Wire Saw Apparatus Warp Control via Adjustable Guide Parallelism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wire saw apparatuses fail to control warpage in the wire travelling direction of sliced wafers, particularly after epitaxial growth, where differences in resistivity between the base wafer and epitaxial layer cause convex shapes and degraded warpage, with no established method for controlling warp in this direction.
Innovation Solution
A wire saw apparatus with adjustable wire guides to control the parallelism of the wire row, allowing for concave or convex warpage in the wire travelling direction by bending the wire, achieved through a mechanism that adjusts the axes of the wire guides before slicing, enabling the manufacture of wafers with desired warp shapes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional wire saw apparatus is used for slicing wafers, then slicing can be performed, but warp control in wire travelling direction cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The wire guides are made adjustable to change the parallelism of wire row axes dynamically. This allows the wire row to be bent in the wire travelling direction, enabling control over the warp shape of sliced wafers. The adjustment mechanism transforms a static wire guide system into a dynamic one that can adapt to different warp control requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the wire guides by adjusting the parallelism between their axes. By modifying the relative positions and orientations of wire guides, the wire row's path is altered, which directly controls the warp characteristics of the sliced wafers in the wire travelling direction.
2Manufacturing precision
If wire guides are made adjustable to control warp, then warp control capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment mechanism is segmented into individual adjustment units for each wire guide. This allows independent adjustment of each wire guide's axis parallelism, providing precise control over the wire row's bending shape while keeping each adjustment unit relatively simple and manageable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively controls warpage in the wire travelling direction, allowing for the production of wafers with various warp shapes, as demonstrated by adjusting the parallelism of the wire guides, which influences the concave or convex shape of the sliced wafers.
Implementation Method 1
a wire row formed of a wire which is wound around the plurality of wire guides and configured to reciprocatively travel in an axial direction
Implementation Method 2
a nozzle configured to supply a coolant or slurry to the wire
Data Source
AI summary
A wire saw apparatus including: a plurality of wire guides; a wire row formed of a wire which is wound around the plurality of wire guides and configured to reciprocatively travel in an axial direction; a nozzle configured to supply a coolant or slurry to the wire; a workpiece-holding portion configured to suspend and hold a workpiece plate having a workpiece bonded thereto with a beam interposed therebetween; a workpiece-feeding mechanism configured to press the workpiece against the wire row; and a mechanism configured to adjust a parallelism of axes of the plurality of wire guides around which the wire row is formed. Thereby, a wire saw apparatus and a method for manufacturing a wafer are provided which enable manufacturing of a wafer having any warp shape by controlling a warp in a wire travelling direction of a sliced workpiece.