Abstract
Abrasive electrochemical multi-wire sawing is a comprehensive process that consists mainly of mechanical grinding complemented by anodic oxidation (erosion). The mechanism of material removal of this method is different from that of traditional multi-wire sawing. In this study, the electrochemical reaction of silicon in ethylene glycol was investigated using an electrochemical workstation (PGSTAT 302N). The oxidation peak of the current flow was achieved at a potential of 5 V versus Ag/AgCl during a cyclic voltammetry test. The occurrence of anodic oxidation of silicon was also confirmed. The properties of the anodic oxide were then analyzed. The oxide layer reached a depth of 90 nm after 5 min at 20 V. A few localized porous features were generated on the surface of the anodic oxide layer because of the occurrence of anodic oxidation (erosion) on the original surface. The oxide with loose and porous structure was easily removed. Such feature is beneficial for minimizing cutting load and improving slicing efficiency. Mechanical grinding is thus favorable for continuous anodic oxidation (erosion). Notably, the removal of material is achieved by the interaction of grinding and anodic oxidation. Future research will focus on fixed abrasive slicing, which remains a bottleneck for the texturing of sliced multi-crystalline silicon wafers.
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Bao, G., Wang, W. & Zhang, L. Mechanism of material removal in abrasive electrochemical multi-wire sawing of multi-crystalline silicon ingots into wafers. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 91, 383–388 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-016-9718-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-016-9718-6