Abstract
Brittle materials, such as silicon and sapphire, are used as the base wafers of electronic devices for silicon solar cells or LEDs. The wafering process of these brittle materials involves slicing using a diamond multi-wire saw due to the requirement for slicing large quantities of wafers with high efficiency. This process uses a diamond wire tool in which diamond abrasive grains are fixed to the surface of piano wire by nickel plating. In the slicing process, the wire tool reciprocates at a high speed, water-soluble coolant is supplied to the processing part, the wire tool pushes against the workpiece, and the workpiece is sliced. In this process, the relation between the wire surface conditions and slicing characteristics is not clear. Therefore, the diamond wire tool and the slicing conditions are chosen based on the experience of wire saw engineers. This study presents experimental results regarding the relation between wire surface conditions and slicing characteristics, and describes the results of slicing.
