Method and apparatus for splitting up semiconductor ingots into semiconductor wafers with at least one plane surface

摘要

The invention relates to a method of producing wafers by cutting off monocrystalline or polycrystalline semiconductor ingots by means of a wire-cable saw, in which method the end face of the semiconductor ingot is in each case provided with a plane surface by means of a machining step before the cutting-off of each wafer to produce a plane reference surface for the further processing of this wafer. A plane end face is advantageously produced by grinding. Furthermore, the invention relates to an apparatus for carrying out the above method. It consists of a combination of a wire-cable saw with a grinding device which permits grinding in the work set-up of the wire-cable saw. The grinding device expediently forms a unit with the wire-cable saw. In this arrangement, the grinding of the end face of the ingot and the cutting-off of a further wafer can be carried out in succession by means of a wire-cable saw. The grinding of the end face of the ingot and the cutting-off of a further wafer are advantageously carried out in such a way that they are timed to overlap and while utilising the same feed movement.