Semiconductor substrate crack mitigation systems and related methods

Abstract

The invention relates to a semiconductor substrate crack mitigation system and related methods. A method for healing a crack in a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. An embodiment of the method may include identifying a crack in a semiconductor substrate; and heating a region of the semiconductor substrate including the crack until the crack heals.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese invention patent application with application date of April 26, 2019, application number 201910341337.1, and invention name “Semiconductor Substrate Crack Mitigation System and Related Methods”. Technical Field

[0002] Aspects of this document generally relate to crack mitigation systems and methods for semiconductor substrates and ingots. Background Art

[0003] Semiconductor substrates are typically produced using a monolithic structure, which is typically a single crystal monolithic structure. Silicon substrates are typically formed by manufacturing an ingot or cylindrical ingot of a crystalline structure that is then cut into multiple semiconductor substrates. The semiconductor substrate may be cut to form multiple semiconductor devices. Summary of the invention

[0004] Embodiments of a method for healing a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include: identifying a crack in a semiconductor substrate; and heating a region of the semiconductor substrate including the crack until the crack is healed.

[0005] Embodiments of a method for healing a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include one, all, or any of the following:

[0006] The semiconductor substrate may include silicon carbide.

[0007] The method may include electronically identifying a heated region of a semiconductor substrate; processing the semiconductor substrate; and forming a plurality of semiconductor dies from a portion of the semiconductor substrate while excluding semiconductor dies formed from the heated region of the semiconductor substrate from further functional use.

[0008] The method may include forming the heated region of the semiconductor substrate in the same crystal orientation as the remainder of the semiconductor substrate by controlled cooling, controlled heating, or any of controlled heating and controlled cooling of the heated region of the semiconductor substrate.

[0009] The method may include forming a different crystal orientation of the heated region of the semiconductor substrate than a remainder of the semiconductor substrate by controlled cooling, controlled heating, or any of controlled heating and controlled cooling of the heated region of the semiconductor substrate.

[0010] Lasers may be used to heat regions of a semiconductor substrate.

[0011] The method may include electronically identifying a region of the semiconductor substrate that includes the crack and substantially heating only the electronically identified region of the semiconductor substrate.

[0012] An embodiment of a method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include: identifying a crack in a semiconductor substrate; removing a portion of the semiconductor substrate including the crack; coupling the semiconductor substrate to a carrier substrate; completing processing of the semiconductor substrate while coupling the semiconductor substrate to the carrier substrate; and forming a plurality of semiconductor dies therefrom.

[0013] Embodiments of a method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include one, all, or any of the following:

[0014] The semiconductor substrate may include silicon carbide.

[0015] Removing a portion of the semiconductor substrate may include etching the portion of the semiconductor substrate.

[0016] Removing a portion of the semiconductor substrate may include polishing a sidewall of the semiconductor substrate.

[0017] The method may also include electronically identifying the removed portion of the semiconductor substrate; processing the semiconductor substrate; and forming a plurality of semiconductor dies from a portion of the semiconductor substrate excluding the removed portion of the semiconductor substrate.

[0018] Embodiments for healing a crack in an ingot may include: identifying a crack in the ingot; and heating a region of the ingot including the crack until the crack is healed.

[0019] The ingot may include silicon carbide.

[0020] The method may include electronically identifying a heated region of the ingot, processing the ingot, and forming a plurality of semiconductor substrates from the ingot.

[0021] The method may include forming the heated region of the ingot in the same crystal orientation as the remainder of the semiconductor substrate by controlled cooling, controlled heating, or any of controlled cooling and controlled heating of the heated region of the ingot.

[0022] The method may include forming a different crystal orientation of the heated region of the ingot than a remainder of the semiconductor substrate by any of controlled cooling, controlled heating, or controlled heating and controlled cooling of the heated region of the ingot.

[0023] Lasers may be used to heat a region of the ingot.

[0024] The method may include electronically identifying a region of the ingot that includes the crack and heating only the electronically identified region of the ingot.

[0025] A method for identifying damaged semiconductor die may include: identifying an area including a crack in an ingot or a semiconductor substrate; electronically marking the area; and processing the ingot or the semiconductor substrate into a plurality of semiconductor dies while excluding semiconductor dies formed from the marked area of ​​the ingot or the semiconductor substrate for further processing after cutting the plurality of semiconductor dies.

[0026] The foregoing and other aspects, features and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Various embodiments will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements, and:

[0028] Figure 1 is a top view of a semiconductor substrate having a crack near an edge thereof;

[0029] Figure 2 is a top view of a semiconductor substrate having a localized crack therein;

[0030] Figure 3 is a top view of a semiconductor substrate having an extended crack therein;

[0031] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A top view of a semiconductor substrate of FIG. 1 , wherein a cracked portion of the substrate is removed;

[0032] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 A top view of a semiconductor substrate of FIG. 1 , wherein a cracked portion of the substrate is removed;

[0033] Figure 6 yes Figure 3 A top view of a semiconductor substrate, wherein a cracked portion of the substrate is healed;

[0034] Figure 7 yes Figure 1 A top view of a semiconductor substrate, wherein a cracked portion of the substrate is healed;

[0035] Figure 8 is a side view of an ingot having a crack therein; and

[0036] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 A side view of an ingot with a cracked portion being healed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The present disclosure, its aspects, and implementations are not limited to the specific components, assembly processes, or method elements disclosed herein. Many additional components, assembly processes, and / or method elements known in the art that are consistent with the intended semiconductor substrates and ingots will be readily apparent for use with the specific implementations of the present disclosure. Thus, for example, although the present invention discloses specific implementations, such implementations and implementation components may include any shape, size, style, type, model, version, measurement, concentration, material, quantity, method element, step, etc. known in the art for such semiconductor substrates and ingots and implementation components and methods that are consistent with the intended operations and methods.

[0038] There are a variety of semiconductor substrates and ingot types, and they are used in the process of manufacturing various semiconductor devices. Non-limiting examples of semiconductor substrates and ingots that can be processed using the principles disclosed in this document include single crystal silicon, silicon dioxide, glass, silicon on insulator, gallium arsenide, sapphire, ruby, silicon carbide, polycrystalline or amorphous forms of any of the foregoing, and any other substrate or ingot type used to construct semiconductor devices. Specific embodiments disclosed herein can utilize silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor substrates and ingots (silicon carbide substrates and ingots), including any polymorphs of SiC. There are more than 250 different polymorphs of SiC, including 3C-SiC, 4H-SiC, and 6H-SiC polymorphs, any of which can be used in various embodiments disclosed in this document. In this document, the term "semiconductor substrate" is also used with "substrate" because semiconductor substrates are common types of substrates, but are not specialized terms used to refer to all types of semiconductor substrates. In various implementations, as non-limiting examples, the various semiconductor substrate types disclosed in this document may be circular, rounded, square, rectangular, or any other closed shape.

[0039] The methods and systems disclosed herein relate to healing cracks and / or damage in semiconductor substrates and ingots. As used herein, the term "healing" may refer to eliminating cracks and / or otherwise mitigating the risk of cracks or damage propagating in further processing of an ingot or semiconductor substrate.

[0040] The semiconductor substrate used to manufacture semiconductor devices is formed by a monolithic structure, which is generally a monolithic structure. The semiconductor substrate is generally formed by manufacturing an ingot or a cylindrical ingot of a crystal structure that is then cut into a plurality of semiconductor substrates. In various embodiments, in order to be used to manufacture semiconductor devices, the semiconductor substrate needs to be free of defects. If defects such as cracks are found in the semiconductor substrate, the substrate is generally discarded immediately when the cracks are found because the cracks may propagate and cause device damage and / or substrate breakage. Such cracking defects in semiconductor substrates may originate from the ingot. As a non-limiting example, the impact on the ingot caused by dropping the ingot, hitting the ingot with an object, hitting the ingot against the table, problems during the growth of the ingot, or other rough treatment of the ingot may cause cracks or other fractures to form in the ingot. When the ingot is cut into semiconductor substrates, as long as the defects caused in the ingot extend along the ingot and / or extend into the ingot, the cracks in the ingot may cause a certain number of cracked semiconductor substrates. A crack defect in the ingot may cause many semiconductor substrates to crack because the crack in the ingot will span more than a single semiconductor substrate (such as between 3 to 10 or more semiconductor substrates).

[0041] In some cases, defects in the ingot can propagate during the subsequent processing steps of slicing (or dividing) the ingot into semiconductor substrates and semiconductor substrates (depending on the technology used). For example, the process steps for separating silicon carbide semiconductor substrates using the process steps sold under the trade name COLD SPLIT technology by Siltectra GmbH of Dresden, Germany, involve treating the semiconductor substrate with liquid nitrogen and separating the semiconductor substrate due to rapid cooling of the semiconductor substrate. Since the technology uses the contraction and expansion of the semiconductor substrate material, this may cause cracks to propagate into the ingot material and into the formed semiconductor substrate. Similarly, other silicon carbide semiconductor substrate separation methods, such as the separation method sold under the trade name KABRA by Disco of Tokyo, Japan, may involve the use of lasers in combination with ultrasonic techniques to separate the individual semiconductor substrates. In such embodiments, ultrasonic vibrations may further promote crack propagation in the ingot and / or semiconductor substrate.

[0042] See also Figures 1 to 3 , showing different cracks in a semiconductor substrate. Although internal cracking within the ingot is shown, it is not the most common cracking defect, i.e., edge cracking. See specifically Figure 1, shows a top view of a semiconductor substrate 2 having a crack 4 near an edge 6. In various embodiments, a method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate can include identifying a crack 4 in a semiconductor substrate 6. The identification of the crack 4 can be performed before or after the semiconductor substrate 6 is cut from the ingot. The crack 4 can be visually identified by coherent diffraction imaging with or without a microscope, including x-ray diffraction imaging, x-ray crystallography, or any other method that identifies a plane / material / crystal structure of the ingot that indicates a separation of the crack. See Figure 4 , showing Figure 1 2. A top view of a semiconductor substrate of FIG. 1, wherein a cracked portion of the substrate is removed. In various embodiments, a method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include removing a portion 8 of the semiconductor substrate 2 having a crack. In various embodiments, this may include polishing / grinding the sidewalls or edges 6 of the semiconductor substrate 2 until the crack disappears. In certain embodiments, chemical mechanical polishing may be used to polish the sidewalls. In other embodiments, etching may be used to remove the cracked sidewall region of the die, similar to the method described herein with respect to Figure 2 and Figure 5 Disclosed method. By removing the portion 8 of the semiconductor substrate having the crack, the risk of crack propagation during further processing steps of the semiconductor substrate 2 is mitigated.

[0043] In various embodiments, a method for mitigating the propagation of cracks in a semiconductor substrate may include marking the removed, polished, etched and / or filled areas of the semiconductor substrate. In a specific embodiment, the die corresponding to the removed area 8 of the semiconductor substrate may be electronically identified / marked (or electronically inked). Then, processing of the semiconductor substrate 2 may be completed to form a plurality of semiconductor dies from a portion of the semiconductor substrate 2 excluding the removed, polished and / or etched portion 8 of the semiconductor substrate. In various embodiments, continued processing of the substrate is completed by coupling the semiconductor substrate 2 to a carrier substrate and completing processing of the remaining semiconductor substrate 2. By coupling the semiconductor substrate 2 in which the cracked portion 8 is removed to a carrier substrate, most semiconductor processing tools can still process irregularly shaped semiconductor substrates 2 due to the regular size of the carrier substrate. In various method embodiments, the semiconductor substrate may be removably or permanently coupled to a carrier substrate.

[0044] See also Figure 2 , shows a top view of a semiconductor substrate 10 having a localized crack 12 therein. In various embodiments, a method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include identifying a crack 12 in the semiconductor substrate 10. The crack 12 may be identified using any of the methods previously disclosed herein. See Figure 5, the method may include removing a portion 14 of the semiconductor substrate 10 having a crack. In various embodiments, this may include etching the semiconductor substrate 10 to remove a portion 14 of the semiconductor substrate 10 including at least a portion of the crack. Wet etching or dry etching may be used. By etching away at least a portion of the crack, the K stress intensity factor may be reduced (or the radius of the leading circle of the crack may be reduced), thereby mitigating the risk of the original crack spreading. In various embodiments, the method may include filling the etched area or the removed portion 14 with a filling material after etching. As a non-limiting example, the filling material may include an epoxy, a resin, a composite material, a semiconductor material, or any other filling material capable of withstanding subsequent semiconductor processing operations to which the semiconductor substrate will be subjected. Etching and filling the cracked area of ​​the semiconductor substrate 10 may mitigate crack propagation during further processing steps of the semiconductor substrate 10. After repairing the semiconductor substrate, any technique subsequently disclosed in this document for processing a die located near the repaired area may be employed.

[0045] In various embodiments, a method for mitigating the propagation of cracks in a semiconductor substrate may include marking areas of removal, polishing, etching, and / or filling of the semiconductor substrate. In a specific embodiment, the die corresponding to the etched and / or filled areas of the semiconductor substrate may be electronically identified and / or electronically inked. The processing of the semiconductor substrate may then be completed, forming a plurality of semiconductor dies from a portion of the semiconductor substrate excluding the removed, polished, etched, and / or filled portions of the semiconductor substrate. In various embodiments, the method may include coupling the semiconductor substrate 10 to a carrier substrate, as previously described herein. Although the electronically identified portion of the semiconductor substrate cannot be used to form semiconductor dies, the remainder of the semiconductor substrate may be salvaged because crack propagation is prevented and the semiconductor substrate maintains its original desired dimensions, thereby allowing it to be less destructively processed in semiconductor processing steps through various processing tools.

[0046] The technique of etching and filling cracks in a semiconductor substrate to prevent crack propagation may also be used for cracks identified on the edge of the semiconductor substrate.

[0047] See also Figure 3 , shows a top view of a semiconductor substrate 16 having an extended crack 18 therein. A method for healing a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include identifying the crack 18 using any of the methods previously disclosed herein. See Figure 6 , showing Figure 31 , wherein a cracked portion of the substrate is healed. In various embodiments, a method for healing a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include heating the entire semiconductor substrate 16 or only a localized region 20 of the semiconductor substrate 16 surrounding and including the crack. The heating may be performed at a controlled rate / temperature ramp profile, and the cooling of the material of the semiconductor substrate may also be performed at a controlled rate / temperature ramp profile. As used herein, the terms "healing" or "healed" refer to completely eliminating the crack or substantially eliminating the crack so that the semiconductor substrate / ingot can be used for subsequent manufacturing process steps. The localized region 20 of the semiconductor substrate 16 including the crack may be heated to a temperature sufficient to melt the region of the semiconductor substrate 16 immediately adjacent to the crack. As the region of the semiconductor substrate melts, the material of the semiconductor substrate 16 fills the crack and may eliminate the crack or substantially eliminate the crack. In various embodiments, the heated region of the semiconductor substrate 20 may be cooled in a controlled manner to control the microstructure and morphology of the melted material. In certain embodiments, the melted portion of the semiconductor substrate may be cooled in a specific manner to ensure, as far as possible, that the heated region of the semiconductor substrate recrystallizes in the same crystal orientation of the original semiconductor substrate 16. In embodiments where the heat completely heals the crack without changing the structure or properties of the semiconductor substrate 16, the method may then include completing processing of the entire semiconductor substrate 16 and forming a plurality of semiconductor dies from the entire semiconductor substrate 16.

[0048] In other embodiments, a method for healing a crack in a semiconductor may include heating a region of the crack as previously disclosed herein, however, rather than melting material proximate the crack and completely eliminating the crack, the region of the semiconductor substrate including the crack may be heated to an extent that the crack is not completely eliminated but is trimmed to an extent that is less likely to propagate. In such embodiments, the crack is less likely to cause wafer breakage during subsequent processing.

[0049] In various embodiments, a cracked region of a semiconductor substrate may be heated by a laser. In such embodiments, the laser may be used to heat only the region necessary to heal the crack, thereby reducing any potential damage to the semiconductor substrate caused by the heating. In various embodiments, including embodiments in which a laser is used to heal a semiconductor substrate, the method may include electronically identifying the crack prior to heating, and then heating only the electronically identified portion of the semiconductor substrate.

[0050] In various embodiments, healing the semiconductor substrate by heating can permanently change the structure of the semiconductor substrate (such as crystal plane, orientation, flatness, thickness, doping, etc.) and / or other aspects of the crystal structure of the heated area of ​​the structure. In such embodiments (including embodiments in which cracks are only substantially or partially eliminated), the method includes marking or electronically identifying any tube core corresponding to the heated area of ​​the semiconductor substrate. The method then includes completing the processing of the semiconductor substrate and forming a plurality of semiconductor tube cores from those portions of the semiconductor substrate excluding the heated area of ​​the semiconductor substrate. Although the identified portions of the semiconductor substrate are therefore not shipped as completed semiconductor tube cores, because the semiconductor substrate has been reformed and the cracks have been eliminated or sufficiently trimmed, the entire semiconductor substrate retains its original shape and can therefore be processed by a semiconductor processing tool with relatively little difficulty.

[0051] See also Figure 7 , showing Figure 1 1. A top view of a semiconductor substrate of FIG. 1, wherein a cracked portion of the substrate is healed. Although the method of heating to eliminate cracks was previously demonstrated using internal cracks, the same technique can be applied to semiconductor substrates 2 having edge cracks.

[0052] See also Figure 8 , showing a side view of an ingot having a crack therein. Other method embodiments relate to healing or removing a crack in an ingot prior to cutting a semiconductor substrate from the ingot. Such a method includes identifying a crack 22 in an ingot 24. The presence and location of the crack in the ingot can be visually identified with or without a microscope by coherent diffraction imaging, including x-ray diffraction imaging, x-ray crystallography, or any other identification technique. In embodiments where the crack is only on or near the surface of the ingot, the method may include removing a sidewall of the ingot 24 to the extent that the crack 22 is removed. Such removal may be performed by polishing or grinding, among other methods. Once the crack 22 is removed, the ingot 24 may be separated into semiconductor substrates, which may then be used to manufacture semiconductor devices. This particular method has the disadvantage that semiconductor substrates subsequently removed from the ingot do not have the same perimeter, which may result in the need to couple subsequent irregular semiconductor substrates to a carrier substrate for subsequent processing.

[0053] See also Fig. 9 , showing Figure 824, wherein the cracked portion is healed. In other embodiments, the method may include healing the crack in the ingot 24 by heating a region 26 of the ingot that includes the crack, rather than removing a portion of the ingot 24. In various embodiments, the heat applied to the ingot may be limited to only the cracked region 26 of the ingot. In such embodiments, the ingot may be heated to a temperature sufficient to melt the region 26 of the ingot immediately adjacent to the crack. When the region 26 of the ingot melts, it may fill and eliminate the crack. In various embodiments, the heated region of the ingot may be cooled in a controlled manner similar to that previously discussed. In other embodiments, rather than eliminating the crack, the ingot 24 may be heated to a degree that the crack is sufficiently trimmed to sufficiently reduce the risk of crack propagation during further processing steps of the ingot 24 and / or subsequent semiconductor wafers.

[0054] In particular embodiments, the melted portion of the ingot may be cooled in a specific manner to ensure that the heated region of the ingot forms the same crystal orientation as the original ingot. In embodiments where heat completely heals the cracks without changing the structure or properties of the ingot 24, the method may then include cutting the ingot into a plurality of semiconductor substrates and completing the processing of each semiconductor substrate as a whole, and forming a plurality of semiconductor dies from each entire semiconductor substrate. In other embodiments, healing the ingot 24 by heat may irreversibly alter the ingot structure and / or crystal structure of the heated region 26 of the ingot. In such embodiments, the method may include marking or electronically identifying all dies on each semiconductor substrate found in an area corresponding to the heated region 26 of the ingot 24. The electronic identification process requires three-dimensional identification and tracking of each semiconductor substrate, including a cross-section of the heated region 26 of the ingot 24.

[0055] In various embodiments, cracked regions of the ingot may be heated by a laser. In such embodiments, the laser is able to heat only the regions necessary to heal the cracks, thereby reducing any potential damage to the ingot caused by the heating. In various embodiments, including embodiments in which a laser is used to heal the ingot, the method may include electronically identifying the cracks prior to heating, and then heating only the electronically identified portions of the ingot.

[0056] In various embodiments, the method includes slicing the ingot 24 into a plurality of semiconductor substrates, completing processing of the semiconductor substrates, forming a plurality of semiconductor die from portions of the semiconductor substrates and excluding die formed from heated areas of the semiconductor substrates for sale or other functional use. Although the identified portions of the ingot and corresponding semiconductor substrates cannot always be used to form semiconductor die, the remaining portions of the semiconductor substrates can be salvaged when the cracks are eliminated or at least adequately trimmed. As with previous semiconductor substrate level method embodiments, through the healing process, the semiconductor substrate is handled with minimal difficulty by a processing tool because the perimeter of the semiconductor substrate remains intact despite the presence of the cracks or defects.

[0057] In various embodiments, a method for identifying a damaged semiconductor die includes identifying a crack or damaged portion of an ingot or semiconductor substrate. The crack or damaged portion may be identified using any of the methods disclosed herein. The method includes electronically marking / identifying / inking an area in the ingot or semiconductor substrate having a crack. In various embodiments, the method may also include electronically marking / identifying / inking an exclusion zone surrounding the area in the ingot or semiconductor substrate having a crack.

[0058] In various embodiments, the method may include processing the ingot into a semiconductor substrate, which may be processed into a semiconductor die, or may include processing the semiconductor substrate into a semiconductor die. In either case, the semiconductor die formed by the material from the damaged area and, in some embodiments, from the exclusion zone of the damaged area indicated in the electronically marked area surrounding the ingot or semiconductor substrate remains electronically marked. In such embodiments, the electronically marked semiconductor die may be excluded from further functional use and / or subsequent processing (such as packaging operations). This can be achieved by using an electronic wafer mapping system that prevents picking or otherwise selecting dies from the electronically marked area of ​​the wafer map of each wafer for subsequent processing steps. In these embodiments, the crack or damaged area does not need to be healed, heated, and / or removed. Such methods of identifying and marking cracks in the ingot or semiconductor substrate without healing or removing the cracks may be advantageous in the following situations: due to the nature of the semiconductor material, the characteristics of the crack, the processing performed with the semiconductor substrate, or any combination thereof, the crack is unlikely to propagate during further processing of the ingot or semiconductor substrate. In certain embodiments, the ingot and semiconductor substrate including silicon carbide may have a sufficiently strong mechanical strength structure to avoid further propagation of cracks during further manufacturing processing operations.

[0059] Embodiments of methods of healing cracks in a semiconductor substrate may include forming a different crystal orientation of the heated region of the semiconductor substrate than a remainder of the semiconductor substrate by controlled cooling, controlled heating, or controlled heating and controlled cooling of the heated region of the semiconductor substrate.

[0060] Embodiments of a method of healing a crack in a semiconductor substrate may include electronically identifying a region of the semiconductor substrate that includes the crack and substantially heating only the electronically identified region of the semiconductor substrate.

[0061] Embodiments of methods of healing cracks in a semiconductor substrate may include electronically identifying a removed portion of a semiconductor substrate; processing the semiconductor substrate; and forming a plurality of semiconductor dies from a portion of the semiconductor substrate excluding the removed portion of the semiconductor substrate.

[0062] An embodiment of a method for identifying damaged semiconductor die includes: identifying a region including a crack in one of an ingot and a semiconductor substrate; electronically marking the region; and processing one of the ingot or the semiconductor substrate into a plurality of semiconductor dies while excluding semiconductor dies formed from the marked region of one of the ingot or the semiconductor substrate for further processing after cutting the plurality of semiconductor dies.

[0063] Embodiments of a method for healing a crack in an ingot may include forming a different crystal orientation of the heated region of the ingot than a remainder of the semiconductor substrate by one of controlled cooling of the heated region of the ingot, controlled heating, and controlled heating and controlled cooling.

[0064]

[0013] Embodiments of a method for healing a crack in an ingot may include heating a region of the ingot using a laser.

[0065] Embodiments of a method for healing a crack in an ingot may include electronically identifying a region of the ingot that includes the crack and heating only the electronically identified region of the ingot.

[0066] Where the foregoing description refers to specific embodiments of semiconductor substrates and ingot healing systems and implementing components, sub-components, methods and sub-methods, it should be apparent that various modifications may be made without departing from the essence thereof, and that these embodiments, implementing components, sub-components, methods and sub-methods may be applied to other semiconductor substrates and ingot healing systems.

Claims

1. A method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising: Identify cracks in semiconductor substrates; removing a portion of the semiconductor substrate including the crack; forming a filling region by filling a region of the semiconductor substrate from which the portion of the semiconductor substrate including the crack was removed with a filling material; electronically identifying the fill area; as well as A plurality of semiconductor dies are formed from the semiconductor substrate excluding the fill region. The method of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises silicon carbide. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the crack extends to an edge of the semiconductor substrate. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crack is entirely within an outer perimeter of the semiconductor substrate.

5. A method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising: Identify cracks in semiconductor substrates; etching away a portion of the semiconductor substrate including the crack; forming a filling region by filling a region of the semiconductor substrate from which the portion of the semiconductor substrate including the crack is etched with a filling material; electronically identifying the fill area; as well as A plurality of semiconductor dies are formed from the semiconductor substrate excluding the fill region. The method of claim 5 , wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises silicon carbide.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: The semiconductor substrate is coupled to a carrier substrate.

8. A method for mitigating the propagation of a crack in a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising: Identify cracks in semiconductor substrates; polishing away a portion of the semiconductor substrate including the crack; forming a filling region by filling a region of the semiconductor substrate from which the portion of the semiconductor substrate including the crack is polished away with a filling material; as well as forming a plurality of semiconductor dies from the semiconductor substrate excluding the fill region; The crack extends to an outer edge of the semiconductor substrate.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the semiconductor substrate comprises silicon carbide.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: The semiconductor substrate is coupled to a carrier substrate.

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