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Basic Mechanisms and Models of Multi‐Wire Sawing
Author(s) -
Möller H.J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.200400578
Subject(s) - slicing , wafer , materials science , fabrication , throughput , process (computing) , silicon , solar cell , mechanical engineering , engineering physics , materials processing , production cost , production (economics) , process engineering , nanotechnology , engineering drawing , manufacturing engineering , computer science , optoelectronics , engineering , medicine , telecommunications , alternative medicine , pathology , economics , wireless , macroeconomics , operating system
More than 80 % of the current solar cell production requires the cutting of large silicon crystals. While in the last years the cost of solar cell processing and module fabrication could be reduced considerably, the sawing costs remain high, about 30 % of the wafer production. At present the large crystals are cut using the multi‐wire slicing technology [2] which has the advantage of a high throughput (several hundred wafers per day and machine), a small kerf loss of about 200 μm and almost no restrictions on the size of the ingots. Basic knowledge about the microscopic details of the sawing process is required in order to slice crystals in a controlled way. In the following the principles of the sawing process will be described in this review article as far as they are understood today.