In the wafer industry, the past few years have been all about developing thinner wafers. This is because of the increasing demand for smaller, thinner, and lighter electronics. Thin silicon wafers also possess high-speed ability and increased power, making them popular for high-speed circuits and high-power applications. If you're looking for the perfect type of wafer for your next project, then you might want to try using thin silicon wafers. But how are thinner wafers achieved? Here's a summary of the back-grinding process to achieve thin silicon wafers:
Wafer grinding or backgrounding is the most popular method for thinning wafers. The dimension to which a wafer can be thinned depends heavily on the machine used, but most thin silicon wafers have around 50 micrometers thickness. Anything below that measurement put wafers at risk of suffering from reliability issues. De-bonding thinned wafer from handling wafers can also be challenging.
The process of thinning wafers involves using a mechanical grinding wheel, chemical slurry, and IR equipment- to help you measure the thickness. A classic grinding process would involve three stages: coarse grinding, fine grinding, and polishing. For example, you want to grind a silicon wafer from 725 micrometers to 50 micrometers. The first stage will involve coarse grinding the wafer down to 100 micrometers using a machine. Next, you will need to further finely grind the wafer, nearing the 50-micrometer target. Usually, it's no thinner than 51 micrometers. Lastly, the wafer needs to be precisely ground to 50 micrometers through the polishing method.
Thin silicon wafers might just be the type of wafer you’re looking for for your next project. At Wafer World, we offer high-quality wafers at a reasonable price! Contact us for inquiries or purchase wafers online!
