Laser Micromachining of Silicon Substrates

Laser micromachining has been widely used for micro-component fabrication of various materials, such as silicon substrates where silicon wafer is ablated accurately and precisely through marking, scribing, drilling or dicing. Thermal damages can occur on the substrates when improper process parameters and methods are used. This paper presents a review on the micromachining of silicon substrates using conventional and novel lasers as well as water-assisted laser micromachining technologies. The basic concepts and approaches of the technologies are discussed along with the challenges to damage-free laser micromachining at commercially acceptable cutting rates.