(Dr. Steven Danyluk, advisor)

"Abrasive Waterjet Damage of Silicon Wafers"

Abstract

 The abrasive waterjet is being studied as an alternative machining method to make curvilinear cuts that are necessary in the manufacturing of opto-electric devices on silicon substrates. An experimental study of abrasive waterjet dicing of single-crystal silicon wafers was conducted on 100-millimeter (100) p-type wafers. The experiments were carried out using a standard industrial waterjet nozzle with an orifice diameter of 0.2 millimeters and a mixing tube 70 millimeters in length and 0.8-millimeters in diameter. Suction-fed 32-, 93-, and 124-micron (320, 220, and 120 mesh) garnet particles were accelerated by the waterjet at pressures in the range of 150 to 340 MPa; abrasive flow rates ranged from 1.63 to 6.67 grams per second. Cutting feed rates were in the range of 0.833 to 8.33 centimeters per second, and cuts were made in the 001 and 010 axial crystal orientations.