Laser slicing to slash SiC wafer costs, boost yield

Japan ingot processing equipment manufacturer Disco Corp. has unveiled a new laser-based technique to slice wafers out of a SiC ingot, producing 50 percent more wafers through reduced material losses while slashing production times by a factor of six.

Dubbed KABRA for Key Amorphous-Black Repetitive Absorption, the patent-pending process uses a focused laser to form an amorphous layer of SiC decomposed into its constituents silicon and carbon, which becomes the base point for separating the wafer through cleavage.

While today's wafer production typically involves the use of multiple diamond wire saws, taking several days to slice through an ingot and producing considerable material waste (about 200µm of material loss per wafer), the KABRA process is not only much faster but also requires less wafer processing steps because it does not leave micro-undulations on the surface, as do wire saws.

To read the full article, go to EE Times.