From Ingot to Wafer

Before sawing silicon ingot, it's important to grind the ends of the ingots to ensure a flat reference surface, making it easier for subsequent slicing into wafers using multi-wire cutting. For silicon carbide materials, the top ends of silicon carbide ingots must be ground before being sliced into individual wafers using laser cutting. After cutting, the ingots need to be ground again to remove any laser marks, followed by another round of slicing into individual wafers, in a repeating cycle of processing.

From Raw to Ready-made

The processing of cut wafers varies depending on the material. For example, monocrystalline silicon wafers undergo double-sided lapping, which has the advantages of high production volume and low investment in equipment. However, due to the high production costs associated with silicon carbide wafers, the aforementioned process is not recommended. Using double-sided lapping equipment for SiC wafers can lead to chipping, where debris can scratch all the wafers, resulting in the scrapping of the entire batch. Therefore, weighing the pros and cons, silicon carbide wafers are better processed one by one through single-sided grinding.

After all wafers are ground, a final step of Chemical Mechanical Planarization is necessary, preparing the wafers for further processing.