Semiconductor devices are usually formed on a single silicon wafer during a batch processing method. Individual devices are separated from the wafer during the wafer sawing or dicing step. Subsequent packaging processes are then performed on the individual devices, whose edge portions are very susceptible to mechanical damage from the sawing process. Defects formed along device edges due to the dicing saw blade often provide potential sites for serious reliability problems. If the scribing area is reduced, the number of the separated devices from a single wafer increases, which results in productivity improvement. However, the closer the scribing position of the saw blade comes to the active device pattern, the greater possibility of sawing-induced damage to the active pattern is. Thus, this work shows methods to reduce the negative impact of the saw blade while maintaining close proximity of the scribe lines to the IC devices. In particular, this work suggests that a decrease in the size of the diamond particles embedded in the saw blade and in the rotation speed of the saw blade might contribute to the prevention of sawing-induced damage to device patterns.

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We invented the dielectric barrier hollow cathode discharge (DBHCD) configuration as a novel light source and studied on the physical properties of discharge and the possibility of the parallel operation of many holes of the DBHCD without additional impedances such as inductance or capacitance. The electrical characteristics and the photo images of discharges sustained in cavity were investigated. The experimental result showed that the surface discharge mode was transformed into a hollow cathode mode according to a decrease of the pD (operating pressure times hole diameter). The parallel operation of the 13 arrays of DBHCD was also possible without additional impedances for limiting current. We measured the relative IR emission efficiency of the coplanar dielectric barrier discharge (CDBD) and DBHCD to evaluate the enhanced performance as light sources. According to the experiment, the 25 arrays of DBHCD result in 30%-enhanced performance in IR emission efficiency compared with CDBD.

Dependence of indium-tin-oxide work function on surface cleaning method as studied by ultraviolet and x-ray photoemission spectroscopies

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