Cleaving of diode arrays with scribing channels

Claim 1

A diode array fabrication wafer having a plurality of rectangular diode array areas each of which includes a central line of uniformly spaced diode sites extending between its opposite ends, said areas being arranged on said wafer in multiple rows and columns, said wafer comprising a substrate provided with an epitaxial layer including said diode sites and with at least one additional layer overlying said epitaxial layer, characterized by: scribing channels exposing said epitaxial layer through said additional layer along cleavage lines separating said columns of array areas, between the confronting ends of adjacent array areas, each of said cleavage lines being spaced from an endmost diode site of an adjacent diode array area by a distance no greater than half the distance between diode sites along said row, said scribing channels extending from an edge of a row of array areas toward the center of said array areas but terminating short of said diode sites, said channels being of a width which, if extended to said diode sites, would encroach on the endmost diode sites of the adjacent array areas.