Method for marking a wafer

摘要

The present invention discloses a method for marking a wafer surface with minimized particulate contamination problem and further, the method is compatible with a chemical mechanical polishing method for planarization. An identification mark can be made on the non-patterned side of a wafer by a high energy laser beam either with or without an insulating layer deposited on top of the wafer. The method can also be carried out by first providing an identification mark on a non-patterned surface of the wafer and then, after all fabrication processes have been conducted on the patterned side of the wafer and a planarization process is conducted by a chemical mechanical polishing method, the identification mark on the backside of the wafer can be automatically read and then reproduced on the patterned side of the wafer prior to the shipment of the wafer to a customer or to a packaging facility. The present invention method significantly reduces the particle contamination problem that is frequently caused by laser scribing a silicon surface and furthermore, substantially eliminates the problem that an identification mark becomes illegible after a planarization process by chemical mechanical polishing.