Patent ID: 6972244

Claim:
A wafer level method of marking back surfaces of integrated circuit devices, the method comprising: providing a wafer having a plurality of integrated circuit devices, the wafer having an active surface and a back surface, the active surface having a plurality of electrically conductive pads; applying a mount tape to the back surface of the wafer, the mount tape being arranged to support the wafer and not including a marking layer that is intended for use in transferring an image to the back surface of the wafer; and laser marking the wafer through the mount tape, wherein the marking of the wafer is accomplished directly by a laser and does not involve the transfer of a image from the tape to the wafer, and wherein the laser marking directly marks a semiconductor material that forms the wafer and is exposed on the back surface of the wafer, whereby the marking is made directly on the semiconductor material and not on plastic packaging materials.