Ceramic materials are useful to various segments of the semiconductor industry. These are being used for devices that are aimed to withstand high temperatures. Some popular examples are the high power semiconductor packages called RF-amplifier used in mobile communications and for packaging integrated circuits -mostly in high temperature applications.

There are a number of reasons why ceramics are a good material to many semi-conductor applications: (1) excellent thermal properties (2) very good thermal stability and thermal conductivity and (3) low thermal expansion.

The integration of ceramic materials into devices requires various processes. These operations are considered challenging because of ceramic’s properties – hard, brittle. However, with the advancement of technology, dicing ceramic materials has become more manageable and a lot easier.

Dicing ceramic materials – some required operations:

• Scribing – a process done on 96% Alumina, BeO, Aluminum Nitride, and other exotic materials. The operation includes drilling and machining the substrate at the same time.
• Drilling – this process is performed when there is a need to drill a hole on to a ceramic material and this is carefully done because this kind of material is prone to cracks or breaking.
• Laser cutting (microjet) – one of the advanced technologies used in dicing ceramic materials. The process involves directing the output of high-powered laser at the material to be cut.

Hiring a dicing ceramic company – some tips

1. Be sure you know the company well (do some good research online as well as offline);
2. Know whether or not the company has had complaints from its customers in the past;
3. List down your prospects and pick the most qualified out of it;
4. Understand their dicing applications and the processes (e.g. the technologies they employ);
5. Weigh the charges against the service packages they offer and of course check if they have hidden charges;
6. Negotiate for possible incentives or promo.