What You Need to Know About the Laser Marking Process

Laser marking plays an important role in silicon manufacturing. It is the process of putting marks on semiconductor packages using a laser beam. It is considered to be an alternative to ink marking. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about laser marking.

What Do I Need to Know About Laser Marking?

Laser stands for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”. This means a high-intensity beam of light is being discharged by atoms that have been supplied with high energy through the optical or electrical method.  Laser marking is the last step in silicon manufacturing. It is a non-contact thermal process that changes the surface of the semiconductor package to successfully mark it using the heat coming from the laser beam.

Laser Marking Involves Three Major Steps:

• Surface Annealing- uses low temperatures to mark metallic surfaces, which creates sharp, contrasting lines that have very shallow markings.
• Surface Melting- helps cause a color change on plastic surfaces by melting the marking zones.
• Material Vaporization-uses vaporization to remove material from the marking zone and successfully mark the area.

Optical stimulation is generally used for solid, crystalline materials. It uses special lamps or diode bars to blast the crystalline material with wavelength-specific light. Electrical stimulation, on the other hand, uses a DC or RF signal to stimulate gas atoms.The electrical or optical stimulation of atoms of the laser material causes the electrons to take in all the energy and transfer to a higher energy level. After this, they start releasing photons to return to a lower energy level.

All Laser Beams Have the Following Characteristics:

• All laser beams have only 1 color or are monochromatic.
• All laser beams are capable of traveling over large distances without dispersing.
• All laser beams have light waves that are in the same state.

Advantages of Using Laser Marking for Marking Semiconductor Packages:

• Better marking power.
• Longer lasting marks.
• High-speed marking.
• No mess, since no ink is needed. It also means you don’t have to constantly buy ink.
• Short set-up.
• Laser marking is easier to incorporate into other processes.

Looking for Silicon Manufacturing?

More and more silicon manufacturing companies use laser marking to efficiently mark semiconductor packages. At Wafer World, we offer high-quality wafers at a reasonable price. Contact us for inquires!