Slicing of silicon into sheet material. Silicon sheet growth development for the large area silicon sheet task of the low cost silicon solar array project. Third quarterly report, September 20, 1976--December 19, 1976

Technical Report · Mon Dec 27 04:00:00 EST 1976

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7294660· OSTI ID:7294660

Holden, S. C.

The stability of tensioned blades used in multiblade sawing does not seem to be the limitation in cutting with thin blades. So far, 0.010 cm thick blades have been totally unsuccessful. Recently, 0.015 cm blades have proven successful in wafering, offering an 0.005 cm reduction in the silicon used per slice. The failure of thin blades is characterized as a possible result of blade misalignment or from the inherent uncontrollability of the loose abrasive multiblade process. Corrective procedures will be employed in the assembly of packages to eliminate one type of blade misalignment. Two ingots were sliced with the same batch of standard silicon carbide abrasive slurry to determine the useful lifetime of this expendable material. After 250 slices, the cutting efficiency had not degraded. Further tests will be continued to establish the maximum lifetime of both silicon carbide and boron carbide abrasive. Electron microscopy will be employed to evaluate the wear of abrasive particles in the failure of abrasive slurry. The surface damage of silicon wafers has been characterized as predominantly subsurface fracture. Damage with No. 600 SiC is between 10 and 15 microns into the wafer surface. This agrees well with previous investigations of damage from silicon carbide abrasive papers.

• Research Organization: Varian Associates, Lexington, MA (USA). Lexington Vacuum Div.
• DOE Contract Number: NAS-7-100-954374
• OSTI ID: 7294660
• Report Number(s): ERDA/JPL/954374-76/4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
ABRASIVES
BORON CARBIDES
BORON COMPOUNDS
CARBIDES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CUTTING
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELEMENTS
MACHINING
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
SEMIMETALS
SHEETS
SILICON
SILICON CARBIDES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR CELLS
TESTING