ITAR-registered wafer coring, resizing and thick-substrate laser dicing.
We process III-V, infrared-detector and specialty substrates for program engineers and lab scientists. The work is done on a Synova Laser MicroJet in a restricted-access facility in Silicon Valley, under NDA, and your material stays in the United States.
Your last wafer should never be your last chance.
- ITAR registered
- Restricted-access facility
- Work performed under NDA
- U.S.-based · Silicon Valley, CA · since 2013
Processing for the wafers you can't easily replace
Many of the substrates on defense and lab programs are one-off or custom-grown, and some have months of processing on them. Our process is built to recover as much usable material as possible from each input wafer.
Laser coring & resizing
Resize wafers from 25.4mm to 450mm to fit your tools, carriers or package. We keep the orientation, and a new primary flat or SEMI notch can be added on request. Our coring process flow has been qualified by customers for using laser-cored material in their proprietary bonding processes.
Wafer coring specs →Thick-substrate laser dicing, 1–5mm
We laser-dice all the way through thick semiconductor and III-V substrates up to 5mm on the Synova Laser MicroJet. Thicker material is evaluated case by case.
Laser micromachining →Region extraction from patterned wafers
Our alignment and vision system cores or cuts specific die fields and test structures out of patterned wafers, including IP removal from shuttle runs.
Custom geometries
We cut discs, coupons, holes, slots and non-standard outlines to your drawing, on semiconductors and on metals such as Kovar, Mo, W and Cu-diamond.
Custom geometries →CNC coring for SiC & transparent substrates
SiC, sapphire, fused silica, quartz and glass are cored mechanically, since they are transparent at 1064nm.
CNC coring →Edge grinding
We grind a rounded edge profile after coring, or re-round sharp and chipped edges left by aggressive processing.
Edge grinding →The materials defense and lab programs run on
III-V compounds
GaAs / AlGaAs, InP, InAs, InSb, GaSb
Infrared detector materials
HgCdTe, CdTe / CdZnTe, InSb
Group IV
Si, SOI, SiGe, Ge
Wide-bandgap
GaN-on-Si (laser) · SiC (CNC coring)
Specialty
Graphite, diamond-coated Si, patterned CMOS, custom proprietary films
Metals & hard materials
Stainless, Cu, Mo, W, Ti, Ni alloys / Kovar, tungsten carbide, PCD / PCBN, Cu-diamond
Laser processing requires material that absorbs at 1064nm. Transparent and translucent substrates are routed to CNC coring.
Numbers you can design to
| Process | Synova Laser MicroJet: a 1064nm laser guided inside a water jet. The water cools the cut and carries debris away as it cuts. |
|---|---|
| Wafer diameter range | 25.4mm – 450mm |
| Thickness range | 200µm – 5mm (thicker case by case) |
| Cored diameter tolerance | ±150µm standard; tighter on request |
| Kerf width | 200µm ±25µm (150µm nozzle) |
| Alignment | Vision-aligned coring and cutting on patterned wafers, all diameters |
| Orientation | Orientation preserved; new primary flat or SEMI notch on request |
| Edge condition | As-cored, or ground to a rounded profile (not polished) |
| Bonding qualification | Process flow qualified by customers for using laser-cored material in their proprietary bonding processes |
| Metrology | Keyence measurement systems, calibrated, with certificates on file |
Proven on difficult substrates
5mm-thick bulk GaAs
We cut completely through 5mm of bulk GaAs on the laser and delivered parts to the program's geometry. The kerf was compensated in the cutting program so final dimensions held. Our process is suitable for downstream bonding applications.
300mm → 200mm, ~775µm Si with resist
We cored patterned 300mm CMOS wafers down to 200mm for tool compatibility, with every wafer delivered good.
Raw 200mm / 300mm custom Soitec SOI wafers to usable form factors
We safely process raw 200mm and 300mm custom Soitec SOI wafers into usable form factors, ready for customers to add their own proprietary films and patterns and build functional semiconductor and photonics devices. Customers routinely have their custom Soitec SOI wafer orders drop-shipped directly to our lab, so the wafers are processed before they ever reach the customer’s own facility.
150mm × 1mm sapphire cored to 100mm
We CNC-core 150mm, 1mm-thick sapphire wafers down to 100mm at mini-production volumes, delivered on a recurring quarterly schedule.
CNC coring →Your material and your IP stay controlled
- ITAR registered. Export-controlled work is handled by U.S. persons in a U.S. facility.
- Restricted-access facility. We do not give tours or site visits. Other clients' proprietary wafers and process IP are on the floor at all times, and the policy protects yours the same way.
- NDA before any drawings are exchanged. We sign yours or provide ours.
- Controlled chain of custody. Material is received and returned by controlled shipment. For Silicon Valley sites, we pick up and deliver ourselves.
- Records retained a minimum of 7 years. A Certificate of Conformance and our Quality Statement are available for your supplier file.
Start with a qualification run
Send sample wafers, test coupons or scrap from the same lot. We run your geometry, measure the results and return the parts with our data, so your team can decide on real results.
We also offer a virtual capability review and our process and quality documentation, and can review the project at your site if you are in Silicon Valley.
Straightforward to purchase
- Purchase cards and credit cards accepted. Many lab and R&D jobs can be bought by card.
- Purchase orders on Net 30 terms, paid by ACH, wire or check.
- Single wafers and small lots are welcome. Engineering-quantity work is what we do every day.
- Engineering-level contact. Technical questions go straight to process engineering.
Lead-time tiers
When the schedule can't slip.
What to send us
- Material and structure: substrate, epi or film stack, and whether the wafer is patterned
- Starting diameter and thickness
- Target geometry: final diameter, flat or notch, or a drawing (DXF, DWG or PDF)
- Quantity and whether a qualification run comes first
- Required lead time: Standard, Priority or Hot Lot
- Export classification if the material or data is ITAR- or EAR-controlled
Tell us what your program needs.
Describe the substrate and the geometry you need. You'll hear back from an engineer, not a sales queue.
Call or text: (408) 258-5000