Carbon nanotube fiber wire for wafer slicing

Abstract

A wire saw for cutting hard materials includes a carbon nanotube fiber wire spun from carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotube fiber wire may be made from a plurality of fibers, each fiber being spun from carbon nanotubes, the fibers being twisted together to form the wire. Furthermore, the wire may also include diamond particles, silicon carbide particles and / or extra carbon nanotubes to enhance the abrasive properties of the wire. A method is provided for slicing a silicon boule including: linearly translating a carbon nanotube fiber wire between rotating drums while maintaining the wire under tension; using a fixture, moving the silicon boule onto the moving tensioned wire, whereby the wire cuts into the silicon; delivering lubricating fluid to the surface of the silicon where contact is made with the wire; and collecting the lubricating fluid after it leaves the surface of the silicon.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to wire saws for cutting hard materials, and more particularly to wire saws with carbon nanotube fiber wires for cutting silicon corundum. Background technique [0002] Jigsaws are used for cutting hard and brittle materials. Wire saws are used to cut silicon wafers from silicon corundum / boules for the semiconductor industry and the photovoltaic industry. Schematic diagrams of wire saws for cutting silicon wafers are shown in FIGS. 1 , 2 and 3 . FIG. 1 shows a prior art wire saw with a single wire 105 fed between two reels 110 . The wire 105 passes multiple times over the four cylinders 115 forming a web of wire 120 for cutting the hard material 125 held by the clamps 130 . For simplicity of illustration, only the web 120 of three cutting lines is shown. In practice, however, the mesh used to cut silicon corundum will contain a large number of wires. The number of wires is determined by the number of wafers ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Second, the lubricating fluid must be free of metallic contaminants that could render the silicon unusable for semiconductor-grade silicon corundum

Images