Methods, wires, and apparatus for slicing hard materials

摘要

Methods, wires, and apparatus for use in cutting (e.g., slicing) hard, brittle materials is provided. The wire can be a super-abrasive wire that includes a wire core and super-abrasive particles bonded to the wire core via a metal bonding layer. This wire, or another type of wire, can be used to slice workpieces useful for producing wafers. The workpieces can be aligned within a holder to produce wafers using the device and methods presently provided. The holder rotates about its central axis, which translates to workpieces moving in orbit around this axis. A single abrasive wire, or multiple turns of wire stretched tightly between wire guides, is then contacted with the rotating holder to slice the workpieces.

主权项

1. An apparatus for slicing workpieces into wafers, the apparatus comprising:
an abrasive wire passing around a pair of primary wire guides to create a cutting wire zone having movement of the abrasive wire in a first direction; and a rotatable holder configured to (i) hold at least two workpieces, and (ii) contact the cutting wire zone, wherein rotation of the holder about a center axis creates a tangential direction of movement of the holder opposite to the first direction.