Shear Stresses in a Notched Circular Disk

In the dicing of a silicon disk into separate integrated circuit chips, an alignment notch is commonly used to maintain the disk in a precise and stable position throughout the process. This notch is formed in a grinding operation which causes mechanical damage to the crystal structure in the vicinity of the notch. The increase in crystal dislocation density will degrade the performance of any circuit chips located in the damaged area. Hence, it is important to learn the extent of damage in the disk so that the affected region can be avoided during the production of chips.