JP Sercel Associates Inc(JPSA)of Manchester,NH,USA,which makes laser-based materials processing workstations for wafer processing and micromachining,has launched the IX-6100-MD for scribing and dicing metal layers such as Mo,Cu,Ni,Au,Ag and Zn,as well as their alloys,used in LED manufacturing.The system is equipped with the firm's latest proprietary vision and scribe placement technology,allowing a reduction in die street size and enabling more LED die per wafer.
Picture:Cross section of 60μm-thick copper after singulation.
In third-quarter 2012,JPSA will ship several IX-6100-MD systems to a leading LED manufacturer in Asia,where they will be used for the singulation of high-power LED devices that use the metal substrate to assist in LED heat dissipation.JPSA says that the IX-6100-MD was selected because of its high throughput,increased die yield and low cost of ownership of the system.
JPSA says that the key technology in the IX-6100-MD is its proprietary beam delivery system,which allows the shape of the laser beam to be independently adjusted in two dimensions.This allows for optimization of laser energy used for cutting,and enables a minimal kerf width of 20μm to be achieved while minimizing the heat-affected zone.
"The IX-6100-MD combines JPSA's proprietary scribing technique with laser processes designed to achieve full singulation of metal devices,"says CEO Jeffrey Sercel."The IX-6100-MD can be configured by JPSA with a range of lasers and options to optimize production performance for each customer's specific material combinations,"he adds.
The IX-6100 series of micromachining systems can be equipped with JPSA's IAP(Integrated Automation Platform)for automated wafer handling in production environments.The IX-6100 is similar to the firm's IX-6600 platform,which is claimed to be the industry-standard tool used for laser lift-off(LLO)of LED devices in an associated manufacturing process.