Development of Novel Dicing Process by Anisotropic Wet Etching with Convex Corner Compensation

In the present study, chemical dicing methods were developed as an alternative solution for thin silicon chips separation. Dicing streets were fabricated by wet and dry etching. The dry etching approach is reliable but also an expensive process. On the other hand, the wet etching approach offers a faster and low-cost process compared with the dry etching approach. However, serious undercutting usually occurs and damages the chip corners. During the course of the present study, a convex corner compensation scheme was implemented to resolve the undercutting problem. A parametric study was performed with various kinds of redundant [1 1 0]-oriented beam patterns at the corners of intersections. Experimental results showed that relatively sharp corners could be achieved with certain compensation patterns. A relation between the compensation pattern and the etched depth was established. The experimental result of the wet etching approach will be discussed in detail in this paper.