The present invention relates to a method and a system for manufacturing wafer-like slices from a body of a substrate material, especially for use in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
The method comprises providing a slicing device with a cutting wire equipped on its surface with abrasive particles; providing an aqueous cooling and lubricating fluid, said fluid having an ionic strength corresponding to an electrical conductivity of about 30 μS/cm or less; cutting said body with said cutting wire into slices while dispensing said cooling and lubricating fluid into a kerf area where said cutting wire contacts and cuts said body, said cooling and lubricating fluid promoting removal of powdered substrate material from said kerf area resulting in spent fluid; and removing said spent fluid from said cutting device and recovering said powdered substrate material from said spent fluid.
The system comprises a slicing device provided with a cutting wire, said cutting wire being equipped on its surface with abrasive particles, said slicing device comprising a dispensing unit for delivering a cooling and lubricating fluid to a kerf area where said cutting wire contacts and cuts said body; wherein said fluid promotes removal of powdered substrate material from said kerf area resulting in spent cooling and lubricating fluid; a draining unit for removing said spent fluid from said slicing device; and a fluid reclamation device for treating said spent fluid, said reclamation device comprising a first filtering unit for separating and recovering said powdered substrate material from said spent fluid and providing a reusable fluid.