semiconductor industry

Dicing Blade Case Studies

02 Jun

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Common Materials - FR4 and epoxy mold compound.

Common Materials - Copper, HTCC (High Temperature Co-fired Ceramics), LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics).

DICING SOLUTIONS FOR PACKAGE SINGULATION

BGA (Ball-Grid Array)
Typical Concerns:
  • Cut quality
  • chipping
  • burrs
  • slivers
  • protrusions
  • race shorts
  • Blade life
Dicing Blade Recommendation:
  • SMART CUT HYBRID BOND or sintered (metal bond) series
  • Diamond size: 30 - 55 microns
  • Blade Thickness: .008” - .014”
Dicing Process Recommendations:
  • Feed rate: 50-250 mm/sec
  • Spindle speed: 20-40 krpm depending on blade O.D.
  • Multi panel mounting on UV tape
  • Minimal dressing so as not to create a large radius on the blade edge
QFN (Quad Flat No Lead)
Common Materials - C194 and epoxy mold compound.
Typical Concerns:
  • Chipping
  • Burrs
  • Lead smearing
  • Melting
Dicing Blade Recommendation:
  • SMART CUT HYBRID BOND or sintered (metal bond) series
  • Diamond grit size: 45 - 88 microns
  • Thickness: .008” - .020”
Dicing Process Recommendations:
  • Feed rate: Half Etched substrates 30-75 mm/sec, Full Copper substrates 15-30 mm/sec
  • Spindle speed: 22-35 krpm depending on blade O.D.
  • Multi panel mounting on UV tape
  • Override process over one substrate to reach final feed rate
LED (Light-Emitting Diode)
Common Materials - Copper, HTCC (High Temperature Co-fired Ceramics), LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics).
Typical Concerns:
  • Copper burrs
  • End of blade life due to limited exposure
  • Throughput (maximize UPH)
Dicing Blade Recommendation:
  • SMART CUT HYBRID BOND or Nickel Bond series
  • Diamond size: 10,13 & 17 microns
  • Thickness: .003” - .008”
Dicing Process Recommendations:
  • Feed rate: 80-150 mm/sec
  • Spindle speed: 25-30 krpm
  • Multi panel mounting on UV tape
CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor)
Common Materials - Borosilicate Glass, HTCC (High Temperature Co-fired Ceramics).
DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Mulitplexing) Filters
Common materials: Glass, Quartz.
Typical Concerns:
  • Top-side and back-side chipping
  • Cut perpendicularity
  • Kerf side surface finish
Dicing Blade Recommendation:
  • SMART CUT series Resin, HYBRID, & Sintered (metal bond) blades
  • Diamond size: 30 - 45 microns (resin) and 7 - 15 microns (sintered)
  • Thickness: .006" - .012”
Dicing Process Recommendations:
  • Feed rate: 4 - 20 mm/sec
  • Spindle speed: 20 - 30 krpm (2") 10 - 15 krpm (4")
  • Dicing synthetic water soluble coolants may reduce chipping and improve surface finish
HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
Common Material: AlTic (Aluminum Titanium Carbon), Ferrite Ceramic.
Typical Concerns:
  • High Mechanical (internal) stress
  • burrs
  • large kerf width
  • lack of accuracy
Dicing Process Recommendations:
The MR head substrate is made of ferromagnetic ceramic material, which has an extremely hard wear resistance and excellent magnetic properties. a typical MR substrate is AlTiC. Substrate thickness typically ranges from 200 to 300 microns. Substrates for HDD read heads require machining after being sintered into bars or sheets. Than they have to be diced into very small unit with very high precision tolerances.
Semiconductor Wafer
Common Material: Silicon, LiNbO3 (Lithium Niobate).
Typical Concerns:
  • Top-side and back-side chipping
  • Cracking
  • Wafer contamination due to ESD issues and poor cleaning
Dicing Blade Recommendation:
  • SMART CUT Nickel Bond or HYBRID series
  • Diamond size: 4 - 6 microns
  • Thickness: .0008” - .0016”
Dicing Process Recommendations:
  • Feed rate: 25 - 75 mm/sec
  • Spindle speed: 30 - 50 krpm
  • Mounting: Blue or UV tape
  • Cooling type: DI water with and without additives
  • Carbon dioxide bubbler is optional
Silicon & GaAs are the two most common materials used for semiconductor wafers. Wafers are typically available in sizes up to 12" in diameter, with 6" and 8" most popular. Typical thicknesses are between 100 - 650 microns.

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