Kazuo Shimokawa

A novel wafer dicing method using metal-assisted chemical etching

A novel wafer dicing method that can singulate silicon wafers into individual dies at once has been developed. Since this method relies on chemical reactions, we call it Chemical Dicing. Chemical Dicing has the advantages of high throughput, narrow dicing line width, and high chip strength compared to conventional blade dicing methods. Chemical Dicing is based on the catalytic wet etching technique called metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch). However, the appropriate conditions required to form deep vertical trenches for Chemical Dicing with MacEtch remain controversial. In this paper, the MacEtch mechanisms and appropriate conditions for Chemical Dicing have been verified. The results show that the shape of the trenches can be controlled by a catalyst and a etchant composition, and Chemical Dicing can create vertical trenches with a depth greater than 150 μm and width less than 8 μm. The results are expected to contribute to the development of future dicing techniques.