Dicing is the process of cutting a processed semiconductor wafer into individual dies (chips) after wafer-level testing is complete. Each die is then picked, packaged, and shipped as a finished product.

Dicing Methods

Blade Dicing: A thin diamond-impregnated saw blade spinning at 30,000-60,000 RPM cuts through the wafer along the scribe lines (streets) between dies. Most common method. Street width: 50-100μm. Cutting speed: 50-300 mm/s. Creates mechanical stress and chipping at the cut edge.

Laser Dicing: A focused laser beam scribes or ablates the wafer material along the streets. Two approaches: laser full-cut (laser cuts completely through) or stealth dicing (laser creates internal damage layer, then tape expansion breaks the wafer along the damage—cleaner edges, narrower streets).

Plasma Dicing: Deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) removes street material using plasma. Enables the narrowest streets (< 10μm), highest throughput for thin wafers, and no mechanical damage. Best for thin wafers (< 100μm) and small dies.

Dicing Process Flow

Step 1: Mount wafer onto dicing tape (sticky UV-release film) on a metal frame. Step 2: Align streets using the dicer's pattern recognition camera. Step 3: Cut all streets in X direction, then rotate 90° and cut Y direction. Step 4: Clean cut wafer (DI water spray removes particles and debris). Step 5: UV exposure releases tape adhesion. Step 6: Individual dies picked from tape by die bonder.

Key Considerations

• Kerf width: Material lost to the blade cut (~30-50μm for blade, ~10μm for laser). Narrower kerf = more dies per wafer • Chipping: Blade dicing creates micro-chips at the die edge that can propagate as cracks—controlled by blade recipe and wafer thickness • Thin wafers: Wafers ground to < 100μm are fragile. Stealth/plasma dicing preferred to avoid cracking • Die strength: Dicing-induced edge damage reduces die fracture strength, which matters for automotive and reliability-critical applications