ESD Damage During IC Chip Pickup

After dicing, IC chips are picked up with a picking machine. The charging potential increases greatly during the pickup due to the electrostatic charge generated when the IC chips are removed from the dicing tape. This leads to electrostatic discharge (ESD) in the surrounding jigs and other chips, resulting in damage.

Dicing: the process in which IC chips are cut out from a wafer.

Pickup: lifting chips with a vacuum pickup tool after dicing.