A review on laser drilling and cutting of silicon

Silicon is the most widely used material in numerous fields. Traditional mechanical machining methods have been unable to meet the higher requirements of processing quality. Laser machining is especially suitable for processing hard and brittle materials due to the non-contact processing characteristics. This article summarizes the nanosecond, picosecond, femtosecond laser drilling and cutting technologies of silicon according to the classification of laser pulse widths. For the most typical field assisted machining technology, liquid-assisted laser drilling and cutting are also discussed. In consideration of the heat generated during laser processing is likely to cause stress in the material, resulting in micro-cracks and other processing defects. Laser induced thermal crack propagation cutting technology (LITP) successfully uses the cracks produced in laser machining to achieve the high cutting quality of silicon. As a new way of material internal processing, laser stealth dicing is the most promising method in the field of wafer cutting. The mechanism and processing characteristics of laser stealth dicing are described. At the end of paper, a summary and outlook are provided.