Multi-Wire Slurry Wafering Demonstrations

摘要

A series of ten slicing demonstrations on a multi-wire slurry saw, manufactured by Yasunaga Engineering Company of Japan and distributed by GEOS Corporation of Stamford, Connecticut, was made to evaluate the silicon ingot wafering capabilities. The results revealed that the present sawing capabilities can provide usable wafer area from an ingot 1.05 m exp 2 /kg (e.g., kerf width 0.135 mm and wafer thickness 0.265 mm). Satisfactory surface qualities and excellent yield of silicon wafers were found. One drawback is that the add-on cost of producing wafer from this saw, as presently used, is considerably higher than the systems being developed by Varian and Crystal Systems for the Low-Cost Silicon Solar Array Protect (LSSA), Task II, primarily because the Yasunaga saw uses a large quantity of wire. The add-on cost can be significantly reduced by extending the wire life and/or by reuse of properly plated wire to restore the diameter. (ERA citation 04:029595)