Patent ID: 6805808
Filing Date: 2004-10-19
Classification: B23K,H01L

Abstract:
A method for separating chips from a diamond wafer, the diamond wafer comprising:(a) a substrate; (b) one of a polycrystalline chemically vapor-deposited diamond layer and a single-crystalline chemically vapor-deposited diamond layer each formed on the substrate; and (c) a plurality of microelectronic elements formed on the chemically vapor-deposited diamond layer; the method comprising the steps of:(1) forming front-side grooves on the chemically vapor-deposited diamond layer by laser processing, the front-side grooves having a depth {fraction (1/100)} to 1.5 times the thickness of the chemically vapor-deposited diamond layer; (2) removing by a plasma the thermally decomposed cuttings produced during the laser processing; (3) forming back-side grooves on the substrate by dicing the substrate with a diamond saw blade such that the back-side grooves are in alignment with the front-side grooves; and (4) breaking the diamond wafer by applying mechanical stresses to separate chips each having a single microelectronic element.