Wire Saw Process-Induced Surface Damage Characterization

Wire saw process is used to cut concrete, stone, ceramics and almost all kinds of brittle materials with low surface damage and high efficiency. Silicon wafers in semiconductor and photovoltaic industries are generally sliced using wire saw process. Wire saw process induces surface damage to the wafer surface which decreases the wafer quality and increases production costs due to post grinding and polishing. The formation of surface damage was investigated using bonded interface sectioning technique in this study. An experimental parametric study was conducted to relate the process parameters to wire bow angle, distributed wire load and surface damage depth. A non-dimensional damage index is defined which is a function of process parameters. Process recommendations are presented to increase the efficiency without increasing surface damage.