A Study of Integrated Circuit Dicing Tape When Used in a Plasma Dicing Environment

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to establish which of the many dicing tapes used in the semiconductor industry, would be most suitable for use in plasma dicing. Tape design over the past 40 years has continually evolved through advancements in both dicing technologies and the incessant revision of integrated circuit packaging. Die singulation has traditionally been accomplished using a diamond saw, laser-based technology or combinations of both. The stress on dicing tape was therefore limited to fatigue through the physical nature of saw dicing or heat energies induced during laser dicing. These processes do not expose dicing tape to either high vacuum or a variety of plasma chemistry. This investigative work is a continuation of studies examining dicing tape behavior when employed for use in plasma dicing. Results show that Polyolefin (PO) UV-tape with low to medium adhesion strength exhibit the greatest resilience in harsh plasma etch conditions and that efficient photoinitiated cross-linking (or curing) of the adhesive is triggered if directly exposed to the photonic energies present in a pure SF6 plasma or full plasma dicing process. However, the post plasma dice, post UV cure adhesive strength can still be minimized if the tape manufacturers recommended time limitations between tape mount, plasma dice and the die pick-up process are adhered to.