TECHNIQUES FOR DICING BONDED WAFERS USING LASER TECHNOLOGIES

Methods, systems, and devices implementing techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies are described. A bonded wafer includes an optically transmissive substrate bonded with a semiconductor substrate. The optically transmissive substrate is irradiated using a first laser technology associated with perforating the optically transmissive substrate to form damage tracks. The semiconductor substrate is irradiated using a second laser technology associated with forming damage regions within the semiconductor substrate. The damage regions of the semiconductor substrate are aligned with the damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate during irradiation of the semiconductor substrate or the optically transmissive substrate, forming an aligned region through the bonded wafer with a relatively high likelihood for fracture. After irradiating the optically transmissive substrate and the semiconductor substrate, one or more forces may be applied to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into respective dies along the aligned region.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates generally to wafer dicing, and more specifically to techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies.

BACKGROUND

Wafers including semiconductor materials are key components for fabricating various electronics, such as integrated circuits and photovoltaic cells, among other examples, and such electronics may accordingly have a wide range of industrial, academic, and commercial applications (e.g., computers, vehicles, wearable devices such as smartwatches, mobile electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets, and the like). A wafer may be separated (e.g., diced, singulated) into multiple dies that each include one or more electronic or micro-electronic devices that are assembled on and/or in the wafer. In some cases, a wafer may include multiple materials, such as a glass material bonded with a semiconductor material (e.g., crystalline silicon), and may be referred to as a bonded wafer or a stacked wafer. The bonded wafers, however, may provide various challenges to the dicing process due to respective properties of the bonded materials. For instance, some dicing techniques may be fitting for dicing one material, yet may be disadvantageous for dicing the other material(s) of the bonded wafer, resulting in various manufacturing inefficiencies. Moreover, some dicing techniques may unnecessarily remove excess material from the wafer, and/or may potentially cause damage to some portion of the bonded wafer (e.g., including any electronic devices included on/in the wafer), among other disadvantages.

SUMMARY

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies. Generally, the described techniques are directed to forming dies from a bonded wafer that includes multiple materials using a combination of laser technologies on various substrates of the bonded wafer. For example, a bonded wafer may include an optically transmissive substrate and a semiconductor substrate. A first laser technology may be applied for the optically transmissive substrate and a second laser technology may be applied for the semiconductor substrate. The first and second laser technologies may form aligned damage tracks and damage regions, respectively, that are prone to fracture when mechanical forces are applied to the bonded wafer. Specifically, after applying the first and second laser technologies, one or more mechanical forces may be applied to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a desired quantity of dies. The application of such laser technologies for dicing a bonded wafer may improve dicing processes while enabling minimal material loss from dicing (e.g., relatively low- or zero-kerf process), thereby enabling enhanced manufacturing schemes and more efficient use of the wafer material(s), among other advantages.

A method is described. The method may include irradiating a first substrate of a bonded wafer using a first laser beam, the bonded wafer comprising the first substrate coupled with a second substrate. In some examples, the first substrate is irradiated from a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate, and the first substrate comprises a first material and the second substrate comprises a second material different than the first material. In some examples, the method may include irradiating the second substrate of the bonded wafer using a second laser beam different than the first laser beam, wherein the second substrate is irradiated from a second direction opposite the first direction. In some examples, the method may include applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate.

Another method is described. The method may include irradiating a first substrate of a bonded wafer using a first laser beam, the bonded wafer comprising the first substrate coupled with a second substrate. In some examples, the first substrate is irradiated by the first laser beam through the second substrate and from a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the second substrate, and the first substrate comprises a first material and the second substrate comprises a second material different than the first material. In some examples, the method may include irradiating the second substrate of the bonded wafer using a second laser beam different than the first laser beam, wherein the second substrate is irradiated from the first direction. In some examples, the method may include applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate.

A bonded wafer is described. The bonded wafer may include an optically transmissive substrate layer coupled with a semiconductor substrate layer, wherein the optically transmissive substrate layer comprises a plurality of damage tracks from a first laser source that extend at least partially from a surface of the optically transmissive substrate layer through a thickness of the optically transmissive substrate layer. In some examples, the semiconductor substrate layer comprises a plurality of regions that are damaged by a second laser source focused within a volume of the semiconductor substrate layer, wherein the plurality of damage tracks are aligned with the plurality of regions that are damaged and form one or more contour lines on the bonded wafer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Bonded wafers (e.g., wafers including two or more substrates) including an optically transmissive substrate and a semiconductor (e.g., or chalcogenide) substrate may have a range of uses in various products and industries. For example, a bonded wafer may be used in applications including an electrical circuit on one side of a product (e.g., associated with the semiconductor substrate) and an optically (e.g., electromagnetically, radiationally) transparent substrate on another side of the product (e.g., associated with the optically transmissive substrate). In some cases, the bonded wafers may be processed to form dies (e.g., sections of a bonded wafer the comprise functional subunits such as, for example, circuits, optical properties, and/or microchannels) which may be desirable for implementation in the applications described. In some such cases, forming the dies (which may also be referred to as dice) from a bonded wafer may involve one or more dicing processes (e.g., cutting processes, segmenting processes), which may be disadvantageous to implement for at least one of the substrates in the bonded wafer. For example, implementing a process for dicing the optically transmissive substrate may adversely affect the semiconductor substrate, or vice versa. In some such examples, one of the substrates in the bonded wafer may be damaged from implementing a process that is unsuitable for that one substrate. Moreover, some techniques may remove extra material(s), which may affect the design and placement of components on or in one or both of the substrates (e.g., when excess material is removed via the dicing process(es), a functional area used for associated electronics such as integrated circuits on a substrate may be reduced, resulting in inefficient use of the wafer materials).

As an example, a mechanical dicing process may be used to form the dies from the bonded wafer. The mechanical dicing process may include applying a high-speed blade or rotating wheel to a surface of the bonded wafer. In some examples, the mechanical dicing process may be associated with additional damage to one or both of the substrates and/or additional material removal (e.g., kerf-loss). In some cases, mechanical dicing may be damaging or relatively less effective on some materials, for example, when performed on the optically transmissive substrate, but relatively more effective when performed on the semiconductor substrate (e.g., based on one or more material properties that differ between the respective materials). Further, performing mechanical dicing on multiple substrates (e.g., sequentially) may involve dynamically modifying aspects of the mechanical dicing process, such as changing blades or wheels (e.g., to a thicker or thinner variation), altering speed, or adjusting angle or cutting depth, among other possibilities, to better suit the relevant substrate. However, modifying aspects of the mechanical dicing process may be associated with relatively high processing durations, which may be disadvantageous.

In other cases, a plasma dicing process, a jet dicing process (e.g., water jet dicing), or other mechanically-based or chemically-based dicing processes may be used to form the dies from the bonded wafer. But such dicing process may be associated with similar challenges as the mechanical dicing process, such as dicing one substrate only to adversely affect the other substrate. For example, jet dicing may be associated with generating unwanted debris and being relatively cost inefficient, among other disadvantages, which may impact the application to multiple materials of a bonded wafer. As such, dicing bonded wafers may be associated with various challenges, and some dicing techniques applied to bonded wafers may impact manufacturing time, cost, and efficiency when creating multiple dies from the bonded wafer.

In accordance with examples described herein, a bonded wafer including an optically transmissive substrate (e.g., a glass material) and a semiconductor (e.g., or chalcogenide) substrate (e.g., a monocrystalline silicon) may be diced using different laser technologies. For example, the optically transmissive substrate may be irradiated using a first laser technology and the semiconductor substrate may be irradiated using a second laser technology, where the first laser technology and the second laser technology are configured for damaging the respective materials of the optically transmissive substrate and the semiconductor substrate. For instance, the first laser technology is configured for modifying a material of the optically transmissive substrate (e.g., an amorphous material), whereas the second laser technology is configured for modifying a material of the semiconductor substrate (e.g., a crystalline material). In some examples, the first laser technology may implement techniques (e.g., nano-perforation techniques) to modify the material of the optically transmissive substrate, which may include directing a quantity of pulses, pulse bursts, or sub-pulses of a laser beam toward a surface of the optically transmissive substrate, thereby forming damage tracks associated with perforating the optically transmissive substrate. In some such examples, the damage tracks may form trenches (at least partially) through the optically transmissive substrate which may result in a relatively weak resistance to mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) when applied to the bonded wafer. In some examples, the second laser technology may implement techniques for focusing a pulsed laser beam at targeted regions within a volume of the semiconductor substrate. In some such examples, the targeted regions may correspond to one or more layers of the semiconductor substrate, and damage regions (e.g., including material that is damaged modified by the laser beam) caused by the focused laser beam may thereby increase a likelihood of fracture propagation through the semiconductor substrate, particularly when mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) are applied to the bonded wafer. In some aspects, the second laser technology may be referred to as stealth dicing or some similar terminology.

The damage tracks and damage regions resulting from the application of the first and second laser technologies to the bonded wafer, respectively, may be aligned relative to the bonded wafer (e.g., or to each other) such that the damage tracks and the damage regions may be aligned (e.g., using optical alignment) along a plane, which may form a fracture mode under mechanical force. In some aspects, the damage tracks and/or damage regions correspond to respective contour lines (e.g., modification lines, modification pathways) in the optically transmissive substrate and the semiconductor substrate, where a contour line is associated with a desired geometry (which may be linear or may not be linear) of the respective dies created from dicing the wafer. After the first and second laser technologies are applied to the respective substrates, one or more mechanical forces may be applied to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into the respective dies. For example, the damage tracks in the optically transmissive substrate (e.g., formed using nano-perforation) and the damage regions in the semiconductor substrate (e.g., using stealth dicing) may be aligned along a plane, thereby enabling the bonded wafer to be separated into the respective dies along the plane.

Dicing the bonded wafer using the combination of laser technologies as described herein, may be associated with advantageous results for the substrates of the bonded wafer. For example, using the first laser technology to form damage tracks through the optically transmissive substrate may produce a relatively fast, accurate cut through the optically transmissive substrate. However, unlike other dicing processes, the first laser technology may not be associated with causing damage or accidental material removal to the semiconductor substrate. Likewise, using the second laser technology to form damage regions in the semiconductor substrate may produce an accurate separation through the semiconductor substrate without causing damage or accidental material removal to the optically transmissive substrate. Therefore, implementing the combination of laser technologies as described herein may support accurate dicing for the bonded wafer without adversely affecting the substrates thereof.

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of a system implementing techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies. Further examples of process steps for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies are also provided. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to flowcharts that relate to techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies.

This description provides examples, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the principles described herein. Rather, the ensuing description will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing various aspects of the principles described herein. As can be understood by one skilled in the art, various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the application.

FIG.1shows an example of a system100that supports techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The system100may include various laser components and optical components operable to modify two or more substrates of a bonded wafer. For example, the system100may include one or more lasers (e.g., a first laser105-a, a second laser105-b) and one or more optical components (e.g., optical components110-a, optical components110-b) configured to dice a bonded wafer115. In some examples, the system100may be an example of a device or system used for applying one or more laser technologies to form regions of the bonded wafer115with a high likelihood for fracture under force for segmenting the bonded wafer115into a quantity of dies. In some examples, the system100may implement the laser technologies such that each laser technology may be associated with irradiating one of the substrates of the bonded wafer115without adversely affecting (or with minimal impact on) the other substrate or components of the bonded wafer115. That is, the lasers may be used for dicing of the bonded wafer115into multiple dies with improved efficiency.

The bonded wafer115may have some dimension, for example, based on an application for the dies of the bonded wafer115(e.g., after dicing) or other factors. For example, the bonded wafer115may be between about 25 millimeters (mm) and about 450 mm in diameter. In some examples, the bonded wafer115may be about 300 mm in diameter, or about 200 mm in diameter, or about 150 mm in diameters, among other examples. The bonded wafer115may include an optically transmissive substrate120bonded with a semiconductor substrate125. The optically transmissive substrate120may be a glass material (e.g., hardened glass) or another material (e.g., an insulating material) including a crystalline atomic structure, or a combination thereof, among other examples. In some aspects, the optically transmissive substrate120may be an example of a glass material including one or more glass compositions. For example, the optically transmissive substrate120may include a soda-lime glass material, a borosilicate glass material, an aluminosilicate glass material, an alkali aluminosilicate glass material, an alkaline earth aluminosilicate glass material, an alkaline earth boro-aluminosilicate glass material, a fused silica glass material, a crystalline material (e.g., sapphire, silicon carbide, other materials, or any combination thereof), among other examples. The optically transmissive substrate120(e.g., a substrate that enables the transmission of light at various wavelengths) may be optically transmissive to one or more wavelengths of light (e.g., output by a light source, such as a laser) such that electromagnetic radiation passes through the substrate. For instance, a transmittance of the optically transmissive substrate120may be greater than some percentage (e.g., greater than about 80 percent, greater than about 85 percent, or greater than about 90 percent) for normal incident light of a wavelength. In other examples, at least a portion of the light output by a light source may be transmitted through the optically transmissive substrate120. In some examples, the optically transmissive substrate120may have a thickness between about 30 micrometers (μm) and about 5 mm, or between about 100 μm and about 5 mm, or between about 100 μm and about 1.5 mm.

The semiconductor substrate125may be a silicon-based material (e.g., monocrystalline silicon, silicon, silicon carbide) or another semiconductor type material (e.g., gallium arsenide, lithium tantalum oxide), a chalcogenide glass, or crystalline type material, among other examples. In some examples, the semiconductor substrate125may have a thickness between about 40 μm and about 1.5 mm, or between about 50 μm and about 100 μm. In some aspects, the bonded wafer may be referred to as a silicon-on-glass wafer, or other similar terminology.

In some cases, the optically transmissive substrate120and/or the semiconductor substrate125may comprise other materials and/or coatings. For example, one or both of the optically transmissive substrate120or the semiconductor substrate may include different semiconductor materials, different transparent materials, different brittle materials, or any combination thereof. Thus, the example materials described herein should not be considered limiting to the scope covered by the claims or the disclosure.

The optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate125may be coupled together using one or more bonding techniques, such as anodic bonding, adhesive bonding, fusion bonding, hybrid bonding, pressure bonding, chemical bonding, or any combination thereof, among other examples. For example, a surface121(e.g., an inner surface, a bottom surface) of the optically transmissive substrate120may be coupled with (e.g., bonded with) a surface126(e.g., an inner surface, a top surface) of the semiconductor substrate125. In some cases, bonding the optically transmissive substrate120with the semiconductor substrate125may form a bonding region130between the surface121and the surface126, which may include some material associated with the bonding.

Each laser (e.g., the first laser105-a, the second laser105-b) of the system100may be configured to output a laser beam for irradiating at least a portion of the bonded substrate for dicing the bonded wafer115into multiple dies. That is, the first laser105-amay output a first laser beam135-aand the second laser105-bmay output a second laser beam135-b. Each laser may be an example of or include a pulsed laser (e.g., an ultrashort pulsed laser, a picosecond pulsed laser, a nanosecond pulsed laser, or the like) that is configured to operate at some wavelength of light, λ. For example, the first laser105-amay be configured to operate at a wavelength between about 500 nanometers (nm) and about 1100 nm, or between about 215 nm and about 1064 nm, among other examples. For instance, the first laser105-amay be configured to output the first laser beam135-aat a wavelength of 1064 nm, 1030 nm, 532 nm, 530 nm, 355 nm, 343 nm, 266 nm, 215 nm, among other example wavelengths. In some examples, the first laser105-ais configured for forming damage tracks123in substrate120by outputting a first laser beam135-ahaving a laser beam focal line with relatively low divergence and relatively weak diffraction (e.g., a non-diffracting laser beam, a quasi-non-diffracting laser beam). Here, the first laser beam135-amay be an example of a Bessel beam, a Gauss-Bessel beam, an Airy beam, a Weber beam, a Mathieu beam, among other examples of beams with relatively low diffraction. In some aspects, an intensity distribution of the first laser beam135-aoutput by the first laser105-amay be configured (e.g., controlled) for forming the damage tracks123in the optically transmissive substrate120.

Additionally, the second laser105-bmay be configured to operate at a wavelength between about 1000 nm and about 3000 nm, or between about 700 nm and about 1064 nm, among other examples. For example, the second laser105-bmay be configured to output the second laser beam135-bat a wavelength of 1064 nm. The first laser105-aand/or the second laser105-bmay be configured to operate at other wavelengths not explicitly mentioned herein. Further, the second laser105-bmay be configured to output the second laser beam135-bhaving a Gaussian distribution or other distribution, where a portion (e.g., a center portion) of the distribution is used to form damage regions127in substrate125. In some aspects, the wavelength of the second laser beam135-bmay be configured to achieve maximum absorption within the semiconductor substrate125(e.g., to create one or more damage regions127) may be achieved, for example, via optical focusing (e.g., using the optical components110-b).

In some aspects, a wavelength of the first laser105-aand/or the second laser105-bmay be configured for processing the bonded wafer115. For instance, a respective wavelength, λ, of the first laser105-aand/or the second laser105-bmay be based on one or more materials of the bonded wafer115, such that some portion of the bonded wafer115(e.g., the optically transmissive substrate120or the semiconductor substrate125, or both) is substantially transparent to the laser light generated by the first laser105-aand/or the second laser105-b.

Each laser may generate optical power in multiple pulses (e.g., bursts) with some repetition. Each laser beam pulse may include a burst of multiple sub-pulses, and a duration of a sub-pulse may be some quantity of nanoseconds (ns) in duration, some quantity of femtoseconds (fs) in duration, among other example durations. In some examples, the duration of one pulse (e.g., including the burst of multiple sub-pulses) may be some quantity of microseconds in duration. In some examples, the pulse width of the first laser105-amay be between about 1 fs and about 200 ps in duration, or between about 10 fs and about 100 ps in duration, among other examples. In some examples, the pulse width of the second laser105-bmay be less than about 500 ns, or between about 10 fs and about 100 ps, among other examples. The first laser105-aand/or the second laser105-bmay be an example of a mode-locked laser, a Q-switching laser, a pulsed-pumping laser, among other examples, that generates a pulsed output (e.g., a non-continuous output). The first laser105-aand/or the second laser105-b, however, may be an example of another type of laser not mentioned herein, and the examples described herein should not be considered limiting to the scope covered by the claims or the disclosure.

The system100may include one or more optical components (e.g., optics) associated with each of the lasers, where the one or more optical components may be configured to focus, direct, or modify the respective laser beams output by a laser. For example, the first laser105-amay generate the first laser beam135-a, and a first set of optical components110-amay focus the first laser beam135-aat, in, or through the optically transmissive substrate120. Similarly, the second laser105-bmay generate the second laser beam135-b, and a second set of optical components110-bmay focus the second laser beam135-bat, in, or through the semiconductor substrate125. The optical components110-aand110-bmay include one or more lenses, beam splitters, prisms, mirrors, optical plates, or any combination thereof, among other examples). In some implementations, the system100may implement additional optics or optical components, or may implement the optical components within one or more of the respective lasers. In any case, the optical components110-aand110-bmay be configured to enable a laser to irradiate one or more materials of the bonded wafer115.

In some examples, one or both of a laser (e.g., the first laser105-a, the second laser105-b) or the bonded wafer115may be moved or translated during laser processing of the bonded wafer115. For example, when irradiating the optically transmissive substrate120(e.g., to create respective damage tracks123in the optically transmissive substrate120), the first laser105-amay be laterally translated in one or more directions to create respective contour lines in the optically transmissive substrate120. Likewise, when irradiating the semiconductor substrate125(e.g., to create respective damage regions127in the semiconductor substrate125), the second laser105-bmay be laterally translated to create respective contour lines in the semiconductor substrate125. Such translation may be performed multiple times to create multiple contour lines, as described with further detail with reference toFIGS.2A and2B. Additionally, or alternatively, the bonded wafer115may be laterally translated in one or more directions during laser processing to create the contour lines. Such contour lines may enable the bonded wafer115to be segmented into respective dies when one or more forces are applied to the bonded wafer115.

In accordance with the techniques described herein, the first laser105-amay irradiate a substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., the optically transmissive substrate120) using a first laser technology (e.g., nano-perforation) and the second laser105-bmay irradiate another substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., the semiconductor substrate125) using a second laser technology (e.g., stealth dicing). Such examples may be described in more detail with reference toFIGS.3A through3C. In other examples, the first laser105-amay irradiate a substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., the optically transmissive substrate120) through another substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., through the semiconductor substrate125), and the second laser105-bmay irradiate the other substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., the semiconductor substrate125) from the same direction as the first laser105-a. Additionally, or alternatively, a similar method may be applied, where the second laser105-bmay irradiate a substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., the semiconductor substrate125) through another substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., through the optically transmissive substrate120), and the first laser105-amay irradiate the other substrate of the bonded wafer115(e.g., the optically transmissive substrate120) from the same direction as the second laser105-b. These and other examples may be described in more detail with reference toFIGS.4A through5C. However,FIG.1may depict first laser105-adirectly irradiating the optically transmissive substrate120(e.g., using the first laser technology) and the second laser105-bdirectly irradiating the semiconductor substrate125(e.g., using the second laser technology). Additionally, whileFIG.1illustrates the irradiation of the bonded wafer115using lasers from different directions, the lasers may irradiate the bonded wafer115from the same direction (e.g., the bonded wafer115may be rotated (e.g., flipped over) to enable respective irradiation of the optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate125).

In some cases, the first laser technology may be associated with forming damage tracks123through perforation techniques (e.g., nano-perforation techniques). For example, the first laser105-amay irradiate the optically transmissive substrate120using the first laser technology to form nano-perforations in the optically transmissive substrate120, where each damage track123created by the first laser beam135-amay have a diameter of about 10 μm or less. For example, the first laser beam135-amay have a diameter between about 0.25 μm and about 10 μm, between about 0.25 μm and about 5 μm, between about 0.25 and about 2.5 μm, between about 0.5 μm and about 10 μm, between about 0.5 μm and about 5 μm, between about 0.5 and about 2.5 μm, between about 0.75 μm and about 10 μm, between about 0.75 μm and about 5 μm, between about 0.75 μm and about 2.5 μm, among other examples. In some such examples, the first laser105-amay output the first laser beam135-atoward a surface122(e.g., an outer surface, a top surface) of the optically transmissive substrate120(e.g., using the optical components110-a) to at least partially perforate the surface122. Formation of the damage tracks123may include applying a quantity of pulses of the laser beam135-ato the surface122, thereby forming damage tracks123by perforating the optically transmissive substrate120. In some aspects, the laser beam135-amay be configured to generate two or more sub-pulses (e.g., a pulse burst of multiple sub-pulses, a pulse burst of 3 sub-pulses, a pulse burst of 4 sub-pulses, a pulse-burst of 5 sub-pulses, a pulse burst of 10 sub-pulses, a pulse burst of 20 sub-pulses, a pulse burst of between 1 and 30 sub-pulses, a pulse burst of between 5 and 20 sub-pulses, among other examples) used to form the damage tracks123. The damage tracks123may each be a region of modified material (e.g., a region of modified refractive index relative to the bulk material of the optically transmissive substrate120) that forms a trench, void space, crack, scratch, flaw, hole, perforation, or other deformity in the substrate120. Each damage track123extends to a depth at least partially through the optically transmissive substrate120(e.g., in a vertical direction in reference to the orientation ofFIG.1, through some depth of the optically transmissive substrate120) relative to the surface122. For example, each pulse, pulse burst, or sub-pulse of the laser beam135-amay be associated with perforating at least a portion of the optically transmissive substrate120, forming a damage track123in the optically transmissive substrate120with a depth at least partially based on a duration (e.g., pulse width) and/or intensity (e.g., wavelength) of the respective pulse, pulse burst, or sub-pulse. Thus, each pulse, pulse burst, or sub-pulse of the laser beam135-amay be associated with incrementally forming one or multiple damage tracks123in the optically transmissive substrate120. Further, translating the optically transmissive substrate120, the first laser105-a, and/or the first laser beam135-arelative to each other, as discussed above, results in the formation of multiple damage tracks123in the substrate120that form a first contour line. In some cases, the damage tracks123may each extend through the optically transmissive substrate120such that the damage tracks123may separate the optically transmissive substrate120along the first contour line. However, in other cases, as depicted inFIG.1, the damage tracks123may each extend partially through the optically transmissive substrate120, such that a mechanical force may be involved in separating the optically transmissive substrate120along the first contour line. For example, the damage tracks123may each have a diameter about 10 μm or smaller, or about 8 μm or smaller, or about 6 μm or smaller. The damage tracks123of the optically transmissive substrate120may be associated with a relatively reduced resistance to mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer115. For example, the damage tracks123may create a region along the first contour line that is associated with a relatively high likelihood of fracture propagation under mechanical force.

The second laser technology may be associated with stealth dicing techniques. For example, the second laser105-bmay irradiate the semiconductor substrate125using the second laser technology to form damage regions127within the semiconductor substrate125. In some such examples, the second laser105-bmay focus the second laser beam135-bat least partially within a volume of the semiconductor substrate125(e.g., using the optical components110-b) to form the damage regions127within the volume. In some such examples, the damage regions127may be formed in one or more layers of the semiconductor substrate125, with each layer being in a vertical direction in reference to the orientation ofFIG.1, which may be referred to as stealth dicing layers. For example, there may be one layer of damage regions127, two layers of damage regions127, three layers of damage regions127(as shown inFIG.1), four layers of damage regions127, five layers of damage regions127, among other examples. In some aspects, respective layers including the damage regions127may be equidistant from one another through the volume of the semiconductor substrate125. In some cases, a quantity of layers may be based on a size (e.g., a thickness) of the semiconductor substrate125. Each damage region127may include material that is modified via multiphoton absorption from the second laser beam135-b, where radiation from the second laser beam135-bmay not affect (or may minimally affect) other portions of the semiconductor substrate125outside of the damage regions127(e.g., only the damage regions127of the semiconductor substrate125may be modified (e.g., damaged) by radiation of the second laser beam135-b). In some aspects, each damage region127may include a cavity and a molten volume (e.g., damaged volume) of the semiconductor substrate125. For example, each pulse of the laser beam135-bmay be associated with creating a relatively small weak point (e.g., crack, stress point, strain point) at a targeted region, forming a damage region127, a size of which may be at least partially based on a duration (e.g., pulse width) or intensity (e.g., wavelength) of the respective pulse. A damage region127may have one or more dimensions of about 10 μm across (e.g., in width or height), or less than about 10 μm across, among other example dimensions. For instance, a damage region127created by the second laser technology may be less than 10 μm in diameter, less than 5 μm in diameter, less than 4 μm in diameter, less than 3 μm in diameter, less than 1 μm in diameter, among other examples.

Translating the semiconductor substrate125, the second laser105-b, and/or the second laser beam135-brelative to each other, as discussed above, results in the formation of multiple damage regions127in the semiconductor substrate125that form a second contour line. The damage regions127of the semiconductor substrate125may be associated with a relatively weak resistance to mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer115along the second contour line.

Furthermore, a set of damage regions127through substrate125may be aligned with a set of damage tracks123through substrate120along a plane128, as shown inFIG.1. The first and second contour lines are disposed along plane128such that plane128is associated with an increased likelihood of fracture (e.g., crack) propagation through the semiconductor substrate125and through the optically transmissive substrate120when mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) are applied to the bonded wafer. Each plane128may correspond to a modification pathway (e.g., a contour line, a modification line) formed in the semiconductor substrate125and in the optically transmissive substrate120and corresponding to a desired geometry for respective dies formed by segmenting the bonded wafer115.

As described with reference toFIGS.3C,4C, and5C, after irradiating the substrates of the bonded wafer115using the laser technologies described herein, one or more mechanical forces may be applied to the bonded wafer115to separate the bonded wafer115into the respective dies. For example, the damage tracks123and the damage regions127may be aligned along the plane128, thereby enabling the bonded wafer115to be separated into the respective dies along the plane128(e.g., the damage tracks123and the damage regions127along the plane128may correspond to a contour line that, when the one or more forces are applied to the bonded wafer115, enable the bonded wafer to be segmented into the dies in accordance with some desired geometry defined by the contour line).

In some aspects, the system100may include a single laser (e.g., the first laser105-a) configured for irradiating the multiple materials (e.g., the optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate125) of the bonded wafer115. In such cases, the first laser105-amay be configured to adjust one or more parameters to enable irradiation (e.g., damage of) the multiple materials of the bonded wafer115. As an example, after irradiating and creating damage tracks123in the optically transmissive substrate120, a duration (e.g., a pulse width) and/or a wavelength of the first laser beam135-aoutput by the first laser105-amay be adjusted to create the damage regions127in the semiconductor substrate125(or vice versa). As such, respective laser beams having different properties may be generated using the same laser source (e.g., either the first laser105-aor the second laser105-b) and used to irradiate different materials of the optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate125in accordance with one or more aspects of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, one or more optics (e.g., a set of optical components110-a) may be configurable or may be modified to enable the single laser to irradiate the bonded wafer115.

The bonded wafer115may be bonded before or after one or both of the optically transmissive substrate120or the semiconductor substrate125are irradiated. For example, the optically transmissive substrate120may be coupled with (e.g., bonded to) the semiconductor substrate125using one or more bonding techniques prior to being irradiated using the first laser105-aand/or the second laser105-b. In another example, the optically transmissive substrate120may first be irradiated (e.g., to create the damage tracks123corresponding to contour lines in the optically transmissive substrate120) by the first laser105-a. The irradiated optically transmissive substrate120may then be bonded to the semiconductor substrate125, and the semiconductor substrate125may then be irradiated by the second laser105-bafter being coupled with the optically transmissive substrate120(e.g., to create the damage regions127corresponding to contour lines in the semiconductor substrate125). In some other examples, after the semiconductor substrate125is bonded with the irradiated optically transmissive substrate120, one or more mechanical processes may be applied to the semiconductor substrate125to remove a portion of the semiconductor material, thereby damaging the semiconductor substrate125for segmentation into multiple dies. Here, the one or more mechanical processes may include sawing (e.g., using a saw blade for removing at least a portion of the semiconductor material) and/or blade scribing (e.g., where only a portion of the material is removed to generate respective contour lines and enabling a relatively reduced resistance to breaking), among other techniques. In some examples, other techniques, such as plasma dicing, may be used after the semiconductor substrate125is bonded to the optically transmissive substrate120(e.g., and after the optically transmissive substrate120is irradiated). After a portion of the material of the semiconductor substrate125is modified (e.g., irradiated, mechanically removed), one or more forces may be applied to the bonded wafer115including the optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate125to segment the bonded wafer115into multiple dies.

Alternatively, the semiconductor substrate125may be initially irradiated (e.g., to create the damage regions127corresponding to contour lines in the semiconductor substrate125) using the second laser105-b, then the semiconductor substrate125may be bonded to the optically transmissive substrate120, and the optically transmissive substrate120may be irradiated by the first laser105-aafter being coupled with the semiconductor substrate125. As similarly described herein, after bonding to the irradiated semiconductor substrate125, the optically transmissive substrate120may be subjected to one or more mechanical processes may be applied to the optically transmissive substrate120to remove a portion of the semiconductor material, thereby damaging the optically transmissive substrate120for segmentation into multiple dies. Here, the one or more mechanical processes may include sawing (e.g., using a saw blade for removing at least a portion of the optically transmissive material) and/or blade scribing (e.g., where only a portion of the material is removed to generate respective contour lines and enabling a relatively reduced resistance to breaking), among other techniques. In some examples, other techniques, such as plasma dicing, may be used after the optically transmissive substrate120is bonded to the semiconductor substrate125(e.g., and after the semiconductor substrate125is irradiated). In any case, after a portion of the material of the optically transmissive substrate120is modified (e.g., irradiated, mechanically removed), one or more forces may be applied to the bonded wafer115including the optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate to segment the bonded wafer115into multiple dies.

In yet another example, the optically transmissive substrate120may be irradiated by the first laser105-a(e.g., to create contour lines in the optically transmissive substrate120), and the semiconductor substrate125may be irradiated (e.g., simultaneously or sequentially) by the second laser105-b(e.g., to create contour lines in the semiconductor substrate125). Then the optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate125(each having been previously irradiated) may be coupled together, for example, using one or more bonding techniques to create the bonded wafer115. Following the bonding, one or more forced are applied to the bonded wafer115to segment the wafer into multiple dies.

Dicing the bonded wafer115using the combination of laser technologies described herein, may be associated with advantageous results for the substrates of the bonded wafer115. For example, using the first laser technology to form damage tracks123(e.g., implemented via nano-perforation techniques) through the optically transmissive substrate120may produce a relatively fast, accurate cut through the optically transmissive substrate120. However, unlike other dicing processes, the first laser technology may not be associated with causing damage or excess material removal to the semiconductor substrate125. Likewise, using the second laser technology to implement stealth dicing for cutting the semiconductor substrate125may produce an accurate separation through the semiconductor substrate125without causing damage or excess material removal to the optically transmissive substrate120. Here, the applier laser technologies may result in a low- or zero-kerf separation (e.g., less than about 200 μm) of the bonded wafer115when dicing the wafer into dies. Therefore, implementing the combination of laser technologies as described herein may support accurate dicing of the bonded wafer115without adversely affecting the substrates thereof.

FIGS.2A and2Bshow an example of a bonded wafer200that supports techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The bonded wafer200may be an example of a wafer that has been irradiated by one or more lasers in accordance with the techniques described herein, for example, prior to the application of a mechanical force to segment (e.g., break) the wafer into multiple dies. For example, the bonded wafer200may be an example of the bonded wafer115described with reference toFIG.1. As such, the bonded wafer200may comprise multiple layers, including an optically transmissive substrate layer220coupled with (e.g., bonded to) a semiconductor substrate layer225. The optically transmissive substrate layer220and the semiconductor substrate layer225may be an example of the optically transmissive substrate120and the semiconductor substrate125, respectively, described with reference toFIG.1.

As illustrated byFIG.2A, the optically transmissive substrate layer220may be irradiated using a laser beam (e.g., a first laser beam output by a first laser source) resulting in multiple damage tracks formed in the optically transmissive substrate layer220. Each damage track may extend at least partially through the optically transmissive substrate layer220by one or more pulses of the first laser beam. Further, the laser beam and the bonded wafer200may be translated with respect to one another, which may create multiple first contour lines250-ain the optically transmissive substrate layer220. The first contour lines250-amay generally correspond to defects or damage in the optically transmissive substrate layer220formed by the laser processing techniques described herein (e.g., nano-perforation), and may enable the bonded wafer200to be separated (e.g., diced, segmented, singulated) into multiple dies255using one or more forces. That is, a first contour line250-amay be formed in the optically transmissive substrate layer220by creating multiple defects (e.g., modified material) in the optically transmissive substrate layer220using, for example, a pulsed laser beam at successive locations along the first contour line250-a. Multiple first contour lines250-amay be formed in the optically transmissive substrate layer220in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction (e.g., relative to the orientation illustrated byFIG.2A) by translating the optically transmissive substrate layer220relative to the pulsed laser beam. In some aspects, the first contour lines250-amay be referred to as modification lines, modification paths, modification pathways, or other terminology. Further, one or more of the first contour lines250-amay be linear or non-linear (e.g., curved), which may be configurable based on a desired geometry of the dies255(e.g., after segmentation), a geometry of the wafer200, or a combination thereof. Thus, the first contour lines250-amay refer to a series of defects (e.g., relatively closely-spaced regions of modified material, for example, corresponding to respective damage tracks) in the optically transmissive substrate layer220formed by translating a laser along some path. In any case, the first contour lines250-amay correspond to a surface for a desired separation of the optically transmissive substrate layer220into the dies255.

As similarly illustrated byFIG.2B, the semiconductor substrate layer225may be irradiated using a laser beam (e.g., a second laser beam output by the first laser source or by the second laser source) resulting in multiple regions that are damaged by the laser beam (e.g., that is focused in a volume of the semiconductor substrate layer225). The regions damaged by the laser beam may correspond to one or more layers of damage caused by the laser beam, which may extend at least partially through the semiconductor substrate layer225. When processing the semiconductor substrate layer225, the laser beam and the bonded wafer200may be translated with respect to one another, resulting in multiple second contour lines250-bin the semiconductor substrate layer225. The second contour lines250-bin the semiconductor substrate layer225may correspond to defects or damage in the semiconductor substrate layer225formed by the laser processing techniques described herein (e.g., stealth dicing), and may enable the bonded wafer200to be separated (e.g., diced, segmented, singulated) into multiple dies255using one or more forces. In particular, a second contour line250-bmay be formed in the semiconductor substrate layer225by creating multiple defects (e.g., modified material) in the semiconductor substrate layer225using, for example, a pulsed laser beam focused within a volume of the semiconductor substrate layer225and at successive locations along the second contour line250-b. Multiple second contour lines250-bmay be formed in the semiconductor substrate layer225in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction (e.g., relative to the orientation illustrated byFIG.2B) by translating the semiconductor substrate layer225relative to the pulsed laser beam. The second contour lines250-bmay be referred to as modification lines, modification paths, modification pathways, or other terminology. One or more of the second contour lines250-bmay be linear or non-linear (e.g., curved), which may be configurable based on a desired geometry of the dies255(e.g., after segmentation), a geometry of the wafer200, or a combination thereof. As such, the second contour lines250-bmay refer to a series of defects (e.g., relatively closely-spaced regions of modified material, for example, corresponding to respective damage regions) in the semiconductor substrate layer225formed by translating a laser along some path. The second contour lines250-bmay correspond to a surface for a desired separation of the semiconductor substrate layer225into the dies255.

The first contour lines250-aand the second contour lines250-bformed on the optically transmissive substrate layer220and the semiconductor substrate layer225may be aligned such that, when the bonded wafer200is segmented, each die255is formed having multiple relatively planar surfaces with minimal or no defects (e.g., limited or no chopping, limited or no cracking). Such alignment may be achieved via visual alignment, for example, using two or more fiducials (e.g., visible on both sides of the bonded wafer200), using a trace from a previous laser process (e.g., damage previously caused by the first laser beam or the second laser beam), or any combination thereof, among other examples. Each die255corresponds to some functional area of the bonded wafer200, and may be referred to as a functional sub-unit of the wafer200. In some examples, each die255may be associated with a same function or a different function, where respective functions may be associated with, for example, chips (e.g., microchips), circuits, optics, filamentation, or other functional structures or components, among other examples. In addition, while the dies255are illustrated as having a rectangular shape, it is noted that each die255may be formed to have one or more different shapes, and the examples described and illustrated herein should not be considered limiting to the scope of the claims or description.

The described techniques for dicing the bonded wafer200using multiple laser technologies may enable more efficient utilization of an area of the bonded wafer200. For example, through the use of nano-perforation and stealth dicing techniques to form the first contour lines250-aand the second contour lines250-b, respectively, relatively less material may be removed from either the optically transmissive substrate layer220or the semiconductor substrate layer225(e.g., as compared to other techniques, such as blade dicing and others). As such, dies255with relatively greater dimensions may be possible. Additionally, or alternatively, respective dies255may support surface features or components (e.g., electrical components) separated by relatively less distance when the bonded wafer200is segmented using the laser technologies described herein, which enable for low-kerf separation of the dies255.

FIGS.3A,3B, and3Cshow examples of processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-cthat support techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processing steps300-a,300-b,300-cmay illustrate aspects of a sequence of manufacturing operations for fabricating aspects of a bonded wafer315, which may be an example of a bonded wafer115and a bonded wafer200, as described with reference toFIGS.1,2A, and2B. As such, the bonded wafer315may be segmented (e.g., diced) into multiple dies using a system and/or apparatus, such as the system100described with reference toFIG.1. The processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-cmay be an example of performing nano-perforation from a first side of the bonded wafer315corresponding to an optically transmissive substrate320, followed by performing stealth dicing from another side of the bonded wafer315corresponding to a semiconductor substrate325.

For illustrative purposes, aspects of the processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-cmay be described with reference to an x-direction, a y-direction, and a z-direction of the illustrated coordinate system. For example, the processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-cmay illustrate various cross-sectional views of a bonded wafer315in an xz-plane. In some examples, the z-direction may be illustrative of a direction orthogonal to a surface (e.g., a surface in an xy-plane) of the bonded wafer315, and each of the related regions, illustrated by their respective cross section in the xz-plane, may extend for some distance along the y-direction. Although the processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-cillustrate examples of relative dimensions and quantities of various features, aspects of the bonded wafer315may be implemented with other relative dimensions or quantities of such features in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In the following description of the processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-c, some methods, techniques, processes, and operations may be performed in different orders or at different times. Further, some operations may be left out of the processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-c, or other operations may be added to the processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-c. The processing steps300-a,300-b, and300-cmay illustrate operations for dicing the bonded wafer315by irradiating respective substrates of the bonded wafer315using multiple (e.g., two) laser technologies and separating the bonded wafer315by applying mechanical force to the substrates.

Operations illustrated in and described with reference toFIGS.3A through3Cmay be performed by a system, which may be an example of a system100, as described with reference toFIG.1. Additionally, or alternatively, operations illustrated in and described with reference toFIGS.3A through3Cmay be performed by a manufacturing system, such as a semiconductor fabrication system configured to perform additive operations such as bonding, subtractive operations such as etching, trenching, planarizing, or polishing, and supporting operations such as masking, patterning, photolithography, or aligning, among other operations that support the described techniques. In some examples, operations performed by such a manufacturing system may be supported by a process controller or its components as described herein.

In some cases, an optically transmissive substrate320of the bonded wafer315may be bonded with a semiconductor substrate325of the bonded wafer315, which may be examples of an optically transmissive substrate120and a semiconductor substrate125, as described with reference toFIG.1, respectively, as well as the optically transmissive substrate layer220and the semiconductor substrate layer225described with reference toFIGS.2A and2B, respectively. The optically transmissive substrate320and the semiconductor substrate325may be bonded together using anodic bonding, adhesive bonding, fusion bonding, hybrid bonding, pressure bonding, chemical bonding, or any combination thereof, among other examples. In some examples, the optically transmissive substrate320and the semiconductor substrate325may be bonded prior to or after performing the processing step300-a,300-b, or300-c.

In some cases, the bonded wafer315may be subjected to one or more processes for reducing a total thickness (e.g., thinning) of the bonded wafer315(e.g., in the z-direction), which may include removing a portion of the optically transmissive substrate320or a portion of the semiconductor substrate325, or a combination thereof. For example, a surface311(e.g., an outer surface) of the optically transmissive substrate320may be subjected to one or more removal processes to reduce (e.g., decrease) a thickness of the optically transmissive substrate320, including reducing the surface311to a depth that at least partially extends into the optically transmissive substrate320. Similarly, a surface316(e.g., an outer surface) of the semiconductor substrate325may be subjected to one or more removal processes to reduce a thickness of the semiconductor substrate325, including reducing the surface316to a depth that at least partially extends into the semiconductor substrate325. In some examples, the bonded wafer315may be thinned prior to or after performing the processing step300-a,300-b, or300-c.

FIG.3Aillustrates a first processing step300-afor irradiating the optically transmissive substrate320. The first processing step300-amay include irradiating the optically transmissive substrate320using a first laser technology which may be associated with nano-perforation techniques. For example, a laser (e.g., not shown, which may be an example of the first laser105-a, as described with reference toFIG.1) may irradiate the optically transmissive substrate320by applying a laser beam335-a(e.g., directed through one or more optics) to the optically transmissive substrate320in a first direction (e.g., opposite the z-direction) to perforate the optically transmissive substrate320.

Perforating the optically transmissive substrate320may include applying a quantity of pulses (or pulse bursts including two or more sub-pulses) of the laser beam335-ato the surface311, thereby forming damage tracks in the optically transmissive substrate320. The damage tracks may form contour lines (e.g., the first contour lines250-adescribed with reference toFIG.2A) extending along the y-direction and extending to a depth (e.g., in the z-direction) at least partially through the optically transmissive substrate320relative to the surface311. In some cases, the damage tracks may extend through the optically transmissive substrate320. However, in other cases, the damage tracks may extend partially through the optically transmissive substrate320, such that one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) may be involved in separating the optically transmissive substrate320. The damage tracks formed in the optically transmissive substrate320may be associated with a relatively weak resistance to mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer315. For example, the damage tracks may create a region associated with a relatively high likelihood of fracture propagation during application of one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces).

FIG.3Billustrates a second processing step300-bfor irradiating the semiconductor substrate325. The second processing step300-bmay include irradiating the semiconductor substrate325using a second laser technology which may be associated with stealth dicing techniques. For example, a laser (e.g., not shown, which may be an example of the second laser105-b, as described with reference toFIG.1) may irradiate the semiconductor substrate325by applying a laser beam335-b(e.g., directed through one or more optics) to the semiconductor substrate325to form damage regions at specific (e.g., targeted) regions within a volume of the semiconductor substrate325. In some cases, the laser beam335-bmay be applied to the semiconductor substrate325in a first direction (e.g., opposite the z-direction), for example, after flipping the bonded wafer315over, which may include removing the bonded wafer and reversing an orientation of the bonded wafer315as illustrated inFIG.3B. In other cases, the laser beam335-bmay be applied to the semiconductor substrate325in a second direction (e.g., along the z-direction) without flipping the bonded wafer315. In some cases, the laser beam335-bmay be aligned (e.g., in the x-direction) to the contour lines associated with the damage regions formed from irradiating the optically transmissive substrate320, at processing step300-a. In other cases, the laser beam335-bmay be aligned to the damage tracks formed from irradiating the optically transmissive substrate320based on visually aligning with two or more fiducials.

In some examples, forming the damage regions within the semiconductor substrate325may include focusing the laser beam335-bat least partially within a volume of the semiconductor substrate325(e.g., using one or more optics). In some such examples, the damage regions may correspond to internal layers (e.g., along the x-direction and arranged in the z-direction) of the semiconductor substrate325(e.g., not shown) that have been undergone multiphoton absorption via the focused laser beam335-b. The damage regions may correspond to contour lines (e.g., the second contour lines250-bdescribed with reference toFIG.2B) extending along the y-direction and extending to a depth (e.g., in the z-direction) at least partially through the semiconductor substrate325. The damage regions of the semiconductor substrate325may be associated with a relatively weak resistance to one or more mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer315. For example, the damage regions may create a plane through the internal layers of the semiconductor substrate325which may be associated with an increased likelihood of fracture propagation through the semiconductor substrate325when applying one or more mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces).

FIG.3Cillustrates a third processing step300-cfor applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer315. The third processing step300-cmay include applying one or more mechanical forces to one or more of the substrates (e.g., the optically transmissive substrate320, the semiconductor substrate325) of the bonded wafer315to separate the bonded wafer315into respective dies (e.g., the dies255described with reference toFIG.2A). For example, as depicted inFIG.3C, mechanical forces360-band360-cmay be applied to the optically transmissive substrate320(e.g., to surface311), and a mechanical force360-amay be applied to the semiconductor substrate325(e.g., to surface316). In some aspects, the mechanical force360-band the mechanical force360-cmay be applied at a location adjacent to a contour line (e.g., a contour line corresponding to the damage regions and the damage tracks in the respective substrates). The respective locations of the mechanical force360-band the mechanical force360-cmay be some distance away from a contour line, where the distance is sufficient to bend and break both the optically transmissive substrate320and the semiconductor substrate325(e.g., to achieve a desired geometry corresponding to the contour line) with the application of the mechanical force360-a, the mechanical force360-b, and the mechanical force360-c. Here, the distance of the mechanical force360-bfrom the damage tracks and/or damage regions (e.g., d0) and the distance of the mechanical force360-cfrom the damage tracks and/or damage regions (e.g., d1) may be about 10 μm, about 20 μm, about 25 μm, about 40 μm, about 45 μm, among other examples. The distance of the mechanical force360-band/or the mechanical force360-cfrom the damage track and the damage regions may be based on one or more dimensions of the bonded wafer315. A magnitude of each of the mechanical forces360-a,360-b, and360-cmay be configured to exceed the respective break resistance of the optically transmissive substrate320and the semiconductor substrate325(e.g., along a contour line). In some aspects, each of the mechanical forces360-a,360-b, and360-cmay be equal, or the mechanical forces360-a,360-b, and360-cmay be different.

In other examples, the bonded wafer315may be secured to a bending component, which may apply a mechanical force along one of the substrates of the bonded wafer315. In some examples, the optically transmissive substrate320or the semiconductor substrate325may be held in tension (e.g., one or more tensile forces may be applied) during the process to break the bonded wafer315(e.g., when the mechanical forces360-a,360-band360-care applied), which may enable enhanced separation of the dies. In some aspects one or more tapes, films, or covers, for the optically transmissive substrate320and/or the semiconductor substrate325may be used to enable the application of the tensile force.

The forces applied to the bonded wafer to segment the dies may thus be examples of tensile forces, bending forces, shear forces, compression forces, or a combination thereof, among other examples. Applying the mechanical forces may produce a bending stress within the bonded wafer315such that the damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate320and the damage regions of the semiconductor substrate325may experience rapid crack propagation (e.g., fracture), thereby separating the bonded wafer315. Due to the alignment of the damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate320and the damage regions of the semiconductor substrate325, the bonded wafer315may be accurately separated along a yz-plane.

Dicing the bonded wafer315using the combination of laser technologies as described herein, may be associated with advantageous results for the substrates of the bonded wafer315. For example, using the first laser technology to implement nano-perforation through the optically transmissive substrate320may produce a relatively fast, accurate cut through the optically transmissive substrate320. However, unlike other dicing processes, the first laser technology may not be associated with causing damage or accidental material removal to the semiconductor substrate325. Likewise, using the second laser technology to implement stealth dicing for cutting the semiconductor substrate325may produce an accurate separation through the semiconductor substrate325without causing damage to or excess material removal from the optically transmissive substrate320. Therefore, implementing the combination of laser technologies as described herein may support accurate dicing for the bonded wafer315without adversely affecting the substrates thereof.

FIGS.4A,4B, and4Cshow examples of processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-cthat support techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-cmay illustrate aspects of a sequence of manufacturing operations for fabricating aspects of a bonded wafer415, which may be an example of a bonded wafer115and a bonded wafer200, as described with reference toFIGS.1,2A, and2B. The bonded wafer415may be segmented (e.g., diced) into multiple dies using a system and/or apparatus, such as the system100described with reference toFIG.1. The processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-cmay be an example of performing stealth dicing through a first side of the bonded wafer415corresponding to an optically transmissive substrate420(e.g., to damage a semiconductor substrate425), followed by performing nano-perforation from the same side of the bonded wafer415to perforate the optically transmissive substrate420.

For illustrative purposes, aspects of the bonded wafer415may be described with reference to an x-direction, a y-direction, and a z-direction of the illustrated coordinate system. For example, the processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-cmay illustrate various cross-sectional views of the bonded wafer415in an xz-plane. In some examples, the z-direction may be illustrative of a direction orthogonal to a surface (e.g., a surface in an xy-plane) of the bonded wafer415, and each of the related regions, illustrated by their respective cross section in the x-plane, may extend for some distance along the y-direction. Although the processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-cillustrate examples of relative dimensions and quantities of various features, aspects of the bonded wafer415may be implemented with other relative dimensions or quantities of such features in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In the following description of the processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-c, some methods, techniques, processes, and operations may be performed in different orders or at different times. Further, some operations may be left out of the processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-c, or other operations may be added to the processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-c. The processing steps400-a,400-b, and400-cmay illustrate operations for dicing the bonded wafer415by irradiating substrates of the bonded wafer415using two laser technologies and separating the bonded wafer415by applying mechanical force to the substrates.

Operations illustrated in and described with reference toFIGS.4A through4Cmay be performed by a system, which may be an example of a system100, as described with reference toFIG.1. Additionally, or alternatively, operations illustrated in and described with reference toFIGS.4A through4Cmay be performed by a manufacturing system, such as a semiconductor fabrication system configured to perform additive operations such as bonding, subtractive operations such as etching, trenching, planarizing, or polishing, and supporting operations such as masking, patterning, photolithography, or aligning, among other operations that support the described techniques. In some examples, operations performed by such a manufacturing system may be supported by a process controller or its components as described herein.

In some cases, an optically transmissive substrate420of the bonded wafer415may be bonded with a semiconductor substrate425of the bonded wafer415, which may be examples of an optically transmissive substrate120and a semiconductor substrate125, as described with reference toFIG.1, respectively. Likewise, the optically transmissive substrate420may be an example of the optically transmissive substrate layer220described with reference toFIG.2A, and the semiconductor substrate425may be an example of the semiconductor substrate layer225described with reference toFIG.2B. The optically transmissive substrate420and the semiconductor substrate425may be bonded together using anodic bonding, adhesive bonding, fusion bonding, hybrid bonding, pressure bonding, chemical bonding, or any combination thereof, among other examples. In some examples, the optically transmissive substrate420and the semiconductor substrate425may be bonded prior to or after performing the processing step400-a,400-b, or400-c.

In some cases, the bonded wafer415may be subjected to one or more processes for reducing a total thickness (e.g., thinning) of the bonded wafer415(e.g., in the z-direction), which may include removing a portion of the optically transmissive substrate420or a portion of the semiconductor substrate425, or a combination thereof. For example, a surface411(e.g., an outer surface) of the optically transmissive substrate420may be subjected to one or more removal processes to reduce a thickness of the optically transmissive substrate420, including reducing the surface411to a depth that at least partially extends into the optically transmissive substrate420. Similarly, a surface416(e.g., an outer surface) of the semiconductor substrate425may be subjected to one or more removal processes to reduce a thickness of the semiconductor substrate425, including reducing the surface416to a depth that at least partially extends into the semiconductor substrate425. In some examples, the bonded wafer415may be thinned prior to or after performing the processing step400-a,400-b, or400-c.

FIG.4Aillustrates a first processing step400-afor irradiating the semiconductor substrate425. The first processing step400-amay include irradiating the semiconductor substrate425using a second laser technology which may be associated with stealth dicing techniques. For example, a laser (e.g., not shown, which may be an example of a second laser105-b, as described with reference toFIG.1) may irradiate the semiconductor substrate425by applying a laser beam435-b(e.g., using one or more optics) to the semiconductor substrate425to form damage regions at various regions within a volume of the semiconductor substrate425. In some cases, the laser beam435-bmay be applied to the semiconductor substrate425in a first direction (e.g., opposite the z-direction) through the optically transmissive substrate420, based on the optically transmissive substrate420being optically transmissive to a wavelength associated with the laser beam435-b.

In some examples, forming the damage regions within the semiconductor substrate425may include focusing the laser beam435-bat least partially within a volume of the semiconductor substrate425(e.g., using one or more optics). In some such examples, the targeted regions may correspond to internal layers (e.g., along the x-direction and arranged in the z-direction) of the semiconductor substrate425(e.g., not shown). The damage regions may correspond to contour lines (e.g., the second contour lines250-bdescribed with reference toFIG.2B) extending along the y-direction and extending to a depth (e.g., in the z-direction) at least partially through the semiconductor substrate425. The damage regions of the semiconductor substrate425may be associated with a relatively weak resistance to one or more mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer415. For example, the damage regions may create a plane through the internal layers of the semiconductor substrate425which may be associated with an increased likelihood of fracture propagation through the semiconductor substrate425when applying one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces).

FIG.4Billustrates a second processing step400-bfor irradiating the optically transmissive substrate420. The second processing step400-bmay include irradiating the optically transmissive substrate420using a first laser technology which may be associated with nano-perforation techniques. For example, a laser (e.g., not shown, which may be an example of the first laser105-a, as described with reference toFIG.1) may irradiate the optically transmissive substrate420by applying a laser beam435-a(e.g., using one or more optics) to the optically transmissive substrate420in the first direction to perforate the optically transmissive substrate420and form damage tracks. In some cases, the laser beam435-amay be aligned (e.g., in the x-direction) to the damage tracks formed from irradiating the semiconductor substrate425, at processing step400-a. In other cases, the laser beam435-amay be aligned to the damage regions formed from irradiating the semiconductor substrate425based on visually aligning with two or more fiducials.

Perforating the optically transmissive substrate may include applying a quantity of pulses of the laser beam435-ato the surface411, thereby forming damage tracks in the optically transmissive substrate420. The damage tracks may correspond to contour lines (e.g., the first contour lines250-adescribed with reference toFIG.2A) extending along the y-direction and extending to a depth (e.g., in the z-direction) at least partially through the optically transmissive substrate420relative to the surface411. In some cases, the damage tracks may extend through the optically transmissive substrate420. However, in other cases, the damage tracks may extend partially through the optically transmissive substrate420, such that one or more mechanical forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) may be involved in separating the optically transmissive substrate420. The damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate420may be associated with a relatively weak resistance to forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer415. For example, the damage tracks may create a region associated with a relatively high likelihood of fracture propagation during application of one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces).

FIG.4Cillustrates a third processing step400-cfor applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer415to segment the bonded wafer415into multiple dies. The third processing step400-cmay include applying one or more forces to one or more of the substrates (e.g., the optically transmissive substrate420, the semiconductor substrate425) of the bonded wafer415to separate the bonded wafer415into respective dies. For example, as depicted inFIG.4C, mechanical forces460-band460-cmay be applied to the optically transmissive substrate420(e.g., to surface411), and a mechanical force460-amay be applied to the semiconductor substrate425(e.g., to surface416). The mechanical force460-band the mechanical force460-cmay be applied at a location adjacent to a contour line (e.g., a contour line corresponding to the damage regions and the damage tracks in the respective substrates). The respective locations of the mechanical force460-band the mechanical force460-cmay be some distance away from a contour line, where the distance is sufficient to bend and break both the optically transmissive substrate420and the semiconductor substrate425(e.g., to achieve a desired geometry corresponding to the contour line) with the application of the mechanical force460-a, the mechanical force460-b, and the mechanical force460-c. Here, the distance of the mechanical force460-bfrom the damage tracks and/or damage regions (e.g., d0) and the distance of the mechanical force460-cfrom the damage tracks and/or damage regions (e.g., d1) may be about 10 μm, about 20 μm, about 25 μm, about 40 μm, about 45 μm, among other examples. The distance of the mechanical force460-band/or the mechanical force460-cfrom the damage track and the damage regions may be based on one or more dimensions of the bonded wafer415. A magnitude of each of the mechanical forces460-a,460-b, and460-cmay be configured to exceed the respective break resistance of the optically transmissive substrate420and the semiconductor substrate425(e.g., along a contour line). In some aspects, each of the mechanical forces460-a,460-b, and460-cmay be equal, or the mechanical forces460-a,460-b, and460-cmay be different.

In other examples, the bonded wafer415may be secured to a bending component, which may apply a mechanical force along one of the substrates of the bonded wafer415. The one or more forces applied to the bonded wafer415may be examples of tensile forces, bending forces, shear forces, compression forces, or a combination thereof, among other examples. As described herein, one or more tensile forces may be applied to one or both of the optically transmissive substrate420or the semiconductor substrate425. Applying the mechanical forces may produce a bending stress within the bonded wafer415such that the damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate420and the damage regions of the semiconductor substrate425may experience rapid crack propagation (e.g., fracture), thereby separating the bonded wafer415. Due to the alignment of the damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate420and the damage regions of the semiconductor substrate425, the bonded wafer415may be accurately separated along a yz-plane.

FIGS.5A,5B, and5Cshow examples of processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-cthat support techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-cmay illustrate aspects of a sequence of manufacturing operations for fabricating aspects of a bonded wafer515, which may be an example of a bonded wafer115and a bonded wafer200, as described with reference toFIGS.1,2A, and2B. In such cases, the bonded wafer515may be segmented (e.g., diced) into multiple dies using a system and/or apparatus, such as the system100described with reference toFIG.1. The processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-cmay be an example of performing stealth dicing through a first side of the bonded wafer515corresponding to a semiconductor substrate525(e.g., to perforate an optically transmissive substrate520), followed by performing stealth dicing from the same side of the bonded wafer515to damage the semiconductor substrate525.

For illustrative purposes, aspects of the bonded wafer515may be described with reference to an x-direction, a y-direction, and a z-direction of the illustrated coordinate system. For example, the processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-cmay illustrate various cross-sectional views of the bonded wafer515in an xz-plane. In some examples, the z-direction may be illustrative of a direction orthogonal to a surface (e.g., a surface in an xy-plane) of the bonded wafer515, and each of the related regions, illustrated by their respective cross section in the xz-plane, may extend for some distance along the y-direction. Although the processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-cillustrate examples of relative dimensions and quantities of various features, aspects of the bonded wafer515may be implemented with other relative dimensions or quantities of such features in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In the following description of the processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-c, some methods, techniques, processes, and operations may be performed in different orders or at different times. Further, some operations may be left out of the processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-c, or other operations may be added to the processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-c. The processing steps500-a,500-b, and500-cmay illustrate operations for dicing the bonded wafer515by irradiating substrates of the bonded wafer515using two laser technologies and separating the bonded wafer515by applying mechanical force to the substrates.

Operations illustrated in and described with reference toFIGS.5A through5Cmay be performed by a system, which may be an example of a system100, as described with reference toFIG.1. Additionally, or alternatively, operations illustrated in and described with reference toFIGS.5A through5Cmay be performed by a manufacturing system, such as a semiconductor fabrication system configured to perform additive operations such as bonding, subtractive operations such as etching, trenching, planarizing, or polishing, and supporting operations such as masking, patterning, photolithography, or aligning, among other operations that support the described techniques. In some examples, operations performed by such a manufacturing system may be supported by a process controller or its components as described herein.

In some cases, an optically transmissive substrate520of the bonded wafer515may be bonded with a semiconductor substrate525of the bonded wafer515, which may be examples of an optically transmissive substrate120and a semiconductor substrate125, as described with reference toFIG.1, respectively. Further, the optically transmissive substrate520may be an example of the optically transmissive substrate layer220described with reference toFIG.2A, and the semiconductor substrate525may be an example of the semiconductor substrate layer225described with reference toFIG.2B. The optically transmissive substrate520and the semiconductor substrate525may be coupled (e.g., bonded together) using anodic bonding, adhesive bonding, fusion bonding, hybrid bonding, pressure bonding, chemical bonding, or any combination thereof, among other bonding techniques. In some examples, the optically transmissive substrate520and the semiconductor substrate525may be bonded either prior to or after performing the processing step500-a,500-b, and500-c.

In some cases, the bonded wafer515may be subjected to one or more processes for reducing a total thickness (e.g., thinning) of the bonded wafer515(e.g., in the z-direction), which may include removing some portion of the optically transmissive substrate520or a portion of the semiconductor substrate525, or both. For example, a surface511(e.g., an outer surface) of the optically transmissive substrate520may be subjected to one or more removal processes to reduce a thickness of the optically transmissive substrate520, including reducing the surface511to a depth that at least partially extends into the optically transmissive substrate520. Similarly, a surface516(e.g., an outer surface) of the semiconductor substrate525may be subjected to one or more removal processes to reduce a thickness of the semiconductor substrate525, including reducing the surface516to a depth that at least partially extends into the semiconductor substrate525. In some examples, the bonded wafer515may be thinned prior to or after performing the processing step500-a,500-b, and500-c.

FIG.5Aillustrates a first processing step500-afor irradiating the optically transmissive substrate520. The first processing step500-amay include irradiating the optically transmissive substrate520using a first laser technology which may be associated with nano-perforation techniques. For example, a laser (e.g., not shown, which may be an example of the first laser105-a, as described with reference toFIG.1) may irradiate the optically transmissive substrate520by applying a laser beam535-a(e.g., using one or more optics) to the optically transmissive substrate520in a first direction (e.g., opposite the z-direction) to perforate the optically transmissive substrate520. In some cases, the laser beam535-amay be applied to the optically transmissive substrate520in the first direction through the semiconductor substrate525, based on the semiconductor substrate525being optically transmissive to a wavelength associated with the laser beam535-a.

Perforating the optically transmissive substrate may include applying a quantity of pulses of the laser beam535-ato the surface512, thereby forming damage tracks in the optically transmissive substrate520. The damage tracks may be contour lines (e.g., the first contour lines250-adescribed with reference toFIG.2A) extending along the y-direction and extending to a depth (e.g., in the z-direction) at least partially through the optically transmissive substrate520relative to the surface512. In some cases, the damage tracks may extend through the optically transmissive substrate520such that the damage tracks may separate the optically transmissive substrate520. However, in other cases, the damage tracks may extend partially through the optically transmissive substrate520, such that one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) may be involved in separating the optically transmissive substrate520. The damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate520may be associated with a relatively weak resistance to forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer515. For example, the damage tracks may create a region associated with a relatively high likelihood of fracture propagation when applying one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces).

FIG.5Billustrates a second processing step500-bfor irradiating the semiconductor substrate525. The second processing step500-bmay include irradiating the semiconductor substrate525using a second laser technology which may be associated with stealth dicing techniques. For example, a laser (e.g., not shown, which may be an example of a second laser105-b, as described with reference toFIG.1) may irradiate the semiconductor substrate525by applying a laser beam535-b(e.g., using one or more optics) to the semiconductor substrate525to form damage regions within the semiconductor substrate525. In some cases, the laser beam535-bmay be applied to the semiconductor substrate525in the first direction. In some examples, the laser beam535-bmay be aligned (e.g., in the x-direction) to the contour lines associated with the damage tracks formed from irradiating the optically transmissive substrate520, at processing step500-a. In other examples, the laser beam535-bmay be aligned to the damage tracks formed from irradiating the optically transmissive substrate520based on visual alignment with two or more fiducials.

In some examples, forming the damage regions within the semiconductor substrate525may include focusing the laser beam535-bat least partially within a volume of the semiconductor substrate525(e.g., using one or more optics). In some such examples, the targeted regions may correspond to internal layers (e.g., along the x-direction and arranged in the z-direction) of the semiconductor substrate525(e.g., not shown). The damage regions may correspond to contour lines (e.g., the second contour lines250-bdescribed with reference toFIG.2B) extending along the y-direction and extending to a depth (e.g., in the z-direction) at least partially through the semiconductor substrate525. The damage regions of the semiconductor substrate525may be associated with a relatively weak resistance to one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces) applied to the bonded wafer515. For example, the damage regions may create a plane through the internal layers of the semiconductor substrate525which may be associated with an increased likelihood of fracture propagation through the semiconductor substrate525when applying one or more forces (e.g., bending forces, tensile forces, shear forces).

FIG.5Cillustrates a third processing step500-cfor applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer515. The third processing step500-cmay include applying one or more mechanical forces to one or more of the substrates (e.g., the optically transmissive substrate520, the semiconductor substrate525) of the bonded wafer515to separate the bonded wafer515into respective dies. For example, as depicted inFIG.5C, mechanical forces560-band560-cmay be applied to the optically transmissive substrate520(e.g., to surface511), and a mechanical force560-amay be applied to the semiconductor substrate525(e.g., to surface516). In some aspects, the mechanical force560-band the mechanical force560-cmay be applied at a location adjacent to a contour line (e.g., a contour line corresponding to the damage regions and the damage tracks in the respective substrates). The respective locations of the mechanical force560-band the mechanical force560-cmay be some distance away from a contour line, where the distance is sufficient to bend and break both the optically transmissive substrate520and the semiconductor substrate525(e.g., to achieve a desired geometry corresponding to the contour line) with the application of the mechanical force560-a, the mechanical force560-b, and the mechanical force560-c. Here, the distance of the mechanical force560-bfrom the damage tracks and/or damage regions (e.g., d0) and the distance of the mechanical force560-cfrom the damage tracks and/or damage regions (e.g., d1) may be about 10 μm, about 20 μm, about 25 μm, about 40 μm, about 45 μm, among other examples. The distance of the mechanical force560-band/or the mechanical force560-cfrom the damage track and the damage regions may be based on one or more dimensions of the bonded wafer515. A magnitude of each of the mechanical forces560-a,560-b, and560-cmay be configured to exceed the respective break resistance of the optically transmissive substrate520and the semiconductor substrate525(e.g., along a contour line). In some aspects, each of the mechanical forces560-a,560-b, and560-cmay be equal, or the mechanical forces560-a,560-b, and560-cmay be different.

In other examples, the bonded wafer515may be secured to a bending component, which may apply a mechanical force along one of the substrates of the bonded wafer515. The one or more forces may be examples of tensile forces, bending forces, shear forces, compression forces, or a combination thereof, among other examples. Applying the mechanical forces may produce a bending stress within the bonded wafer515such that the damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate520and the damage regions of the semiconductor substrate525may experience rapid crack propagation (e.g., fracture), thereby separating the bonded wafer515. Due to the alignment of the damage tracks of the optically transmissive substrate520and the damage regions of the semiconductor substrate525, the bonded wafer515may be accurately separated along a yz-plane.

FIG.6shows a flowchart illustrating a method600that supports techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The operations of the method600may be implemented by a manufacturing system or one or more controllers associated with a manufacturing system. For example, the operations of the method600may be performed by one or more lasers on a bonded wafer including different materials, such as described with reference toFIGS.1through5C. In some examples, one or more controllers may execute a set of instructions to control one or more functional elements of a manufacturing system to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more controllers may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At605, the method may include irradiating a first substrate of a bonded wafer using a first laser beam, the bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with a second substrate, where the first substrate is irradiated from a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate, and where the first substrate includes a first material and the second substrate includes a second material different than the first material. The operations of605may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of605may be performed by a first laser105-aas described with reference toFIG.1.

At610, the method may include irradiating the second substrate of the bonded wafer using a second laser beam different than the first laser beam, where the second substrate is irradiated from a second direction opposite the first direction. The operations of610may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of610may be performed by a second laser105-bas described with reference toFIG.1.

At615, the method may include applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate. The operations of615may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of615may be performed by mechanical forces as described with reference toFIG.3C.

In some examples, an apparatus (e.g., a manufacturing system) as described herein may perform a method or methods, such as the method600. The apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more controllers to control one or more functional elements of the manufacturing system), or any combination thereof for performing the following aspects of the present disclosure: irradiating a first substrate of a bonded wafer using a first laser beam, the bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with a second substrate, where the first substrate is irradiated from a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate, and where the first substrate includes a first material and the second substrate includes a second material different than the first material, irradiating the second substrate of the bonded wafer using a second laser beam different than the first laser beam, where the second substrate is irradiated from a second direction opposite the first direction, and applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate.

In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a glass material and the second material includes a semiconductor material. In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending at least partially through the glass material in the first direction. In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for forming a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing the second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in the first direction or the second direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions.

In some examples, of the method600and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a semiconductor material and the second material includes a glass material. In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for forming a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing the second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in the first direction or the second direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions. In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending at least partially through the glass material in the first direction.

In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, the first substrate may be irradiated to form a plurality of contour lines in the bonded wafer and the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium may include further operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for aligning the second laser beam with the plurality of contour lines, where the second substrate may be irradiated based on aligning the second laser beam.

In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, the second laser beam may be aligned based on a visual alignment with two or more fiducials, a visual alignment with a plurality of damage tracks or damage regions in the first substrate caused by the first laser beam, or both.

Some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for applying a tensile force or a bending force, or both, to the first substrate or to the second substrate when the one or more forces may be applied to the bonded wafer, where the bonded wafer may be separated into the plurality of dies based on the tensile force or the bending force, or both, and the one or more forces, the one or more forces being in the first direction or the second direction.

Some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for removing a portion of the first material, a portion of the second material, or both, to decrease a total thickness of the bonded wafer, where the portion of the first material or the portion of the second material, or both, may be removed prior to irradiating the first substrate and irradiating the second substrate, after irradiating the first substrate and prior to irradiating the second substrate, or after irradiating the first substrate and irradiating the second substrate.

In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, the first substrate may be coupled with the second substrate prior to irradiating the first substrate and irradiating the second substrate, the first substrate and the second substrate being coupled via anodic bonding, adhesive bonding, fusion bonding, pressure bonding, chemical bonding, or any combination thereof.

In some examples of the method600and the apparatus described herein, the first laser beam includes a first pulsed laser beam having a first wavelength between about 500 nm and about 1100 nm and having a first pulse width between 10 femtoseconds and about 100 picoseconds and the second laser beam includes a second pulsed laser beam having a second wavelength between about 1000 nm and about 3000 nm and having a second pulse width between 10 femtoseconds and about 100 picoseconds.

FIG.7shows a flowchart illustrating a method700that supports techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The operations of the method700may be implemented by a manufacturing system or one or more controllers associated with a manufacturing system. For example, the operations of the method700may be performed by one or more laser sources on a bonded wafer including different materials, such as described with reference toFIGS.1through5C. In some examples, one or more controllers may execute a set of instructions to control one or more functional elements of a manufacturing system to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more controllers may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At705, the method may include irradiating a first substrate of a bonded wafer using a first laser beam, the bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with a second substrate, where the first substrate is irradiated by the first laser beam through the second substrate and from a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the second substrate, and where the first substrate includes a first material and the second substrate includes a second material different than the first material. The operations of705may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of705may be performed by a first laser105-aor a second laser105-bas described with reference toFIG.1.

At710, the method may include irradiating the second substrate of the bonded wafer using a second laser beam different than the first laser beam, where the second substrate is irradiated from the first direction. The operations of710may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of710may be performed by a first laser105-aor a second laser105-bas described with reference toFIG.1.

At715, the method may include applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate. The operations of715may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of715may be performed by the mechanical forces as described with reference toFIGS.4C and5C, respectively.

In some examples, an apparatus as described herein may perform a method or methods, such as the method700. The apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more controllers to control one or more functional elements of the manufacturing system) for irradiating a first substrate of a bonded wafer using a first laser beam, the bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with a second substrate, where the first substrate is irradiated by the first laser beam through the second substrate and from a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the second substrate, and where the first substrate includes a first material and the second substrate includes a second material different than the first material, irradiating the second substrate of the bonded wafer using a second laser beam different than the first laser beam, where the second substrate is irradiated from the first direction, and applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate.

In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a glass material and the second material includes a semiconductor material. In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for forming a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing the second laser beam through the glass material and at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in the first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions. In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending from a surface of the glass material to at least a depth of the glass material.

In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, the glass material may be optically transmissive for a wavelength of the first laser beam.

In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a semiconductor material and the second material includes a glass material. In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending from a surface of the glass material to at least a depth of the glass material, where the surface of the glass material faces a surface of the semiconductor material. In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for forming a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing the second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in the first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions.

In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, the semiconductor material may include a silicon-based material (e.g., a monocrystalline silicon) that is optically transmissive for a wavelength of the first laser beam.

In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, the first substrate may be irradiated to form a plurality of contour lines in the bonded wafer and the method, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable medium may include further operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for aligning the second laser beam with the plurality of contour lines, where the second substrate may be irradiated based on aligning the second laser beam.

In some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein, the second laser beam may be aligned based on a visual alignment with two or more fiducials, a visual alignment with a plurality of damage tracks or damage regions in the first substrate caused by the first laser beam, or both.

Some examples of the method700and the apparatus described herein may further include operations, features, means, or instructions for applying a tensile force or a bending force, or both, to the first substrate or to the second substrate, where the bonded wafer may be separated into the plurality of dies based on the tensile force or the bending force, or both.

FIG.8shows a flowchart illustrating a method800that supports techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The operations of the method800may be implemented by a manufacturing system or one or more controllers associated with a manufacturing system. For example, the operations of the method800may be performed by one or more lasers on a bonded wafer including different materials, such as described with reference toFIGS.1through5C. In some examples, one or more controllers may execute a set of instructions to control one or more functional elements of a manufacturing system to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more controllers may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At805, the method may include irradiating a first substrate using a first laser beam, the first substrate including a first material. The operations of805may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of805may be performed by a first laser105-aas described with reference toFIG.1.

At810, the method may include irradiating a second substrate using a second laser beam different from the first laser beam, the second substrate including a second material different from the first material. The operations of810may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of810may be performed by a second laser105-bas described with reference toFIG.1.

At815, the method may include bonding the first substrate with the second substrate to form a bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with the second substrate. The operations of820may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein.

At820, the method may include applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate. The operations of820may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of820may be performed by mechanical forces as described with reference toFIG.3C.

In some examples, an apparatus (e.g., a manufacturing system) as described herein may perform a method or methods, such as the method800. The apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more controllers to control one or more functional elements of the manufacturing system), or any combination thereof for performing the following aspects of the present disclosure: irradiating a first substrate using a first laser beam, the first substrate including a first material, irradiating a second substrate using a second laser beam different from the first laser beam, the second substrate including a second material different from the first material, bonding the first substrate with the second substrate to form a bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with the second substrate, and applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate.

In some examples of the method800and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a glass material and the second material includes a semiconductor material. In some examples of the method800and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending at least partially through the glass material in a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate. In some examples of the method800and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for forming a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing the second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in the first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions.

In some examples, of the method800and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a semiconductor material and the second material includes a glass material. In some examples of the method800and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for forming a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing the second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in a first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions. In some examples of the method800and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending at least partially through the glass material in the first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate.

In some examples of the method800and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for bonding the first substrate with the second substrate via anodic bonding, adhesive bonding, fusion bonding, pressure bonding, chemical bonding, or any combination thereof.

FIG.9shows a flowchart illustrating a method900that supports techniques for dicing bonded wafers using laser technologies in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. The operations of the method900may be implemented by a manufacturing system or one or more controllers associated with a manufacturing system. For example, the operations of the method900may be performed by one or more lasers on a bonded wafer including different materials, such as described with reference toFIGS.1through5C. In some examples, one or more controllers may execute a set of instructions to control one or more functional elements of a manufacturing system to perform the described functions. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more controllers may perform aspects of the described functions using special-purpose hardware.

At905, the method may include irradiating a first substrate using a first laser beam, the first substrate including a first material. The operations of905may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of905may be performed by a first laser105-aas described with reference toFIG.1.

At910, the method may include bonding the first substrate with a second substrate to form a bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with the second substrate, the second substrate including a second material different from the first material. The operations of910may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein.

At915, the method may include modifying the second material of the second substrate after bonding the first substrate with the second substrate. The operations of915may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of915may be performed by a second laser105-bas described with reference toFIG.1. In other examples, aspects of the operations of915may be performed using one or more mechanical tools, as described with reference toFIG.1.

At920, the method may include applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and the second substrate. The operations of920may be performed in accordance with examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of920may be performed by mechanical forces as described with reference toFIG.3C.

In some examples, an apparatus (e.g., a manufacturing system) as described herein may perform a method or methods, such as the method900. The apparatus may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more controllers to control one or more functional elements of the manufacturing system), or any combination thereof for performing the following aspects of the present disclosure: irradiating a first substrate using a first laser beam, the first substrate including a first material, bonding the first substrate with a second substrate to form a bonded wafer including the first substrate coupled with the second substrate, the second substrate including a second material different from the first material, modifying the second material of the second substrate after bonding the first substrate with the second substrate, and applying one or more forces to the bonded wafer to separate the bonded wafer into a plurality of dies that are formed after irradiating the first substrate and modifying the second substrate.

In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a glass material and the second material includes a semiconductor material. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending at least partially through the glass material in a first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating the second substrate using a second laser beam different from the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing a second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in the first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions.

In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a semiconductor material and the second material includes a glass material. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating the second substrate using a second laser beam different from the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing a second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in a first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending at least partially through the glass material in the first direction that is orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate.

In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a glass material and the second material includes a semiconductor material. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for perforating the glass material using a plurality of pulses of the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage tracks, the plurality of damage tracks extending at least partially through the glass material in a first direction orthogonal to a surface of the first substrate. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for removing a portion of the second material of the second substrate using one or more mechanical processes applied to a surface of the second substrate, where the one or more mechanical processes include sawing or blade scribing, or both.

In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, the first material includes a semiconductor material and the second material includes a glass material. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for irradiating the second substrate using a second laser beam different from the first laser beam to form a plurality of damage regions within a volume of the semiconductor material by focusing a second laser beam at a plurality of regions within the volume, the plurality of regions corresponding to one or more layers of irradiated semiconductor material, where the plurality of damage regions extend in a first direction or a second direction opposite the first direction, or both, from each region of the plurality of regions. In some examples of the method900and the apparatus described herein, irradiating the first substrate may include operations, features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions for removing a portion of the second material of the second substrate using one or more mechanical processes applied to a surface of the second substrate, where the one or more mechanical processes include sawing or blade scribing, or both.

A bonded wafer is described. The bonded wafer may include an optically transmissive substrate layer coupled with a semiconductor substrate layer, where the optically transmissive substrate layer includes a plurality of damage tracks from a first laser source that extend at least partially from a surface of the optically transmissive substrate layer through a thickness of the optically transmissive substrate layer, and where the semiconductor substrate layer includes a plurality of regions that are damaged by a second laser source focused within a volume of the semiconductor substrate layer, where the plurality of damage tracks are aligned with the plurality of regions that are damaged and form one or more contour lines on the bonded wafer.

In some examples of the bonded wafer, the optically transmissive substrate layer includes a glass material having a thickness between about 100 μm and about 5 mm, and the semiconductor substrate layer includes a thickness between about 50 μm and about 1.5 mm.

In some examples of the bonded wafer, the plurality of damage tracks have a diameter of about 10 μm or less and the plurality of regions of the semiconductor substrate layer each include a respective damage region within the volume of the semiconductor substrate layer that originates in one or more directions from a portion of the semiconductor substrate layer modified by the second laser source.

It should be noted that these methods describe examples of implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. For example, aspects of each of the methods may include steps or aspects of the other methods, or other steps or techniques described herein. Thus, aspects of the disclosure may provide for consumer preference and maintenance interface.