and yield. Image analysis from a scanning electron microscope shows that the edges processed with picosecond lasers are smoother, with almost no microcracks generated.
Processing of Silicon Carbide with BWT Laser
Application Case: Silicon Carbide Wafer Modifying and Cutting
Customer Requirements
To meet the growing demand for power chips in the high-end manufacturing sector, many customers are eager to improve processing efficiency and yield. At the same time, they seek to achieve exceptional processing quality, with invisible cutting effects that leave no ablation marks, superior straightness, and minimal edge chipping. Additionally, reducing material loss and maximizing wafer yield are key concerns for customers.
Processing Challenges
The high hardness of silicon carbide makes it difficult to achieve ideal processing results with traditional mechanical cutting methods. Additionally, the control of parameters during the laser cutting process is highly complex, involving factors such as laser single pulse energy, feed distance, pulse repetition frequency, pulse width, and scanning speed. These parameters significantly affect the width of ablation zones on both the top and bottom surfaces, edge chipping, and cross-sectional morphology, requiring precise control. Furthermore, due to the high refractive index of silicon carbide, the focus position requires high movement accuracy, necessitating the inclusion of a focus tracking function, along with real-time monitoring and compensation for focus variations.
Solution
1. Multi-focus Technology: By using phase modulation technology, the number, position, and energy of the focal points can be flexibly adjusted. Multiple focal points are generated along the optical axis within the wafer, enabling multi-focus modified cutting. This approach significantly increases cutting efficiency and effectively controls the generation of axial cracks.
2. Aberration Correction Technology: To address the spherical aberration caused by refractive index mismatch, advanced aberration correction technology is employed to significantly improve the laser beam energy distribution, ensuring that the laser energy is more focused, thereby enhancing both the quality and efficiency of wafer cutting.
3. Focus Tracking Technology: By monitoring the focus variations caused by surface undulations during processing, real-time compensation is applied to ensure the stability of the focus position during the cutting process, thus ensuring consistent cutting quality.
Microscopic Effects After Laser Modification
Microscopic Effects After Lamination and Splitting
Wafer Cross-Section Microscopic Effects
Looking ahead, by 2030, the silicon carbide market is expected to reach a scale of tens of billions. The BWT 15W picosecond infrared laser, with its advantages in stability, processing flexibility, and material adaptability, is set to become the core equipment in the silicon carbide processing industry, leading the industry's transformation.
