Semiconductor Rough Grinding of Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) as Flip-Chip Lid

🕜 Efficiency - 1.5x higher | 📈 Surface Quality - 1.6x better | ⚙️ Tool Life - 2x longer
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Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) Material Properties


Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) combines the excellent thermal conductivity of aluminum with the high rigidity, high heat resistance, and low thermal expansion coefficient of silicon carbide. Therefore, it possesses both the thermal conductivity, ductility, and formability of metallic materials, as well as the high hardness, rigidity, and thermal stability of ceramic materials.

The unique material properties of AlSiC make it suitable for high-end semiconductor applications. For example, good thermal conductivity helps quickly dissipate heat generated during chip operation; high rigidity allows the material to maintain structural stability even in high-temperature or intense thermal cycling environments; the material’s density is only one-third that of copper (the mainstream material currently used for flip-chip heat spreaders), making it advantageous for lightweight designs in high-end packaging modules.


 

Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) Machining Challenges

 

Heterogeneous Material

AlSiC is a composite material composed of a soft aluminum matrix and hard silicon carbide particles. The aluminum is soft and easy to cut, while the silicon carbide is hard and brittle. This heterogeneous structure is prone to cracking or microcracks during cutting. It also produces varying cutting resistance, leading to tool damage and a rough workpiece surface.

 

High Hardness and Tool Wear

Due to the high hardness of silicon carbide particles in AlSiC, cutting tools wear out quickly, shortening tool life and increasing processing costs. Moreover, the chips produced during cutting contain fractured SiC particles, which hinder chip evacuation and tool cooling. This not only accelerates tool wear but also affects the surface quality of the workpiece.



📧 Contact Us for Ultrasonic Process Solution for AlSiC Flip-Chip Lid in Semiconductor Packaging Process!

 
HIT ultrasonic process solution applied to rough grinding of Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) flip-chip lid
(Figure 1. HIT ultrasonic process solution applied to rough grinding of Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) flip-chip lid)


HIT ultrasonic process solution applied to grinding of AlSiC flip-chip lid. Differences in surface quality are visible even in the rough grinding stage
(Figure 2. HIT ultrasonic process solution applied to grinding of AlSiC flip-chip lid. Differences in surface quality are visible even in the rough grinding stage)


 

Ultrasonic Process Solution for Rough Grinding of Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC)


🔹High frequency micro-vibration of ultrasonic helps reduce grinding force and improves chip evacuation.

👍🏻 More space of enhancement for cutting parameters can reduce process time.
👍🏻 Better chip evacuation brings lower surface roughness and longer tool life.


🔹Ultrasonic Process Solution Package including:

✨ Cutting Parameters
✨ Tool Selection
✨ Process Configuration

Offering customers a comprehensive process development solution!



 

Ultrasonic Process Solution for Rough Grinding of Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC)


HIT ultrasonic process solution applied to rough grinding of AlSiC flip-chip lid, improving machining efficiency, surface quality, and tool life
(Figure 3. HIT ultrasonic process solution applied to rough grinding of AlSiC flip-chip lid, improving machining efficiency, surface quality, and tool life)



Contact us now for an Ultrasonic Process Solution for AlSiC flip-chip lid,
or visit HIT's booth Q5344 at SEMICON Taiwan 2025 to learn more!

Rough Grinding of Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) in Industry Application


Grinding of Aluminum Silicon Carbide (AlSiC) are used in Semiconductor Packaging processes (e.g., flip-chip technology, CoWoS), electric vehicles, and other high power-density electronic devices, serving as flip-chip lid (heat spreaders, heat dissipating plate), and reinforcement rings for packaging modules.


AlSiC combines the excellent thermal conductivity of aluminum with the high rigidity, high heat resistance, and low thermal expansion coefficient of silicon carbide. It therefore has both the thermal conductivity, ductility, and formability of metals, and the high hardness, rigidity, and thermal stability of ceramics.

In semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging technologies have become key to improving chip performance and reliability. Among them, Flip-Chip Packaging involves directly soldering the chip onto the substrate, shortening the distance between the heat source and the package shell, making thermal management more demanding. In high-power devices such as CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and high-frequency communication modules, poor heat dissipation can seriously affect component life and performance. Using AlSiC as a heat spreader or lid for flip-chip packages helps quickly and evenly diffuse chip-generated heat across the package surface and direct it to external cooling systems. At the same time, it helps reduce mechanical stress at the chip-package interface, enhancing the structural stability of the package.

In addition, although the use of AlSiC in advanced packaging technologies like CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) is still emerging, its role as a high-efficiency thermal material is expected to become a future industry trend due to increasing package density and power consumption. Currently, mainstream heat spreaders are made of copper (Cu lid) or ceramic-based materials (e.g., AlN, Al₂O₃), but compared to copper, AlSiC can reduce packaging stress and failure risk caused by thermal cycling, while offering better mechanical rigidity and stability, and supporting lightweight packaging module designs.


HIT's Ultrasonic Machining Module bring innovative process solutions for new materials! For rough grinding of AlSiC, HIT's Ultrasonic Process Solution provides optimized cutting parameters, cutting tool recommendations, and process configurations to help customers improve overall machining efficiency, workpiece quality, and tool life during the process development stage—ultimately reducing overall production costs. It not only meets client requirements but also creates multiple added values for customers!



💡 Learn more about other HIT Ultrasonic Machining of Semiconductor Advanced Material case studies: 


💡 Introduction on HIT Ultrasonic Machining on advanced materials: 

📣 Welcome to visit HIT's booth Q5344 at SEMICON Taiwan 2025 to learn more about ultrasonic machining products!