Diamond Wire Wear and Its Effect on Surface Quality in Cutting of Monocrystalline Silicon

Monocrystalline silicon is widely used in the semiconductor industry. During wafer machining with a diamond wire saw (DWS), a worn diamond wire can affect the slicing quality. To assess the effect of diamond wire wear on wafer machining, in this study, the impact of diamond wire wear on the wafer's total thickness variation (TTV) and surface quality was examined at a wire velocity of 1.8 m/s and a feed rate of 0.5 mm/min. Through a single-factor experiment, the effects of the wire velocity, feed rate, and workpiece thickness on diamond wire wear were explored. The outcomes demonstrate that the wear rate was higher in the early and late wear periods, and the wafer machining quality was poor in these two periods. During the stable wear period, the machined wafer exhibited high quality, while the wear rate remained stable. Under the condition of machining the same area of the workpiece, with an increase in wire velocity, the wear quantity for the diamond wire was reduced. As the feed rate and workpiece thickness increased, the wear quantity of the diamond wire increased. The diamond wire wear remained roughly constant when the wire velocity and feed rate increased at the same ratio.