Dicing saw for optoelectronics and sensors

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We request a high-speed, high accuracy automatic dicing saw, capable of precision cutting of semiconductor wafers, and precision milling of micron scale structures into various substrates. A dicing saw with these two capabilities is a fundamental processing tool for any research group requiring chip dicing, high precision sub-units, or precise features, such as on-chip photonic sources and waveguides, 3rd generation photovoltaic devices, nonlinear optical systems or biosensors. It is an essential piece of processing equipment, used for both device preparation and post-processing for a wide variety of applications. While all the co-applicants in this proposal (Turak, Xu, Bradley, Knights, Soleymani) will utilize the proposed equipment, they will apply it to a broad variety of cutting edge sectors, grouped into three categories: Materials and Devices for Integrated Photonics and Communications, Bio-compatible Sensing and Monitoring; and Transformative Photovoltaics. This tool will be housed within the McMaster Centre for Emerging Device Technology (CEDT), a core research facility specializing in the development of materials, devices, systems and processing protocols. This will also make it available to numerous (>20) groups at McMaster and in the local vicinity, who are user members of the Centre, on an ad hoc basis. The lack of reliable access to the dicing equipment has drastically limited the ability of the co-applicants to publish in a timely manner within internationally competitive areas of research. With such a tool, the co-applicants will be able to push the capabilities of high performance lasers, improve optical chip-fiber coupling for ultra-fast communications, miniaturize hand-held biosensors, and transform third generation photovoltaics.