The semiconductor manufacturing process is extremely detailed, clean, and demanding, and as devices get smaller and smaller, this will only increase. However, ever since laser marking was introduced to wafer production, meeting production guidelines and industry demands has become easier.
Lasers play a fundamental role in semiconductor manufacturing, offering increased accuracy on smaller surfaces. In this article, we’ll explore the history of laser marking, what uses it found in the semiconductor industry, how it changed through the years to adapt to demands, and what potential innovations await in the future.
Laser marking technology uses focused, energetic light beams to leave long-lasting marks on a material’s surface. Through the clever use of mirrors, the stored energy is released and transferred to the component's surface.
This heat energy affects the material's qualities and appearance, leaving a permanent mark. How precise a laser is at engraving, etching, annealing, and discoloring surfaces depends mostly on its energy level, and the mirrors used.
Moreover, laser’ beams are highly concentrated, targeting only particular regions of a material. This guarantees accurate, high-contrast, and high-quality markings that are easily readable or scanned on any surface and permanent.
Because of that, laser marking is the perfect technology for tasks where accuracy and longevity are crucial—which is the case for semiconductors and chips.
Laser technology can create a thin, accurate, strong, and adaptable beam that can cut or shape very small areas. Because of that, it has become a widely used resource in the semiconductor manufacturing industry for cutting, welding, coating removal, and marking wafers.
And as semiconductors become smaller to fit in smaller devices, the importance of lasers in the industry will only increase. Choosing laser marking over alternative marking techniques has several benefits, such as:
Laser systems are essential to modern technology and have been used for many different purposes throughout the history of laser engraving technology. Some of the common industries that depend on these systems are:
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The history of laser engraving begins with the invention of the first lasers in the 1950s. Let’s examine some of the key developments:
Technological developments have expanded the scope of applications for lasers.
Nowadays, the two most popular types of lasers used in semiconductor manufacturing are solid-state and excimer lasers. But a fresh choice that competes with the classics may soon be accessible.
According to a recent Nature study, a team of Kyoto University researchers led by Susumu Noda changed the structure of photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) to overcome the brightness limitations of semiconductor lasers.
In the Nature study, the researchers used photonic crystals embedded in the laser. These adjustments enabled the laser to continue operating while maintaining a high beam quality.
In the study, researchers were able to create a PCSEL with a 3 mm diameter, which is a 10 times improvement over earlier PCSEL devices with a 1 mm diameter. Still, further advances need to be made until these new discoveries can be introduced to industrial wafer manufacturing.
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Laser emerged less than 100 years ago, but it has become a fundamental pillar of our society. By going over its development, we can see how important it was since its beginning and how that fostered the technological developments needed to make it even more sophisticated.
Here at Wafer World, we’re excited to see what’s to come, and how improvements in accuracy can contribute to the ever-growing semiconductor industry. If you’re interested in learning how we use laser marking to develop wafers, reach out!
