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Numerical Modelling of Wire-EDM for Predicting Erosion Rate of Silicon

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Abstract

Recently, a lot of work is carried out in photovoltaic industry for slicing Si ingots using non-conventional technique like wire-EDM apart from conventional techniques like inner diameter saw and multi-wire saw. It is an emerging technology in field of Si wafer slicing and has a potential to be cost efficient. It reduces the kerf-loss and produces crack-free Si wafers. In general, the process of Si wafer cutting using wire-EDM is less understood due to its complex nature. In this work, the complex phenomena like formation of plasma channel, melting and erosion of Si material has been modelled mathematically. Further, the effect of input energy parameters like current, open voltage and pulse on-time on plasma and plasma-ingot interface temperature has been studied. The model is further extended along the length of the wire to evaluate the erosion depth and rate. The effect of process parameters on erosion depth and rate was validated experimentally. The model considers variation in material removal through the ‘plasma flushing efficiency’.

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Abbreviations

J :

Current density

E p :

Electric field at micro-peak

\(\emptyset\) :

Work function of material

β :

Field enhancement factor

d :

Interelectrode gap

a :

Radius of micro-peak

I:

Pulse current

N :

Molecules per unit volume

λ :

Heat of vaporization per molecule

k :

Boltzmann constant

K :

Coefficient of thermal conductivity

T :

Temperature

σ :

Stefen–Boltzmann constant

m :

Mass of a molecule of dielectric

T 0 :

Ambient temperature

T sat :

Saturation temperature

T nuc :

Nucleation temperature

T p :

Plasma temperature

T e :

Plasma electron temperature

T on :

Pulse on time

T off :

Pulse off time

T int :

Plasma-ingot interface temperature

T w :

Initial temperature of ingot

ρ :

Density of dielectric liquid

ρ(l):

Liquid state density

ρ(m):

Meta-state density

ρ av :

Average density

h fg :

Heat of vaporization

r t :

Tip radius of micro-peak

R wire :

Wire radius

C p (l):

Liquid phase heat capacity

τ growth :

Plasma growth time

R p :

Plasma radius

\(\varGamma_{e}\) :

Electrons flux to anode

MFP :

Mean free path of electron

σ si :

Conductivity of silicon

m e :

Electron mass

v f :

Drift velocity of electron

n si :

Electron density of silicon

∆P anode :

Flux towards anode

n d :

Number of divisions of wire

\(\dot{m}_{sil}\) :

Mass of silicon

\(L_{f,Sil}\) :

Latent heat of silicon

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Acknowledgments

This paper is a revised and expanded version of the original paper entitled “Modelling of Wire EDM slicing process for Silicon” which was presented at “Proceedings of the 5th International and 26th All India Manufacturing Technology, Design and Research Conference (AIMTDR 2014), during December 12–14, 2014, IIT Guwahati, India”. The authors wish to acknowledge financial support for this work from National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE), IIT Bombay, funded by MNRE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, Maharashtra, India

    Kamlesh Joshi, Gaurav Sharma & Suhas Sitaram Joshi

  2. Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (VIT), Pune, 411037, Maharashtra, India

    Ganesh Dongre

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  1. Kamlesh Joshi
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  2. Gaurav Sharma
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  3. Ganesh Dongre
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  4. Suhas Sitaram Joshi
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Correspondence to Suhas Sitaram Joshi.

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Joshi, K., Sharma, G., Dongre, G. et al. Numerical Modelling of Wire-EDM for Predicting Erosion Rate of Silicon. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. C 98, 63–73 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40032-016-0237-x

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