Laser marking plays an essential role in silicon wafer manufacturing. Laser machines create permanent marks on semiconductor packages by using a beam of concentrated light. As the atom is stimulated, light particles will be produced that are directed and concentrated. A laser marking machine can program itself to exactly meet your specifications, which allows you to trace wafers throughout the manufacturing process. In other words, a machine must be able to read the laser marking. A lot of attention must also be paid to detail, since the marking cannot interfere with any of the underlying processes, plus no damage can be caused to the wafer. Throughout the entire process, we at Wafer World take expert care of the silicon wafers, including laser cutting and other modifications. You can learn more about laser marking at lasit.it.
What are Silicon Wafers?
Silicon wafers are marked by lasers, but what are these laser marks? All types of electronic devices are made of wafers, which act as semiconductors. Silicon wafers are shaped like flat, circular disks with a mirror finish. Because silicon wafers are nearly impurity-free, it is imperative that they are treated with extreme care and caution during the laser marking process.
The Workings of Laser Marking
Using a computer to mark silicon wafers is the first step. The wafer map is viewed on a marking document at this stage of the process. Here information is detailed about parameters, functions, and other features of the wafer. You can see how the data will translate to the silicon wafer on the other side of the display. Once everything is set up properly, the wafer will be placed into the laser marking machine. The wafer is brought to the mark position by way of a mechanical hand. All of the steps will be completely automated, without human intervention. After finding the target location, the machine will shine the laser onto the wafer. The completed project will be transported to the receiving box after that.
Laser Marking Benefits
- Accurate and precise
The precision of laser marking makes it the ideal choice for wafer manufacturing. The superior technology enables even the smallest details to be precisely and accurately captured. A silicon wafer is typically marked with less than a millimeter-high marking, which computers can read and follow.
- Fast
Besides being extremely precise, laser marking is also extremely fast. Wafer stacks can be laser marked in minutes, with every disk taking no longer than a few seconds to place, mark, and complete. It creates an amazing finish without removing anything from the surface, although it is slightly slower than some other marking methods.
- Just the surface layer
In laser marking, nothing is actually removed from the surface of the silicon wafer. Rather, it simply causes the silicon to change colors. There is no damage to anything.
- Permanent
These markings remain on the silicon wafers forever. Due to the fact that the mark is just below the surface, it will not fade away.
Automation of the entire process
There is no human involvement in the entire process. We do not need to interact with humans. Single silicon wafers are picked up by the mechanical arm and transported to the correct location for marking within the machine. In this manner, it is completely safe to use laser marking machines since there will be no interaction between the lasers and the wafers after the laser has changed the color. The likelihood of expensive errors will also decrease drastically. It does not involve any human interaction.
Environmentally safe
Using a laser to mark a surface does not use any chemical adhesive or ink, so it is much safer for the environment than another marking method. As lasers also don’t require a lot of energy to operate, they are an excellent method of marking silicon wafers on a large scale.