Patent ID: 8153464

Claim:
A method of singulating a semiconductor die from a wafer, the method comprising: at least one of etching or cutting a plurality of trenches into the wafer from a first side of the wafer, each trench including opposite sidewalls and extending through at least a majority of a depth of the wafer along an entire side of the die; depositing a passivation body into each of the plurality of trenches, each passivation body partially filling a respective trench and including a lining along each of the sidewalls of the respective trench, the linings in each trench being spaced from one another with empty space; forming a carrier layer at the first side of the wafer; grinding the wafer from the second side to expose the bottom of each trench of the plurality of trenches; forming a metal layer on a second side of the wafer; removing the carrier layer; and separating the die from the wafer.