SOI Wafer Coring & Resizing

Laser Coring of Silicon-on-Insulator Wafers Without Oxide Layer Damage

Dynamic Process Group specializes in SOI wafer coring and resizing using Synova Laser MicroJet technology. SOI wafers require laser processing — mechanical sawing causes delamination at the buried oxide (BOX) layer and introduces stress fractures through the device silicon layer above it.

The SOI Challenge

Standard SOI substrates consist of three layers: a handle wafer (typically 500–750um Si), a buried oxide (BOX) layer (100nm–3um SiO2), and a device silicon layer (a few nm to several um). The acoustic and thermal mismatch between Si and SiO2 makes the BOX interface the point of failure during mechanical coring. Thermal saws introduce microcracks that propagate along the BOX interface, causing delamination across the entire wafer face — not just at the cut edge.

Why Laser Coring Works for SOI

The Synova Laser MicroJet ablates material without transmitting mechanical shock. The water jet removes debris and manages the thermal load simultaneously. The BOX layer sees no mechanical stress and only a negligible thermal pulse. Result: cut edge quality equivalent to mechanical coring on bulk silicon, with no delamination or BOX cracking.

SOI Coring Capabilities

Source wafers up to 300mm diameter. All standard target sizes from 25.4mm to 200mm. SOI, SOIOI, and bonded SOI stacks accepted. Fully depleted (FD-SOI) and partially depleted (PD-SOI) substrates.

Contact: info@waferfab.net