Molecular dynamic based novel manufacturing methods for next generation of silicon wafers

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There is pressing need for innovative manufacturing methods to fabricate silicon wafers. Historically, Loose abrasive slurry sawing (LSS) has remained the most popular process for producing PhotoVoltaic (PV) silicon wafers but higher productivity has pushed the usage of newly emerging technology known as fixed abrasive diamond wire sawing (DWS) to the forefront. A typical DWS process, entails sawing large cylindrical ingots of silicon (on a preferred crystal orientation) using a series of parallel wires. The surface quality of the cut wafers attained by this method inevitably results in the formation of undesirable micro-fractures and cracks on the silicon cut surface. Currently there is limited in-depth understanding of the DWS process as the process is still in its infancy. Therefore, a significant opportunity exists in developing the DWS production process.The project aims at developing of a scientific understanding of the DWS process will improve the yield and reduce the manufacturing costs, as it can contribute up to 20% of the wafer manufacturing costs. To understand the process, the project will take a simulation based approach involving the use of high end Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Eventually the aim of this project is to predict the material removal process as a function of the processing equipment and processing parameters.